Lesser Cyclades

In recent years, we have been mere spectators in a joyless drama. From the decks of ferries and the windows of our hotels to the crowded shores of popular beaches and the tables of upscale nouvelle-cuisine-style tavernas serving ceviche, we watch helplessly as tourism swallows the Cyclades.

Authorities have imposed a ban on just about all water recreational activities except for swimming on Koufonisia in the interest of public safety and preservation of the two eastern Cyclades islets.

The ban announced by Rear Admiral Alexios Apostolopoulos, the Naxos harbor master, concerns the use of both motorized and non-motorized activity around Ano and Kato Koufonisi. 

Discover the most authentic and unique side of one of the most beautiful islands of the Cyclades

Ultimate swimming experience on Koufonisi at a unique rock location resembling a pool

There were two separate incidents in the Cyclades and south of Crete due to bad weather

The Archaeological Collection of Koufonissi, housed near the island's port, presents a selection of fascinating finds from excavations carried out by the British School at Athens and the University of Cambridge for more than a decade on the nearby islet of Daskalio, once a promontory of Keros, where they discovered the remains of Early Cycladic (3,200-2,100 BC) settlements.

An uninhabited, seemingly drab landmass some 10 kilometers from the holiday island of Naxos in the Aegean, has yielded 4,600-year-old structures that provide evidence of ancient Greece's early history being far more complex than experts once believed.

The Culture Ministry Thursday announced the discovery of an "exceptionally important" Early Bronze Age settlement on the islet of Daskalio off the coast of Keros in the Cyclades group of islands during the Keros-Naxos Seaways research program - a four-year project being conducted by the British School at Athens and the University of Cambridge and directed by Colin Renfrew and Michael Boyd.

The Regional Authority of the Southern Aegean, the Soft Energy Applications Laboratory, the Center for Technological Research in Piraeus and the University of West Attica on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at the creation of a roadmap for the transformation of 10 remote Aegean islands into "smart islands" via state-of-the-art networking technology.

Excavations next to the uninhabited Greek islet of Keros, already identified as the enigmatic hub of a forgotten religion, have now revealed traces of intense industrial activity more than 4,500 years ago.