Wedding Photographer Visits Naxos, Greece
After we left Paros, we took a Blue Star Ferry to the island of Naxos. I personally love this island because I feel it is a good combination of different energies. I think Naxos is absolute gorgeous, but it is also not quite as touristy as some of the other islands like Santorini for example.
The most iconic part of Naxos is called Portara or the Temple of Apollo. Portara in Greek translates roughly to “The Great Door”, and on the islet of Palatia stands a massive portal to the sea. Legend says that the islet of Palatia was exactly where Ariadne, the Minoan princess, was abandoned by her lover Theseus after he killed Minotaur on the island of Crete. The history of the portal as presented by archeologist is a little different though. In the 6th century B.C. they tyrant ruler of Naxos, ordered a temple to be built to the god Apollo. However, during it’s construction, war broke out and the temple was never completed.
The history of the Portara is fascinating and definitely adds to the beauty of the structure.
MarbLE Carving in Naxos
While in Naxos we booked a marble carving class. It was so much fun and the instructor was phenomenal!
I will put the link to the class here :Marble Carving Class
Marble is something that is increadibly important to the cycladic islands. Most of the famous sculptures you see today have been made out of Cycladic marble as it is some of the purest marble in the world.
Hiking Mount Zas (Zeus)
Mount Zas (also known as mount Zeus) is also located on Naxos. Mount Zas is the tallest point in the Cycladic islands at 3290 feet. Mount Zas is said to be the birth place of Zeus. As you hike, there is a small cave that is memorialized as the alleged birth place of Zeus According to Greek mythology, Zeus spent his childhood on mount Zas. Oh, and did I mention it was gorgeous? Because yeah, it is insanely pretty.
We made the mistake of hiking Mount Zas in the afternoon. This was a mistake not because of the hike itself, but because of the bus schedule…. I will get more into that later… but if you are reading this, plan on hiking mount Zas in the morning if you are riding the bus!
The hike itself is somewhere in between moderate and difficult. Round trip, the hike is about 3 miles and typically takes anywhere from 2-4 hours. Across the entire hike there is about 500 meters of elevation change. If you decide to do this hike, take it seriously and wear appropraite footwear. I forgot hiking shoes, so I ended up buying a pair of tennis shoes before we went up… and man did I miss my boots.
For a step by step guide to hiking mount Zas, click here: Mount Zas Guide
We were hiking down Mount Zas as the sun was setting. To this day I think it was the most awestruck I have ever been during a sunset. In the picture above you can see a small monastery at the top of the mountain as the sun was setting. How serine?
Once we made it back into town, we attempted to hop on a bus to ride back to Naxos Port only to realize that the last bus had already departed for the day. We were stuck in Filoti. Filoti, we came to learn is a very quaint village in the center of Naxos. Most people in Filoti are locals and they have few tourists there. A very kind women in the grocery story across from the bus stop called a friend of hers who allowed us to stay at her in for the night. We ended up eating at a really amazing local pizza place that she directed us too as well (It is right next to the grocery shop across from the bust stop). Looking back, we are so grateful for the help of the people in Filoti village.
