Arki

Hello and welcome to Chiosradio.gr! If you live in a big noisy city and you want to make holidays to forget the speed and rush of your everyday life, I have the perfect recommendation for you. A small island with only a few people on it and a lot of nature to discover named Arki (or Arkoi, in Greek its called Αρκοί).

It is 6,500 km2 large and is located in the south-east Aegean Sea just 30km away from the coast of Turkey and Asia. Arki is also not very far from our island Chios: the direct distance is 120km. To the small, lovely island belong 9 other mostly not inhabited islands and all of them are administrated by the municipality of Patmos. Arki is part of the island group Dodekanisa. This literly means 12 islands but it actually contains 15 bigger islands and around 150 smaller ones. But just 26 of all them are inhabited. Arki is one of these, the census which was made in 2001 counted 55 people on it. Most of them live near the port in the capital named the same as the island itself. The people of Arki mostly work as fishermen, have goats or have a job connected to tourists. Taking about tourist: In the summer, the island has a lot more than 55 people on it due to holiday visitors. If you plan to be one of them, I have some good tips for you! Can you believe that three fourth of Arki are untouched terrain where no human has ever been? Sound like a great opportunity to have nice hiking adventures. And after the trip you can take rest and enjoy the Greek culinary culture in one of the four taverns in Arki town. Another very interesting place, different from the beaches with crystal clear blue water, is the Italian control fortress which was built during the Second World War. And the Italian occupants left also other mysteries when they left. In one region of the island you can find caves which were used as shelters by the local Greek people during the war to protect their lives. If you have the chance, explore on of them and find to what mysterious places they might lead. Other sights are definitely the churches Agioi Anargiri, Metamorphosi and Agios Lefterios. My recommendation for tourists is to be on Arki on the 23rd of August. On this day the local taverns celebrate a big Greek Panigiri every year. Don’t miss that party! Unfortunately, the travel to this island is a little bit difficult. You can only reach it with a smaller ferry boat going from Patmos. So first you have to go by plane or a bigger ferry boat there. But I can tell you: It’s worth it!