By Phoebe Fronista

Icaria has always been a difficult place to get to. Various fast-ferry services to the island are announced with much fanfare, and then mysteriously divert course, seeking friendlier ports on Lesvos or Chios. Icarians do not believe this is a coincidence. If you are not patient enough to happily ride out the 12-hour journey on some of the oldest clunkers still navigating the Aegean, then you are simply not worthy of stepping on Icarian soil.

Known to all as the place where Icarus fell, Icarians prefer to think of their eastern Aegean island as the place where Dionysus, the mythological god of wine and merrymaking, was born out of Zeus’s thigh.

There are many reasons for believing that the hedonistic god had a lengthy stay on the island. Icaria’s numerous summer festivals are legendary; it is a fair bet to say that in no other place in rural Greece does a saint’s nameday celebration turn into a quasi-bacchanal. The wine imbibed during the festival is as potent as when Homer drank it, and the locals dance the “Ikariotikos” in a tight whorl formation, as if performing a religious ritual.

Due to its isolated location, the island’s local character and its idiosyncrasies remain strong. For instance, don’t bother getting up early to buy bread; no Icarian is going to lose sleep to keep to the schedule of any type of business. Even the most intrepid baker won’t open until 9 a.m. There are always logical explanations for all folk traditions, and the Icarians’ preference for the nocturnal is no exception. During the Middle Ages, the islanders abandoned their seaside settlements for hidden mountain villages due to frequent pirate raids. There they constructed a type of dwelling — called a “louros” — under huge slabs of stone, rendering them invisible to pirate eyes. At sunup, they would go to till their fields, returning to their rocky villages after sunset and only then doing business and socializing.

The visitor who does not adapt to the island’s penchant for extreme tardiness will be frustrated and, most likely, never return. To this, a true Icarian would chuckle, “Who cares?”

Stories regarding this island’s eccentricities tend to overshadow its breathtaking physical beauty. Although not the largest of the Greek islands at just 660 square kilometers, its elongated shape contains extremely diverse landscapes that can roughly be divided into three parts.

In the west, the sheer stone cliffs of Karkinagri recall the kind of American Wild West that today exists solely on celluloid, but Karkinagri also has stunning drops toward the sea. The nearly three hours spent on a dirt road are worth it in the quest to explore this remote area. The port of Karkinagri is small and quaint, with a few restaurants nestled around it. On the way, Lagada village has remnants of louros dwellings amid the wild grasses.

The northern, wooded part of Icaria is the most densely populated part of the island and contains the pretty port of Evdilos as well as the surrounding picturesque mountain havens. There are also seaside villages, the most developed in terms of tourism being Armenistis. The resort retains its charm, and has many hotels, with an organized beachfront. The long sandy beaches in the north are characterized by crystalline waters and large waves during August. The village of Christos Rachon keeps to the most peculiar Icarian time schedule, which means a backgammon board can easily be purchased at 4 a.m.

The south, with its sleepy capital of Aghios Kirykos, is less developed, more laid-back and its terrain not as rugged. The natural thermal baths at Therma are situated here, and many people with rheumatic complaints flock to submerge themselves in the waters. The sea here is more gentle, with hidden coves, and the long stretch of pebble beach in the old fishing village of Faros.

Getting there & about

Icaria has an airport (22750.22981) near Faros, and there are flights four times a week. Ikariada Travel (22750.23322/23380/22277) is situated in Aghios Kirykos, and books both plane and ferry tickets. The two ports are Aghios Kirykos and Evdilos. A car or a motorcycle is a must. What little public transport exists is notoriously unreliable and the distances are too great for the island’s small fleet of taxis to handle. Aventura Car Rental has offices in Evdilos and Armenistis (22750.71117) and Glaros Tours (22750.22759) in both ports arranges car rentals, ferry tickets and boat trips to nearby Patmos and Fournoi.

Where to stay

In the south, Aghios Kirykos serves as a good base for excursions, with accommodation available at Maria-Elena (22750.22835) and Isabella (22750.22839). Recommended in Faros are Evon’s Rooms (22750.32580) and Kaisi (22750.32989). If you want to stay in the spa town of Therma, try the Oenoe Hotel (22750.231259) or Anthemis (232750.23156). Armenistis has the only three-star hotels on the island: Cavos Bay (22750.71381/71382) and Atsahas (22750.71226). Other good hotels are the Ikaros Star (22750.71213/71266) in Gialiskari and&?nbsp; Evdoksia (22750.31502) in Evdilos.

Where to eat

In the village of Nas, Nas Tavern is situated right atop the cliff overlooking the beach. Anna’s Seafood Restaurant in Nas serves fresh fish. In Glaredo, To Tzaki (22750.22113) has the tastiest no-frills classic island fare. A little huddle of three tavernas on Faros Beach serve mostly grilled fare all day long, and the tables are placed right on the pebble beach. In Aghios Kirykos, try the stewed dishes at Klimataria. In Evdilos, sample the fare at Oinomageireio tis Popis (22750.31928). But wherever you go, ask for the local wine and ouzo, both extremely aromatic, and try the exquisite local honey and preserves.

What to see & do

In Nas, walk down the steps to the small beach where the ruins of the 6th-century BC temple to Artemis is situated. Take a stroll alongside the shady river and take in the sunset. Around the villages of Raches there is nature galore, especially around the dam, as well as at the Theoktisti Monastery, which has a chapel built in the louros style. Near Kosikia, the medieval Koskinas Castle with the little chapel inside affords spectacular views. Treat yourself to a rejuvenating thermal bath at Therma. Gaze at the stark beauty of the cape of Cavo Pappas near Karkinagri.

Product Description

Icaria, a long, craggy and destitute isle in the Aegean Sea is visible from Turkey. The toil and travail of its people symbolizes the journey all Greek People made to achieve a modern society. But unlike other Greeks the Icarians often chose a dead end path. Never in agreement with those around them, the story of the Icariaians shows the best and the worst of Greek society. The Icarians were loyal subjects of the Ottoman Empire who, because of poverty and lack of resources, were not expected to pay heavy taxes while most Ottoman Greeks were dissatisfied with Turkish rule and dreamed of independence.

But just before World War I, when the Greek government did not want to annex the island because of international complications, the Icarians expelled the Turks and demanded inclusion in the Greek State. At that time the bulk of the young men were escaping the grinding poverty of the island by immigrating to the United States. Although the majority of these men stayed in America and brought wives from the island to the New World, they maintained local ties.

Their influence, both positive and negative, affected many qualities of Icarian life. The Icarians did not find their expectations fulfilled as part of Greece and remained disenchanted with their conditions through the twenties and thirties of the 20th century. The forties brought first, the Italians, then the Germans, and finally the British. After the turmoil, many Icarians supported radical political solutions to their problems, sympathizing with a native a guerrilla movement and rejecting efforts to improve their island, seeing only the great Capitalistic conspiracy at work. In the last decades of the 20th century the Icarians finally entered the modern but at a too rapid rate leaving the people unable to cope with some aspects of modernity.

Anthony J. Papalas has assembled a true “peoples’ history by bringing together unusual documents such as dowry agreements and Ottoman court records, memoirs, and accounts of Icaria by people who were involved in the events he describes, all interwoven with informative and perceptive descriptions from forty years of interviews with Icarians from all areas and conditions. Here is a history on the social level, not grand politics or great battles, but rather the everyday existence and immediate choices which, once made, shape succeeding events.

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