NISYROS TRAVEL GUIDE

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Nikia

One of the most ancient settlements, built by the Dorians, Nikia is a registered traditional settlement. It is on top of a hill very close to the volcano, overlooking the hydrothermal crater of Stefanos.

Its houses are white and two-storey, with sloped, tiled roofs and colourful arched windows. The settlement’s only square, round and pebbled, is quite interesting. In the square we also find the cathedral, dedicated to the Presentation of the Virgin Mary, with a marble chancel screen, pulpit and bishop’s throne.

Mandraki

Built amphitheatrically on the slope under the castle and under Panagia Spiliani, where ancient Nisyros once was, Mandraki is today the island’s capital and port. The ancient port was located where the centre of the city is today.

The settlement is built in the traditional, Dodecanese architectural style. The maze-like, cobbled streets and the two-storey, white houses with the pebbled doorsteps and the flat roofs are very characteristic. Often, the alleys are so narrow that the colourful, wooden balconies of the houses are very close.

Besides the island’s most popular square – the central, shaded “Ilikiomeni” – the “Square of the Dolphins” is also of interest, named after the round, pebbled floor constructed by the local craftsman, Papadelias. The “City Hall Square” is also pebbled, a work by craftsmen from Symi. Pebbled floors are very common in Nisyros in public as well as in private places, depicting images mainly of nature and of the sea.

Emporeios

The settlement is colourful, with characteristic elements of Aegean architecture and quite dense construction. The houses usually have two storeys and flat roofs, just as in Mandraki. Many of them, however, are abandoned. On the top of the hill we find the Castle of Emporeios, its foundations dating from the Byzantine era, while the walls belong to the Knights of the Order of Rhodes. Inside the castle, on the top of the hill there is the temple of Archangel Michael, built in the late 13th century, with a wooden carved chancel screen and interesting icons.

Before the entrance to the settlement there is a small cave which acts as a natural sauna due to the heat produced by the volcanic activity.

It is located on the northern side of the island, built at an altitude of 350 m in the mainland, 8 km from Mandraki.