Cave of Agios Ioánnis - Agia Paraskeví - Antíparos |
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| Evaluation:
The most interesting attraction on the island of Antíparos is the caves,
the Spílio Agíou Ioánnou. Departing from these caves there used to be
a nice hiking trail to the north. Quite a while ago, though, the trail
was destroyed by the construction of a gravel road and only recently
this road has been completely asphalted. We did make this hike after all,
since the hilly interior of the island is very pleasant. The caves
deserve an evaluation of ***, but the hike itself only *. Estimated time:
The actual walking time from the caves to the capital of the island is
about 1h40. Route
description:
[Quite regularly there are busses from the town of Antíparos to the
south of the island, via the caves. Also when you stay in the south of
the island, for instance in Agios Geórgios, it will be very easy to
find transport to the caves...] The caves
themselves are situated on a hill top of about 250m high. Next to the
entrance of the caves you find the small church of Agios Ioánnis. In
the entrance of the caves there is an enormous stalagmite – this
stalagmite is 45 million years old, which makes it the oldest one in
Europe...
The enormous stalagmite in the entrance of the cave. The caves contain 3 halls and by means of 342 steps you
descend more than 100m deep. The caves are famous because of the large
stalactites and stalagmites, sometimes in the shape of curtains or water
falls; many of them also present ancient inscriptions. Unfortunately, a
lot of the stalactites were sawn off under the Russian occupation of the
Cyclades (1770 - 1774); they are now to be found in the Hermitage museum
in Saint-Petersburg...
A general view in the cave.
The inscription remembering the visit of king Othon on the 27th of September 1840. An amusing
inscription of a proud nobleman reads: "Hélène Täscher,
incomparable femme, trésor du marquis de Chambert, à Paris 1776"
- "Hélène Täscher, unequalled lady, treasure of the marquis of
Chambert, Paris 1776".
The inscription of the marquis of Chambert. The most famous stalagmite is 8 metres tall and it is called the "Agia Trápeza" ("Holy Table"). It is located in the most distant part of the caves, in the left-hand corner of the deepest hall. Large stalactites, with black inscriptions, are hanging above this stalagmite.
The stalactites next to the Agia Trápeza.
The Agia Trápeza. |
The
stalagmite is called the "Holy Table" because an important
event took place here on the 24th of December 1673. On that day a
midnight mass was celebrated, in the presence of the French ambassador
of Constantinople, the marquis de Nointel – a Latin inscription
testifies to this event. The ambassador was brought to the caves with a
retinue of 500 people (!); the ship that brought them belonged to a
certain Daniel, a famous pirate, and the ambassador stayed in the caves
for three days. The Latin inscription commemorating this midnight mass reads: "Hic ipse Christus / adfuit Eius natali / die media nocte / celebrato / MDCLXXIII" or "Over here Christ himself was present, when his birthday was celebrated at midnight, 1673".
The Latin inscription on the Agia Trápeza. (0h00) In
order to start with this hike through the island
you should try to find a vague trail going up the slope, on the left of
the entrance to the caves – there is also a red dot. After a couple of
minutes you reach the crest of the hill, most likely you are now
standing above the caves. You descend towards the left, in the direction
of the telephone poles. You then follow a vague path; at first it runs
on the left-hand side of those poles and then on the right-hand side. By
following a vague track you easily get to the following crest, from
where you have a great panoramic view on the entire island, and also on
the strait with Páros and the towns of Antíparos and Poúnda. (0h08)
You now follow the obvious trail leading towards a couple of houses and
after some 2-3 minutes you arrive at a gravel road between walls –
over here you take a left. (0h10) After
a short while you get to the central road of the island,
which used to be a track or even a monopáti. Unfortunately, the road
was asphalted very recently – one really wonders why… (0h12) You
take a right and out of sheer necessity you follow a few curves of this
road, with a nice view on the coast of Páros indeed. After about half an hour walking on the asphalt you reach
a chapel with a blue roof. (0h42) You
continue for 2 minutes and you take a left at a crossing (there is a
signpost to Monastíria);
after 5 more minutes you get to another crossing where you go right. You
go up for the following 10 minutes, until you reach another pass, with
yet another chapel with a blue, vaulted roof: the chapel of Agia
Paraskeví. Again, you have a nice view on the island of Páros and the
strait. On the next crest you can already distinguish a chapel with a
flat roof, the roof of the Profítis Ilías. (0h59) You
keep going on the asphalt road for another 1,5 minutes and at last you take a small gravel road off the right. You
go down for about 2-3 minutes until you arrive at the gate of a house;
the gravel road then becomes a real trail, which continues on the right.
After 5-6 minutes you reach the chapel of the Profítis Ilías – where
you get to the asphalt road again. (1h09) You
follow the road for some 4 minutes, until you find a small gravel road
on the right – not in the curve, but a little further. This road runs
straight to Antíparos, more or less parallel to the main road.
Panoramic view on the little town of Antíparos. (1h23) About
10 minutes
later you return to the asphalt road for a short while, where you do not
take a right (in the direction of limáni/port) but where you go
straight ahead (kéntro), past the cemetery. (1h29) After 6 more minutes you get to the more picturesque part of the town. You now follow the paved street for 10-11 minutes until you reach the harbour. In the curve (café Smile) you follow the main street off the right and further on you keep to the right at the farmakío (pharmacy). By walking through a busier shopping street you finally arrive at the outdoor terraces in the harbour. Slightly to the right you notice the landing stage of the ferry to Poúnda. (1h39)
The little harbour of Antíparos. For
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