Ios is a Greek island of the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. It’s a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides, situated half way between Naxos and Santorini. Ios is part the Thira regional unit. The island was the setting for the movie “Ginger and Cinnamon”. Also scenes from the “Big Blue” were shot here.

Excavations on Skaros hill unearthed a prehistoric settlement, proving that ios has been inhabited since the early Cycladic period. During later times, Ios made rather few marks in history. According to ancient tradition, Homer’s mother was born in Ios and himself was buried there – and indeed the locals will show visitors the site of the ancient town of Plakotos at the north most end of the island, where the rocky entrance to a tomb be seen.

There is no evidence however connecting this with Homer. The north end of Ios has a ruined Venetian castle from the 15th century. The island is said to have 365 churches and chapels, one for each day of the month.

Most of the island is inhabited essentially deserted. There are no small villages to keep up the tradition. Ios Town (Chora) is the only center point of the island. It’s located on a hill capped by a windmill. There are actually twelve windmills above the town. The town is a dazzling mix of white houses and blue domed churches fast being swamped by discos and bars. It’s also full of harrow cobbled streets.