The mountain masses, which are encountered in most of the Cyclades, are broken up by small valleys sparsely planted with vines and fruit-trees and run right down to the sea, opening out into pretty little bays. On the western side of the island is Agios Nikolaos bay, and deep within it the port of Korissia, which is considered to be one of the safest natural harbours in the Mediterranean. Ferry-boats call at Korissia - also known as Livadi - which stands on the site of the city of Korissia, which in ancient times, with Ioulis, Karthea and Poiessa, was one of the island's four independent city-states.
One of the loveliest refuges in the Cyclades is Kea Island. Despite its constantly growing tourist infrastructure, it retains its natural beauty, quaintness and traditional characteristics, combining both serenity and exuberance.
Kea is an exceptionally picturesque island with huge mountain masses broken up by small valleys sparsely planted with vines and fruit trees and run right down to the sea, opening out into pretty little bays.
Little remains of the iour ancient cities. Excavations of the Américan School at Agia Irini have unearthed an important Bronze Age settlement, whose finds are on displaý in Ihe Hora museum. In the capital, built on a hillside on the site of ancient loulis, the traditional Cycladic architecture is preserved intact.Near the town stand remains of a Venetian castle. To the north-east, carved out ofrock, is the colossal 'Lion of Kea'; the work of an lo- nian sculptor of the 7th century BC. Also worth noting are the Byzantine monasteries Agia Philothei (lóth c.) and the Panayia Kastriani. The island is dotted..with lovely coves and beaches, all accessible by land.
Climb up to Hora when the sun sets and visit loulida built on the site of the ancient city. A few ruins of the acropolis are visible on the top of the hill, at the same place where the castle was built during the middle Ages, in order to protect its population against pirate attacks.
The island's capital, Hora or Ioulida (6 km. from Korissia), has maintained its Cycladic idiom intact. Built in the shape of an amphitheatre, it presents the visitor with an impressive vista of two-storey houses and tiled roofs, steep cobbled alleyways and splendid churches with elaborately carved wooden icon screens. At the highest point of the village, on the site of the ancient acropolis, is a quarter known as Kastro which commands a breathtaking view of the nearby islands off the coast of Attica.
