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Ithaka is a small island in between the mainland and the much
bigger island of Kefalonia. The latter is actually only 3
kilometers away. Ithaka has an area of approximately 100 but
only 5000 people live there. The island was hit hard by the
1953 earthquake. Most of the residents lost everything they
got and subsequently fled the island.
Ithaka is rather famous. It is connected to the story of the
cunning king Odysseus. The name of the island features
prominently in Homers epics. In fact it isn't quite clear if
Odysseus was in fact king of Ithaca. There are major
discrepancies between the description in the Odyssey and the
actual topography of the island. A number of islands these
days claim Odysseus as their own.
The island is relatively green. Typically there are
cypresses, pine-trees, olives and vineyards. It's quite
picturesque. There is little enough tourism on the island to
attract nature lovers and individualists. There are a few
archaeological sites and museums of interest. Some of the
local villages are protected as historical monuments. The
beauty of it is that they preserved there typical character.
Famous examples are the small fishing village Frikes and the
little village of Kioni. Most of the buildings there survived
the 1953 earthquake.
The local capital is Vathy. Most of the hotels, restaurants
and private rooms are there. If you want to go on a longer
walking-tour across the island you can rent some rooms in the
villages. It shouldn't be a problem.
There is no airport on Ithaka but there are a number of
ferries coming from the Peloponnese. You can get to Ithaka
either from Patras or Astrakos. During season there is also a
regular connection to Kefalonia and
Lefkas.
By the way: The highest building of the world
is now (2012) in Dubai.
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