Vathi Village Samos

The  Samos island, the easternmost in the Aegean Sea, is an island where myths, legends, fertile valleys and protected archaeological sites of Unesco will certainly not bore you.

A very popular destination since the early 80s that the inhabitants have known, however, not to make it a mass tourism by changing the ancient traditions and habits of the locals.

Samos gave birth to the philosopher Pythagoras who was born there in the sixth century BC and who with his thought gave the world the importance of mathematics. According to the myth instead on the Samos island Juno was born or also called Era divinity of marriage and childbirth.

There are many things to visit starting from Vathi or Samos is called by both names which is the capital and is located in the east of the island. Inside a beautiful natural bay built as an amphitheater, it is a very active and very popular port thanks to the main street full of shops for shopping. The Turkish coast is less than two kilometers away and the eastern influence is somehow felt. It should be specified that it is still Greek territory but that inevitably like all border areas for better or for worse have been contaminated. The Vathi city is an intricate maze of narrow streets, ancient churches and museums, a mix of modern and ancient where the multitude of peoples who have set foot in Samos are still perceived. The old quarter in the highest part called Ano Vathi, can be reached with a walk from the port, a characteristic village with alleys where you can stop for a coffee and savor the past.

In Ano Vathi, there is also the Archaeological Museum just behind the municipal garden with many testimonies of the ancient world. In the new part there is the famous marble boy of Kouros almost five meters high and the statues found from the site of Heraion such as the Korè. In the old part instead a collection of ivory figurines of Perseus and Minerva.

Also very suggestive is the ancient Agios Spyridon church founded in 1892 with a beautiful dome, a masonry work of art with two marble columns at the entrance that support the architrave, while outside, framed by two tall bell towers.

About five kilometers from Vathi, the Zoodohos Pigi Monastery built in 1756 on a promontory that offers a view of the Aegean Sea and Asia Minor. Inside there are splendid wooden icons and beautiful frescoes.

Vathi is the liveliest area of the  Samos island especially during the summer months.