Milos and Kimolos sailing holidays
The island of Melos – Milos, the most westerly of the larger Cyclades, owes its distinctive topography and the pattern of its economy to its origin as the caldera of a volcano of the Pliocene period, to which the sulphurous hot springs in the north-east and south-east of the island still bear witness. Kleftiko It has one of the best harbours in the Mediterranean, formed when the sea broke into the crater through a gap on its north-west side.
The north-eastern half of the island is flatter and more fertile than the upland region in the south-west, which rises to 752 m in Mount Profitis Ilias. The island’s principal sources of income – besides the tourists either on a sailing holiday or island hopping by ferry – are its rich mineral resources, including pumice, alum, sulphur and clay.
Kimolos is an arid and inhospitable island of volcanic origin lying, which was known in antiquity for its terra kimolia (cimolith), used both as a detergent and in medical baths.
The chief place on the island, Kimolos, lies near the sheltered port of Psathi, round the remains of the late medieval settlement of Kastro. On the island’s highest point is the ruined medieval Castle of Palaiokastro.
