REGION OVERVIEW

The Eastern Sporades are a loose group of islands close to the coast of Turkey. They are among the largest islands in Greece each with their own distinct, unique character.

Ikaria has landed a spot in the much-coveted Blue Zone list, a collection of spots around the world where people are said to lead healthier and longer lives!

Chios is known for its unique cultivation of “mastic” a gummy resin that seeps out of the Pistacia lentiscus tree, found only in the southern part of the island. 

Lesbos is the third largest Greek island, and the largest in this area, it was home to the Moria refugee camp which housed 16,000 migrants and was more or less destroyed by a fire in 2020.

The islands lie outside the main path of the “meltemi” wind, but still enjoy some stiff breezes.

You can’t write about this region without mentioning the migrant crises.  Due to their location forming part of the Turkish / EU border and being so close, in some places less than a mile across, it has become a magnet for migrants trying to enter Europe.  Refugee camps were built on a few of the islands, but due to the enormous numbers making the crossing, these are now completely overfilled.

On Samos for example, the camp was intended for 700 migrants and currently houses 7200, the local population of Samos town is only 6500…

Naturally, this has caused some animosity between the welcoming locals, who have also been seriously impacted by this tragedy on their shores.