Greece occupies the Balkan Peninsula and numerous islands of the surrounding seas: Aegean, Ionian, Mediterranean. The islands belonging to Greece make up 20% of its total territory.
How many islands are there in the Greek archipelago
In total, the country owns more than 2,000 large and small islands. By the way, the name of the country is used by all countries except Greece itself. The population of the country officially calls their state - Hellas, and themselves - Hellenes. And nothing else.
It is also very interesting that at Greek airports, when flights from Istanbul arrive, they say in English: “a flight from Istanbul has arrived”, and in Greek the same information sounds: “a flight has arrived from Constantinople”.
The largest islands of the Greek archipelago
The huge Greek archipelago is divided into groups that unite small islands: the North Aegean Islands, the Northern Sporades, the Cyclades, the Dodecanese - in the Aegean Sea. Also in the Ionian Sea is the Ionian Archipelago. Crete and several of its satellite islands are located in the Mediterranean Sea.
The largest Greek islands are: Crete (8259 square kilometers), Evia (3654 square kilometers), Lesvos (1630 square kilometers), Rhodes (1398 square kilometers). Initially, the Aegean Sea itself and the islands of its water area were called the archipelago.
The main tourist islands of the archipelago
The most popular islands among tourists are Crete, Corfu (Kerkyra), Rhodes, Zakynthos, Samos, Kos and Santorini. Each of the islands has its own characteristic features and attractions, which, combined with a wonderful climate, friendly population and rich cultural and historical heritage, annually attract hundreds of thousands of tourists from all over the world to the islands.
For example, this is Crete - the cradle of the famous Cretan-Mycenaean culture, the monuments of which have survived to this day (the labyrinth of the Minotaur and other attractions). Corfu is located in the northwestern part of the Ionian Sea, and is considered the greenest and most fashionable resort in Greece. The island is replete with orange and lemon orchards and olive groves.
Santorini is a volcanic island. Its key features are its red beaches and crisp white buildings, contrasting especially against the fiery coasts. Rhodes is also interesting for its delightful beaches, developed infrastructure, however, in comparison with Corfu, it is "bald".
Samos, Kos and Zakynthos are new islands in terms of tourism, invariably winning more and more hearts of travelers with cultural attractions, picturesque nature and invariably luxurious seas and coasts.
