Samos – otok znanosti / Samos – the island of science

Samos – otok znanosti

Jesen je že tu. Listje se bo kmalu odelo v čudovite barve, od poletja pa so ostali samo spomini. Pa vendar sem šele sedaj našla čas, da vam predstavim čudoviti grški otok Samos.

Ste ga vi že obiskali? S partnerjem sva nad Grčijo generalno navdušena. Imajo čudovito morje, izredno prijazne ljudi, odlične koktajle, okusno hrano in veliko zgodovine. Tudi Samos ni izjema. Morje, ki ga obdaja, je kristalno čisto in prelepe modre barve. Plaže, ki jih najdete na otoku, so raznolike – peščene, prodnate, skalnate, z majhnimi kamenčki, velikimi kamni… Samos pa se sicer imenuje tudi otok znanosti, saj sta se je tam rodil znameniti Pitagora, tam pa je deloval tudi starogrški filozof Epikur.

Pitagora je grški matematik in mistik. Vsi poznamo Pitagorov izrek, manj pa jih ve, da je bil Pitagora tudi mistik in filozof. Imel je svoje učence in privržence, ki jih je učil svojih verovanj. Če poenostavimo, je zagovarjal reinkarnacijo in asketski način življenja.

Na otoku pa naj bi se rodila tudi kraljica starogrških bogov, Hera. Tukaj naj bi se z Zeusom tudi spoznala in preživela svoje najlepše dneve zakona, ki kasneje – kot vemo iz antičnih zgodb – ni bil ravno rožnat. Vse te osebnosti so na otoku pustile svoje sledi.

Če boste otok obiskali tudi vi, vam zato predlagam, da si med kopanjem in uživanjem ob dobri hrani ter pijači vzamete tudi nekaj časa za raziskovanje. Tukaj je predlog, kaj si na Samosu ogledati, če imate na voljo dva dneva.

Pitagora in njegove sledi

Pitagora je bil vsekakor izjemna osebnost in ob obisku Samosa, si morate ogledati tudi njegove sledi. Obiščite staro mestece Pitagorion, ki je bilo nekoč glavno mesto otoka Samos.

Tam boste našli vse – vrvež na ulicah, trgovinice s spominki, restavracije. Okopali se boste lahko na plaži, si ogledali nekaj arheoloških ostankov, ki so zaščiteni pod UNESCOm. Vsekakor pa si morate ogledati tudi kip Pitagore, ki ga boste našli v pristanišču. Midva sva ga žal zgrešila.

Na otoku, v visokih gorah, se skriva tudi Pitagorova jama. Nahaja se ob vznožju najvišjega otoškega hriba Kerkis. Gre pravzaprav za dve jami. V eni je Pitagora živel, ko se je skrival pred tiranskim kraljem  Polikratom. V neposredni bližini pa je še ena – večja – jama, v kateri je poučeval svoje učence. Na poti boste opazili dve kapelici, ki si ju lahko ogledate tudi od znotraj.

Pravijo, da do jame vodi 200 m. Jaz jim ne verjamem. 😀  Metrov sicer nisem merila, lahko pa bi se strinjala, da gre za 200 m višinske razlike. Zame, ki nisem vajena hribov, je bila pot namreč zelo naporna. Najbrž pa bo tistim, ki ste pravi pohodniki, mnogo lažje priti na vrh. Kakorkoli, če ste pohodniki ali ne, vam predlagam, da stisnete zobe in se povzpnete do nje. Že res, da sami jami nista nič posebnega, ju pa obdajajo čudoviti razgledi na gore, tam pa je tudi izredno močna energija, ki bo v vas prebudila raznolike občutke in vas opomnila, kako kratko je vaše življenje v primerjavi z večnostjo. Čeprav sem »umirala«, ko sem hodila proti vrhu, sem si na poti dol vzela nekaj minut časa in se napolnila s to energijo, ki se me je res dotaknila.

V gorskem svetu si lahko ogledate tudi slikovite vasice, kot na primer Vourliotes ali Manolates, lovite čudovite razglede in med panoramsko vožnjo spremljate številne nizke trte, saj je Samos dom rumenemu muškatu.

Samos je Herin otok

Na Samosu, ob reki Imvrassos, naj bi se rodila kraljica starogrških boginj, Hera. Prav tukaj naj bi jo spoznal Zeus in se vanjo zaljubil. Najbrž je tudi zaradi tega na otoku bil zgrajen bojda največji Herin tempelj na svetu. Čeprav si večino kipov, ki so jih našli tam, lahko ogledate v samoškem arheološkem muzeju, si ga je vredno ogledati.

Herin tempelj – Heraion je odprt le do 16. ure, zato poskrbite, da pridete tja pravočasno.

Meni si ga ni uspelo ogledati, saj so mi ga pred nosom zaprli. Obiskala pa sem Arheološki muzej v mesto Samos in moram priznati, da sem bila malce razočarana. Tam se je sicer nahajal največji kip, ki so ga našli v Heraionu – ki je bil, to je treba priznati, veličasten, in mnogi ostanki z vsega Samosa, vendar arheološke najdbe niso predstavljene na posebej atraktiven način.

Sprehod za ljubitelje adrenalina

Samo 3 km od mesta Karlovasi, na območju Potami (reka), lahko najdete znamenite naravne slapove otoka Samos. Pot do njih teče mimo najstarejše cerkve na otoku, ki so jo postavili v 11. stoletju, do gozda. Sprehod se nadaljuje po gozdu, kjer vas ves čas spremlja reka in lepa pokrajina. Po kakšnem kilometru in pol hoje boste prišli do tolmuna. Če si boste želeli ogledati prvi slap, boste morali vstopiti v zelo mrzlo vodo in prehoditi (ali preplavati) kakšnih 500 m, da pridete do prvega slapa. Drugi slap pa si boste lahko ogledali, če boste splezali na prvega in nadaljevali raziskovanje.

Doživetje je kar malce adrenalinsko, a moram priznati, da sem se počutila kar dobro, ko sem si upala vstopiti v tisto hladno vodo in hoditi po tleh tolmuna po ozki soteski, da sem prišla do prvega slapa. ?

Nočno življenje na Samosu

Če boste iskali nočno življenje, ga raje poiščite nekje drugje in ne v mestu Samos. Saj ne, da se tam ne dogaja nič. Pravzaprav lahko v mestu ali okolici najdete kar nekaj diskotek in koktajl barov, vendar je trenutno na Samosu ogromno migrantov. Ti imajo v mestu tudi svoj kamp. Zaradi tega je mesto začelo počasi odmirati – tako se mi je vsaj zazdelo, ko sem ga obiskala. Vseeno pa boste uživali, če se boste odpravili na vrh mesta Vahti – starega Samosa, do cerkve Ai Gianniakis in ujeli čudovit sončni zahod nad mestom Samos in modrim morjem.

Namesto Samosa vam, če želite preživeti živahen večer, predlagam obisk mesta Kokkari. To ni pretirano oddaljeno od Samosa, v njem pa ponoči vse oživi. Pričakali vas bodo številni stilsko opremljeni lokali in restavracije. Privoščite si tam kakšen koktajl. Odlični so, poleg tega pa vam zraven prinesejo še »pravo pojedino« – oreščke in sadje. ?

Poskusite tudi sladko vino iz Samosa, ki je res odlično. Okušate ga lahko tudi v Vinskem muzeju na obrobju mesta Samos.

Čudovite plaže

Če si boste zaželeli kopanja, vas na Samosu čaka pravi raj. Na izbiro boste imeli raznolike plaže, morje na Samosu pa je kristalno čisto in zelo lepe modre barve.

Obiščite denimo plaže Psili Amos, Mikoli beach, Potami beach, Lemonakia, Tsamadou… nikjer ne boste razočarani.

Ste Samos obiskali tudi vi? Potem mi v komentar zapišite vaše izkušnje. V tem postu pa si lahko preberete tudi oceno hotela Blue style resort, kjer sem bivala na Samosu.  

Samos – the island of science

Autumn is here. Soon the leaves will put on its’ beautiful colours and from the summer there will stay only memories, but I couldn’t find time to write you about Samos, which I visited earlier this summer. 

Have you visit it yet? My partner and I – we generally love Greece. They have a beautiful sea, very kind people, great cocktails, good food and a lot of history. Samos is no exception. The sea that surrounds it is crystal clear and beautiful. There are a lot of various beaches there.

Samos is also called the island of science, because famous Pythagoras and antic philosopher Epicurus were born or worked here.

Pythagoras was Greek mathematician. We all know the formula, but less people know that Pythagoras was also a mystic and philosopher. He had his followers, to whom he lectured his beliefs. He was teaching about reincarnation and ascetic way of life.

The queen of Greek gods – Hera – was also born on Samos. The mythology says that Hera and Zeus meet on Samos and Zeus immediately fall in love with her. They say that they had their best days of marriage there.

And all those personalities left their marks on this island.  

So, if you are planning to visit Samos, I recommend you that you take some time off from swimming and partying and go for exploring the island. Here is my suggestion what to see if you’ll have two days to explore the island of Samos.

Pythagoras and his marks

Pythagoras was a remarkable personality and if you visit Samos, you must take some time to explore the marks he left on the island. Visit a town Pythagoreion, which was once the capital town of the island. You will find everything there. From busy streets, small shops with souvenirs, to restaurants… You will be able to bathe in a beautiful sea, to see some archaeological sights that are under UNESCO protection. A Pythagoras statue is a must. You will find it at the harbour. Unfortunately, we missed it.

Samos doesn’t have only the sea; it has mountains too. There, in the high mountains, you will find the Pythagoras cave. You will find it at the feet of the highest mountain on Samos – Kerkis. Actually, we are talking about two caves. In one, the smaller one, Pythagoras was living when he was hiding from the cruel king Polikrat. And in the other, the biggest one, he was performing his lectures. You will also see two chapels on your way, which you can visit.

They say that there is 200 metres to the cave, but I don’t believe them. 😀 I didn’t measure the meters, but I would only agree that there is 200 m of height difference. For me, who am not used of hills, the way up was very hard. But probably the way up will be easier for those who love hiking. Well…if you are a hiker or not, I suggest that you bear it and climb up to the cave. It’s true that the caves itself aren’t nothing special, but there is a beautiful view on the mountains on the way up and there is a very interesting and powerful vibe up there. It fills you up with a lot of various feelings and it make you remember how small you are and how short is your time here in compare to eternity. Even dough I was »dying« walking up, I took some time on my way down, to feel that vibe, which really touched me.

In the mountains you can also see some picturesque villages like Vourliotes or Manolates, catch magnificent views and observe a lot of low vines, because Samos is a home of the Moscato wine.

Samos is an island of Hera

On the island of Samos, by the river Imvrassos, Hera was born. Here she and Zeus supposed to meet, and he fall in love with her immediately. Probably because of that on Samos is the biggest temple of Hera in the world. Although almost all the statues from the Heraion are moved to the Archaeological museum of Samos, it is worth to see it. 

Heras’ temple – Heraion, is opened until 4 pm, so make sure that you’ll be there on time.

I couldn’t see it unfortunately, because they closed it the minute I came there. I visited the Archaeological museum of Samos though, but I wasn’t impressed. There I saw the biggest statue from the Heraion – which was, I must admit, magnificent – and a lot of other archaeological remains, but they weren’t presented in a very attractive way.

The walk for the adrenalin lovers

Just 3 km from the city Karlovasi, at the area Potami (river), you can find natural falls of Samos. The way there takes you firstly pass the oldest church on the island Samos, which was built in 11th century, and then to the woods. There you walk by the river through the beautiful scenery to the pool in the narrow valley. If you want to see the fall, you have to go into the cold water and walk or swim through the narrow canyon that’s surrounding the river. You have to walk (or swim) for about 50 metres to get to the fall. The other fall is behind the first one, but you have to climb up the first fall if you want to see it and continue exploring.

Experience is pretty adventures, but I must admit that I felt pretty good that I found the courage, to walk through the cold water surrounded by the narrow canyon to get to the first fall. ?

Night life on Samos island

If you’ll be looking for the night life on the island of Samos, I wouldn’t look for it at the town of Samos. It’s not that there is nothing special happening there. On the contrary, there are a lot of bars and clubs in Samos or near it, but right now in the town of Samos there are a lot of immigrants too. They have their camp in Samos and although they are not violent, the town is slowly dying because of that. At least it seemed like that when I was there. So, if you’ll want to have a night life, reader try to find it in other towns and villages. But still take some time to go to the top of Vahti – old Samos, to the church Ai Gianniakis and try to catch a beautiful sunset over the town of Samos and its’ beautiful blue sea.  

If you want to have fun, I suggest you visit Kokkari instead. It’s not far from Samos and the nights are really lively there. You will find a lot of stylishly furnished bars and restaurant. Go for some cocktail. They are great and staff will bring you »a true feast« with it – nuts and fruit. ?

Try the Samos sweet wine, which is really tasty and magnificent. You can try it at the Wine museum at the periphery of Samos town too.

Beautiful beaches

If you’ll wish to bathe on Samos, you will find there a true paradise. You will be able to pick from many various beaches and the sea at Samos is truly beautiful.

Visit beaches like Psili Amos, Mikoli beach, Potami beach, Lemonakia, Tsamadou… you won’t be disappointed.

Have you visited Samos also? Tell me what you think in the comment. You can also read my review of the Blue style resort, where I stayed in Samos.