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 To call Kea's main village of Ioulis 'unspoiled'
is not entirely accurate. It is spoiled in a way.
Kea was discovered by the artist Fasianos and he
paved the way for an army of artists who followed
him here. Then one of Greece's many millionaires
built a house on the island which of course caused
all the other Greek millionaires to want one here
as well. This got the attention of anyone in
Athens who had money to spend on an island house
only two hours away from Greece's capital. In that
sense it became like an Hydra for yuppies and
middle-class Athenians who flood the island in the
summer and warm weekends. Except in Hydra you
can't build any more houses and in Kea entire
neighborhoods are springing up on barren pieces of
property. But in Ioulis where you can only restore
and people must leave their cars at the entrance
of the town, life is pretty much the way it has
always been. So while on other islands you have to
be vigilant and prepared to jump out of the way of
speeding motorcycles piloted by sunburned
tourists, in this main town in the center of the
island you are safe and can relax. However you
need to be alert so you don't get knocked over by
the occasional passing donkey on one of the narrow
back streets. Since the village is mostly made up
of steps, all building material has to be brought
up by donkeys and there is always some
construction going on though with everything done
by hand you probably won't hear it.
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 The town is really pretty spectacular and looks
like a white washed Pueblo village sitting on the
slope of a couple mountains. You can wonder around
the streets and alleyways for hours and become
completely lost in the jumble of streets and
steps, or you can hang out in the relative
security of several village squares, each one with
restaurants and cafes, peopled by locals and
Athenians and the occasional ambitious tourist on
his way to see the smiling Lion. The influx of
Athenian yuppies has its downside of course but on
the bright side you can now get a pretty decent
cappuccino at several cafes in the village which
for some members of my household is nessessary for
survival. As the island becomes more popular I
expect more cafes and restaurants will open up as
people with ties to the island or visitors who
fall in love with the island realize the potential
and come up with a plan to secure their own
survival.
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When you arrive in Ioulis the bus or taxi drops
you off at the first square outside the gate of
the town. Well it is more of a parking lot for the
taxis and buses than a square but there are a
couple cafes there and it is a great place to
watch the sun set over the Cava d Oro, considered
the most dangerous stretch of sea in the Aegean
and the reason I refuse to ever take another
flying dolphin to the island. It is also the
resting place of the Britannic, the sister-ship of
the Titanic which sank on a bright sunny day
during W.W.I when it hit a mine while serving as a
hospital ship. This was the subject of a pretty
bad made-for-TV movie that I was not quite able to
get through despite my facination with the
subject. But if you can forget that this first
platia is a parking lot (easy to do because only
the bus and taxis park here and they are always
busy) and order a drink and a snack from the cafe,
you can take a picture as nice as this one. There
is also a bank and a pharmacy here and even a
couple tourist shops. If you think of Ioullis as a
walled fortress city, which it is in a way, this
is the entrance. If you have a vehicle, unless you
are delivering something, you can go no further
and even if you are, unless you are a very
talented driver there is not much chance of you
making it through the narrow passageways.
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 As you walk through the archway you come to the
small square known as the Piatsa and there is a
small restaurant here which serves good food which
is also called The Piatsa. Sadly, the legendary
restaurant in the village called Argiris, has
closed it's doors and is certainly missed. But the
Piatsa Restaurant also known as Yannis in the Piatsa, though
small, is a great place to eat lunch or dinner and after a few glasses of their excellent
wine, who cares about Argiris? Especially good (excellent
actually) is their arni lemonato (lamb cooked in
lemon) and their moscari (beef in tomato sauce).
Great spaghetti too in case you have kids who have
not embraced Greek cooking yet. Yannis is the
owner, a terrific cook, and he makes the best cheese omelets and strapatsa (like scrambled eggs with cheese and tomato) I have
ever eaten. In the off-season this is the coziest place on the island to have a nice meal and drink a little tsipuro and a couple liters of wine to pass the day. Often Mavromatis, the butcher, is holding court in the corner table, with people talking loudly and sometimes singing too. There is a cafe in the Piatsa
as well and it is a fun place to sit and watch the
little kids from the elementary school heading up
to the main part of the village, especially if you
have a kid or are a kid yourself. There is also a
Pandapoleio
which is a
store that sells everything owned by Maria who
speaks excellent English as well as several gift shops in the stegadi, the covered passageway that is the entrance to the village.
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 If you go towards your left you will come to the
Kastro of the town, the oldest section with the
ancient fortifications and acropolis and the
remains of the Venetian wall. This was most likely
the site of the temple to Apollo. Further below in
the area which was once the ancient agora there
are seats carved in stone and the chuch of Agia
Paraskevis built inside a cave. There is also an old
hotel on the rock with a restaurant and amazing
views but it has been closed for years and who
knows if it will ever re-open. The story is that
it was owned by an old couple who rarely answered
their phones or took reservations and finally left
owing the town millions of drachma in back rent.
If you are planning to stay in Ioulis this would
be the place to be and hopefully one day it will be a hotel again. Like any high
point in the village the views are spectacular
whether you are looking across the island to the
mainland or at the rest of the village on the
adjoining hillside. This former hotel now serves as the temporary elementary school. If my elementary school had such a view I would have been an even worse student as unimaginable as that may sound to my former teachers. Strangely enough some of the most popular guidebooks still list this hotel though it has been closed for at least 15 years! |
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 If you back past the Piatsa instead and walk
through the archway and up the main street you
will pass the excellent archaeological museum on
your right which unfortunately due to the economic crisis is closed. As you continue up there is a nice bakery owned by an old coulple from Messinia who also sell their excellent olive oil from kalamata. Next is our souvlaki shop and a very nice little cafe
called the En Lefko where you can sit in a
beautiful shaded patio beneath the ancient walls
of the city and drink the strongest, best tasting
espresso that you will find on any island or watch your children play chess in Platia Delapizza with pieces as tall as they are. If you are here for the World Cup or the European Cup or any major sporting event they have a very large TV outside. The
town hall building in the main square is one of
the most interesting neo-classic buildings in the
Greek islands and was built by my wife's great
grandfather Gregoris Jeromnimon in 1902. He built
many of the fountains in and around the village
and the large house he built which overlooks the
Cavo d Oro is where we stay. He also built all the
schools, the three main cathedrals and some of the
smaller churches as well. He was mayor for over
forty years and died on a couch in the old
cafeneon which used to share the building. On the
roof of the building are two clay statues, one of
Apollo and the other of Hermes and inside the
building are some artifacts from ancient Karthea.
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 The town surrounds the square like a big
ampitheater and just like at Epidavros where you
can hear a coin drop on the stage from the top row
of seats, in Ioulis you can hear anything that
goes on in the square, even a violin played
through a PA system at four oclock in the morning.
On Sundays the square is full of pick-up trucks
because the farmers come in with their produce
since they know that the villagers will all be
around for church and socializing. On Saturday
night the restaurants are full and children use
the square to play while their parents eat and
drink and enjoy the air of the village which is
much cooler than the ports. The main square is where they hold the festivals
and the weddings. Antonakis Zoulos,
one of the finest violin players in Greece is the
main performer at every event. Weddings in Kea can
go on for days and nights with endless singing,
playing and dancing. The celebration of the
Panagia on August 15th is another night of food,
wine, music and dancing. Ask in the town hall when
the next wedding or panagiri is scheduled because
if you are lucky enough to be there you will hear
one of the most amazing musicians in Greece. I
have been laying in my bed at 5 am while a
celebration was still going on in the square below
listening in total awe and hearing every note
played by the legendary Zoulos. (For more on
Antonakis Zoulos including some audio-video clips
of him performing
click
here.)
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 As you walk through the square there is a taverna
on your left called 'Yiannis' also known as the 'Oinozythestiatoriaon
Kalofagadon' though of course nobody would waste their time calling it that. Its just Yannis in the Platia, not to be confused with Yannis in the Piazza. This is where I also spend a lot of time
especially when the grill is fired up or a whole
roast pig is turning on the spit. His main waitor is Nikos, one of the best in the business and second in charge is Frangisco, one of my young pals. The restaurant is owned by Yannis, the former bus driver and one of the finest cooks on the island, the God of grill in my opinion. This is the place
to be, especially on Saturday night when they roast
the pig on a spit. Order a kilo of that for you and your friends and a plate of kontosouvli as a starter and you may never want to leave the island. If you don't come early on Saturday you
won't get a table and even if you do, with just
two waitors serving everyone you can end up having
to wait awhile. But the wait is worth it and the
wine they serve will keep you patient and you must not be embarrassed about reminding them that you are waiting for your food. I used to drink the
white but I mixed it with soda so I am not too
drunk when the food arrives. Now I prefer he red which is local and better and I don't even care if it is stronger too. If you come on a
weeknight
they serve the best paidaikia (lambchops) and if you are lucky they will have provatina which is paidakia but older and if done well, as Yiannis does, better. You can
also have a good steak here too and the dishes
that are cooked in the oven are also excellent,
particularly their dolmades (stuffed grape
leaves). Don't leave without desert and a tsipuro.
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In my opinion some of the best food in Greece can be found
at Rolando's, the ouzerie across the street
from Yiannis restaurant, and I should know, having eaten here about a hundred times in the last three years. Rolando is from
Corfu, an island known for its cooking among other
things. He married Chrissa, a girl from Kea, and
has put together one of the best mezedes menus for
drinking ouzo or having an entire meal. Be sure to
order his kalamaraki(fried squid) and his
marinated octopus. The pikilia (assortment) that
he serves with ouzo is one of the best I have had,
especially the keftedes (meatballs). His specialties
the rooster with macaroni, goat with lemon sauce, the world's best mousaka and sofrito and goulash, two dishes you won't find at many restaurants in Kea or Greece. But best of all are his grilled and fried fish, the freshest you will find anywhere. Rolando speaks English so if you
are shy about using your Greek you don't have to
and he can tell you many things about the island.
In the morning Rolando's serves as a cafeneon where
the old men come for their coffee and he also
serves breakfast, including his special omelet
with mushrooms, bacon, ham, cheese, peppers and
some other secret ingredients. His red wine from
the Peloponessos is excellent and he serves Ouzo from Lesvos. I go here every night, sometimes for
ouzo and mezedes and more often for dinner.
I am often here for breakfast and lunch too. In
fact if I get bored at the house I usually head to
Rolandos where I know there will be at least one
guy who will talk to me (Rolando).
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 The best thing to happen to Ioulida since the arrival of Rolando has to be the opening of the Bakshe, a sort of epicurian grocery store that has a large selection of fresh fruits and vegetables, all sorts of nuts and herbs and spices, a large selection of wines from all over Greece as well as the local wines bottled by
the farmers like Kostis at Red Tractor and Giorgo Paouris who both make excellent reds. Run by a young man named Adonis who speaks fluent English and is very happy to answer questions and even order hard to get items, the shop is a far cry from the old vegetable shop that seemed as if it was run by a woman who did not like vegetables. She also owned the computer shop but had her 90 year old mother working there and she did not know anything about computers or cash registers for that matter and whenever I
wanted to buy something she never knew would it cost and would tell me to come back when her daughter was there and I would come back and the daughter was never there and finally they went out of business, thank God. So now we have a really good fresh grocery market and I would rather have no computer store than a bad one.
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 Diagonally across is the supermarket-butcher owned by Mr Tassos and Kyria Anna and their beautiful daughter, Irini who is an actress. The son Giorgos was one of the most colorful charactors of the village but he died in a car accident several years ago. His photo is mounted in the butcher section of the shop. This shop really
is a Super-market. There are actual real supermarkets on the island that are the size of the supermarkets you may be used to. This supermarket has the same stuff crammed into about one tenth the space and also includes a butcher shop and a cheese shop. It is worth going in just to marvel at their organizational skills. If you are renting a house or living in Ioulida then this shop is essential for daily necessities. They also sell many canned and bottled traditional foods from the island and all the
meat is local. Their freezers are full of fish, even octopus and barbouni. If you sit at Rolando's some nights you will be happily rewarded when a white van pulls up and you can watch Kosta, the Albanian butcher, carry an entire half a cow into the walk-in cooler, fresh from its trip from the slaughterhouse down the road. The restaurants in the upper part of the village buy their meat here, even the souvlaki shop. By the way we have another supermarket in the Piazza, which is like going back
in time. You should visit on the way in or out of town. Maria, the owner speaks English and has kept the place looking very traditional, as an island supermarket should be.
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If you take a left at the top of the platia and
walk through the archway and up the steps you will
see on your left the Zacharo-Plastion (sugar-shop)
which has a balcony that overlooks the whole
village and serves excellent deserts and coffee
and is the last stop for many of the villagers
after a night out in the tavernas. It is also
jumping on Sunday after church. It could possibly be
the best place to watch the sunset outside of
Santorini. Beyond the
zacharo-plastion you can continue along the edge
of the village to the Taratsaki Pizza and Crepe
shop which I swear has the best pizza and the best
view and the most amazing layout of any
pizza-parlor I have ever been to. As you continue
up the steps you emerge from the center of the
village and find yourself on the road with the
village on your left and an expansive view on your
right. This area, believe it or not is where the
nightlife of the island used to be. Most people
hung out at the Lion Bar but there were several
other places for a drink as well and it could be
pretty noisy here. Some of the inhabitants who
came to Kea for its peace and quiet found their
worst nightmares realized and left the island
forever. The area now is home to the Albanians who
have come to Greece because for them it is the
land of opportunity and are now raising families
and becoming an important part of the community.
The nightlife that used to keep the neighbors up
until 5am on weekends has now moved to the yacht
harbor of Voukari and the Tastra Cafe in
Galiaskari and the village has once again become
quieter and more traditional though one bar
remains to carry on the flame of the nightlife of
the not too distant past.
But there is a very nice little family run taverna here called To Steki, that like Rolandos and Yannis (either one) is worth the walk. I would not be too far off base in saying that most of the people on sailing charters who only stop here for one day wish they had an extra day to eat at all the good restaurants in Kea (or an extra stomach).
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By continuing along the road you will pass the
Cathedral of Agios Spyridon and at the end of the
village you will find yourself on the old stone
road that takes you past the spring of Kounderis.
The whole area is very green with olives and fig
trees as well as fields on the terraced
mountainside. A little past the cemetery and a
small whitewashed church is the Lion of Kea, a
huge statue carved out of granite from the 6th
century BC. This is the journey that most foreign
travelers take and well worth the walk which is
level and quite easy to make on the old road. Not
much is known about the Lion and why he is
smiling, but they say in the old days Lions used
to roam the hills and valleys which were at one
time covered in trees. Beyond the lion is yet
another spring, this one called the Spring of
Benjiman, with it's troughs for the animals and
marble columns. The path continues on to Otzias if
you are the type who loves walking. In fact the
walking is great in Kea since much of the old road
network still exist as do the footpaths which go
all over the island. They are numbered on the map
and many have signposts that tell you the distance
in minutes from the next village.
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There are several ancient springs in and
around the town and these are now the
fountains you see where man and beast both
drink from. The water is quite pure and better
than any bottled spring water you will find on
your dinner table. It is most likely because
of these springs that the town was built here
in the first place. The biggest is just below
the entrance of the town and is called the
Spring of Rokomenos. The spring of Kourendis
on the road to the lion is considered to be
the best tasting of them all. It is not
uncommon to come upon a herd of sheep, horses
or cows drinking at these fountains on the
outskirts of the village though you need no
worry about disease since they use the the
tubs where the spring water runs off and the
humans use the spring itself. These springs
and fountains also attract butterflies, dragon
flies and an occasional bee or two since one
of the main products of Kea is honey. Kea is
also known for the quality of it's milk and
cheese as well as the excellent quality of
it's pork. The animals are kept far from town
in the terraced fields and on Sunday after
church the farmers who come into town to hang
out wth their friends in the cafes can create
quite a commotion. The best cafeneon in the
village which was in the back part of the town
hall has closed, but in the years past you
could hear the farmers in the cafe, talking,
drinking and singing sometimes even being
joined by the village priest. Now they hang
out at Yannis, drinking enough to make driving
their pickups back down through the village an
adventure.
There are a number of stores in the village
and if you look hard enough you can find just
about anything you need. Kyria Eleni, widow of Stelios, the old
shoemaker, sits in her show shop below the rooms she rents upstairs. There are only two rooms, no AC and the bathroom is down the hall and she speaks no English but since few people know about them you have a good chance of finding them empty. (22880 22057) The bakery below the
main platia has fresh bread every day and a
wide selection of pastries, cookies and cakes.
The most facinating shop is the other bakery
somewhere in the maze of the village above the church of Agios Spiridon which you
may be able to find by following your nose.
This traditional bakery uses the old methods
and a visit here is an educational
experience. They say
that because Ioulis sits on top of the ancient
city you can get from the top of the village
to the very bottom through underground caves
and passageways.
Just above the Rocomeno Health Center, near the
Piatsa entrance of the village and the parking lot where everyone
leaves their cars, is the old school, which is
now the town hall of Kea. The building built
by Andrea's great grandfather is in the
neo-classic style and is considered to be one
of the most elegant examples of this type ofschool building in Greece. Behind the old school-new town hall is the outdoor movie theater which usually opens in July and shows movies nightly until the end of August. There is a small spring right behind the building and you can follow the path in front of it to Tria Pigadia spring and some of the farms in the area, notably those owned by Mavromakis, the charismatic butcher who keeps his cows, sheep and goats up here and can sometimes
be seen herding them down the path towards the slaughterhouse.
 Because there are no hotels in the village
most tourists come up during the day. But there
are plenty of taxis and buses in the summer so
a nightime visit for dinner is possible if not
preferable. The best thing to do is time it so that you get here about 7pm and walk through the village to the lion and then come back, have a drink or an ouzo and meze and then have dinner at one of the restaurants here. They will arrange for a taxi to pick you up in the piazza when you are ready to leave. If you want to stay in the village in the last couple years the Hotel Serie has opened on the road a couple hundred meters from the entrance of the town. Kea Villas at the top of the village are an option though walking home after a big meal at Rolando's may have
you wishing you had found something closer. Your best option if you want to be close to the fun is probably what I call Villa Isabella, but is more popularly known as Isabella's house, a big old historic home owned by a famous Swiss writer who rents it to families and groups for
reasonable rates. It overlooks both Rolando's and Yiannis' taverna and has a spectacular view of the village and the sea all the way to Athens.
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 Ioulis
is also the home of the painter Del (or
Dellapizza) who may be the heart and soul of
the village. He is the one who keeps the
streets clean, white-washes the walls and
steps, frees the ancient pathways from years
of over-growth and keeps all the plants and
trees healthy. The reason Ioulida looks so
beautiful is because of Dellapizza and one day
there will be a statue of him in the platia.
He is also a wonderful artist whose work is an
amazing look into the personalities and
politics of the island. During the summer of 2007 Dellapizza decided to fix up the abandoned lot that had stood for several years after they tore down the building that used to house the butcher and the electric shop. For weeks he worked to create this beautiful and colorful garden and platia which he used to show an exhibit of his paintings on August 15th. It now has an almost life-sized chess-set where you can actually play by lifing up the giant pieces and moving them around the
board.
It will give you a whole new perspective on the game of chess. Del's new studio is a cave carved into the wall by his garden. For more about Dellapizza see
The Art of Dellapizza.
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