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GREEK CITIES AND GREEK ISLANDS
ABOUT SAMOS

General Information
Samos is in the East part of the Aegean Sea, close to the Asia Minor coastline. Its geographically located between the parallels 37.49 and 37.37 to the North and the meridians 26.33 and 27.04 to the East.

To the East of Samos is Turkey and Asia Minor, from which Samos is separated by the Eptastadio channel, (called Dar Bogaz in Turkish) whish is only 1650 meters wide at its narrowest point. To the North is the chersonese of Erythrea (Turkey), Northwest is Chios Island, west and southwest is Ikaria and the Fournoi islands and to the South are the islands of the Dodecanese. The ones closest to Samos are Agathonisi, Arkoi and Patmos.

Its the 8th in size Greek island and its area is 477,395 km2. Out of these, 69.6% (332,267 km2) is mountainous, 22% (105,027 km2) is semi-mountainous and 8.4%
Its stretched in a west towards east direction, starting from the cape Katavasis till the cape Gatos, 44,3 km in length and from the north towards the south, from cape Avlakia till the cape of Samiopoula a total of 19km. Its total coastline is 86 nautical miles and its distance from Fournoi is 3.4 nautical miles, from Ikaria 9.8, from Agathonisi 9.3 and from Chios Island 35 nautical miles.

The population of the island is 33814 inhabitants (2001 census), it is comprised of 4 municipalities, Vathi, Karlovasi, Pythagoreio and Marathokampos and its capital is Samos Town.

The biggest gulf of the island is the gulf of Samos. There are many smaller ones along the islands coastline.

Samos is a mountainous island and it has two high mountains. The first one is rough and rocky Kerkis (or Kerketeus) with a height of 1443 meters and the second is verdant and fertile Ambelos (or Karvounis) with a height of 1160 meters.

There are few plains, the largest one is the plain of Chora, which is in the south side of the island and is bounded by the villages of Chora, Pythagoreio, Miloi and Pagondas.

The high mountains contribute to the many rainfalls that shower the island in the wintertime. This is the reason for the lush vegetation of Samos and the many rich freshwater springs. These were the reasons for the name Hydrele (meaning rich in water) that Samos had in ancient times.

There arent any rivers in the island but there are many torrents that carry water even in the summertime.

Samos produces many and various products. For that the ancient Greeks used to say this island produces even birds' milk. Its major products are the famous Samian oil and wine. In the past few years, also the tourist industry is dynamically growing, ranking Samos as one of the major tourist destinations in Greece.

When the visitor arrives at Samos, he has the opportunity to choose the place to spend his holidays according to his particular interests. In every part of Samos there are flats or rooms to let. Samos has approximately thirty villages, but the main tourist areas are five. Samos town, Karlovasi, Campos Marathokampou, Kokkari and Pythagorio.

SAMOS TOWN
Is located on the east part of the island and it's the capital of Samos Island. It has a large number of big hotels and many rooms to let. The visitors can find many restaurants and a big market with all kind of shops for shopping. There is a cinema and many bars for entertainment. As the capital of the island, it has many banks, many tourist offices and all the public services. From the port of Samos town you can visit Ephesus in Asia Minor and many other Greek islands.

KARLOVASI
Is the co-capital of Samos, located on the nort-west part of the island in a distance of 35 Km from Samos town. It has a big commercial port, witch connect Karlovasi with Pereaus and other islands of the North Aegean. Karlovasi is one of the main commercial centers of the island, with many banks, state offices and a large market. All around Karlovasi you can find beautiful clean beaches to swim, Potami and Seitani are the most important of them. Seitani is an environmental protected area and you can get there only on foot, it's worth seeing it. In Karlovasi you can find big hotels, flats and rooms to let and all the tourist facilities. The combination of bars, taverns and restaurants, promises a rather interesting nightlife.

KAMBOS OF MARATHOKAMPOS
It is located on the southwest part of the island and in a distance of 55 km from Samos town. It's mainly a tourist area and during the tourist period, every summer, hosts thousands of visitors from all over the word. Kampos has all sorts of tourist facilities, tourist agencies, cars to rent, super markets and all kinds of tourist shops. There are many bars and restaurants, one of them "LOUKOULOS". The nightlife at Kampos is not intense, but the visitor can do many interesting thinks during the daytime. He can swim in one of many gorgeous beaches, or to climb at mount Kerkis. The combination of the high rocky mountain with the clean blue sea is impressive.

KOKKARI
Is a traditional Greek fishing village, on the north part of the island and in a distance of 15 km of Samos town. The visitor can find many hotels and rooms to stay and many tourist offices for his information. Kokkari has a quiet but interesting nightlife. The visitors can enjoy dinner in one of the restaurants and drinks at the picturesque square of the village. Very close to Kokkari you can find many beautiful beaches. Tsamadu, Lemonakia, Tsambu are the most important ones.

PYTHAGORIO
Is one of the best-known summer resorts of Samos Island. It is located on the south part of the island in a distance of 10 km from Samos town. Pythagorio has a large and picturesque port, filled with private sailboats. The port of Pythagorio connects the south part of Samos with many islands of the Dodecanese. There is a boat to Turkey (Ephesus) as well. On the main street, by the port, the visitors can find restaurants, small bars, commercial shops, tourist offices, banks e.t.c. We have to mention, that all around Pythagorio there are many important archeological sites, that the visitors should visit.