PALEO TRIKERI ISLAND

This 4.5 ^km2 island (Παλαιό Τρίκερι/Palaio Trikeri) has around fifty inhabitants but no cars. Or any roads, for that matter. Today prized for its crystal-clear beaches (to the north and west), it boasts two tavernas and a few accommodations on the harbor (to the south) as well as villas for rent. Located at the entrance to the Pagasetic Gulf, it can be reached by mini day cruises from Volos or by a 4-minute water cab ride from Alogoporos, the tiny port north of Trikeri. Planted with olive trees, the island can be explored on foot in 2-3 hours, with views over the islet of Pythos, the Gulf and Mount Pelion. Its highest point is the Evangelistras monastery, 129 m above sea level. Built in 1837 and occupied by nuns, it is sometimes used as (rudimentary) accommodation for tourists. In ancient times, the island was home to the small city-state of Kikynethos. But it is best known for having been used as a prison in the ^20th century. More than 3,000 Bulgarian soldiers and civilians were detained here in 1913, at the end of the Second Balkan War. It was then used as a place of internment for some 4,700 left-wing Greek women, some with their children, during and after the civil war, from 1946 to 1953. It's a dark page in Greek history: over 200 Bulgarians were killed, and an unknown number of women and children died of hunger and disease. Two small plaques installed in 2017 at the Evangelistras monastery recall the fate of the women prisoners.