ALATAS ISLAND

This long, narrow little island of 56 ha (Αλατάς) is a bird reserve with thousands of olive trees and reptiles (mainly lizards). It owes its name to the ancient Milina salt flats. In the central part is a beach (west coast) and the fortified monastery of Agii Saranda (^18th century), abandoned since 2001. In 1823, Greek insurgents from Macedonia occupied the monastery and repelled an Ottoman raid. The island is currently the subject of a project to create a huge hotel complex with a thousand beds.