The beautiful village of Sangri, located only 11 km from the main town, is a community with 600 inhabitants. The area is full of beautiful houses, marble paved streets, towers, windmills, Byzantine churches, monasteries and ruins of old temples in the middle of endless vineyards and well cultivated orchards. The village of Sangri is divided in three smaller districts, Epano Sangri, Kanakari and Kato Sangri. Northwest, a little bit outside the village, in the beautiful valley of Agioi Anargyroi, you can see the Venetian tower of Palaiologos, the farm of the Bogiatzoglou family with the small traditional temple of Agioi Anargyroi and the church of Panagia, next to the tower. At the area of Kato Sangri, you can find the well-maintained Venetian tower of the Somaripa family and on the east, the most fertile area of the village, the 'Toubakades', with plenty of waters. Furthermore, you can see the monastery of Timios Stavros (Holy Cross), which today belongs to the Barotsi family. It was flourishing at the beginnings of the 18th century, when the abbots and the monks contributed all together for the increment of the richness of the monastery. At the area of 'Kato Sangri', you can find the school of the village, built inside the one and only pine-tree forest in Naxos, created from the first teachers of Sangri.
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Leaving the village of Melanes and driving through the orchards of Paratrechos, we reach the village of Potamia, famous for its orchards and for fruit of every kind. About 9 km from the main town, we enter a village full of green orchards and fruit-trees. Potamia is divided in three parishes, Ano Potamia, Mesi Potamia and Kato Potamia, which come under the same community. The village has almost 500 inhabitants, many less each year that passes through, because the villagers are trying to work in the main town, since the tourism started to increase in Naxos. As we reach Ano Potamia, we come across the church of Agios Ioannis. This is a good place for a rest. Refreshments to satisfy all contemporary tastes are available, but one can also try the preserved fruit, bitter orange and apricot, which is produced in Potamia. The plentiful running water of the spring, has decorated the area with age-long trees, picturesque water mills and orchards. The dark green olive groves complete the beauty of the scenery. In a green garden with churches and towered houses, lies the 9th century church of Agios Mamas. It is one of the most important churches of the island, thanks to its remarkable architecture, sculptures and frescoes.
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Just a little bit after Scado, driving west, we come across the village of Mesi. Inhabited by 150 people, mostly farmers, the beautiful village of Mesi is full of orchards and vineyards, cultivated intensively by the villagers, thanks to the richness of the soil. Near Mesi, there are the ruins of ancient hamlets and fortresses. The beautiful parish church, of Agia Paraskevi, adds splendor to the whole village.
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Melanes is a small village, but the richest one in tradition and legends. It is located in a beautiful valley full of olive and fruit trees, just a breath away from the main town, around 8 km. The valley has taken its name from its black soil ('Melanes' means 'black'). In the Melanes’ valley, also are the villages of Kournochori and Agioi Apostoloi. At Kournochori you will find the Frangopoulos tower-house. The tower reminds us that the region was one of the most important fiefs of the island. Leaving Melanes, our route takes us to Flerio, also known as 'Ellinas' ('Greek'). There you will find the ''Kouros''. The statue was lying on the ground of an ancient quarry since the 7th century BC and represents a person, (its sex is not defined), which measures 6,40metres, and now lays in the corner of an orchard, which is under the exclusive protection of the Kondylis family. The statue is 200 years older than Acropolis in the city of Athens. Another monument worth seeing in Melanes, is the temple of the Jesuit Monks, in the region of Kalamitsia, in a magic location in the countryside. A monk of the temple named R. Sauger, built it in the 17th century, in a way that nobody can build it the same. Pigeon''s houses, orchards, small waterfalls and a beautiful church behind it, surround the temple. The ground of the area, was famous for its fertility since antiquity, but also for the marble hidden in it.
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In a distance of 14 km from the main town of Naxos, we come across the beautiful and most romantic village in the entire island. It is surrounded from green valleys, with vineyards, olive groves and cherry trees. The village is also famous for its waters, as Chora''s water supply comes from here, and its songwriters. Every single mountain that surrounds the village is a marble quarry. Kinidaros was recently renovated; it has nearly 650 inhabitants and almost all of them work in open marble quarries. In the beautiful valley of Halandra, at the north side of the village, the temple of Agios Artemios is located, one of the largest and most imposing basilicas of Naxos. Built in the 18th century, around the year 1779, the temple celebrates on the 20th of October. In the area of Agios Artemios, ancient graves were found as well as many other archaeological discoveries, like old Byzantine coins.This proves that the temple of Agios Artemios was built atop another temple, the ancient temple of Artemis. In Kinidaros you will also find the parish church of Agios Georgios in the center of the village, which celebrates on the 23rd of April. These buildings, as well as the water mills which existed in the valley of Halandra, are evidence of economic activity in the region, which also explains the large population of the village during the antiquity and Byzantium. Today the village is very well known for its musicians and its feasts and festivals.
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