Gioura - Thessaly - Gioura - Greece Anchorage in Thessaly and Central Greece

Gioura, Thessaly and Central Greece, Greece, has a small majestic cove with emerald green water and a steep cliff. Gioura (Yioura) is in the Marine Park of the Sporades north of Alonnisos, above Kyra Panagia or Pelagos, with rocky shores and a mountainous island covered with low shrubs. The island is famous for the cave of the Cyclops with stalagmites and stalactites, has no harbour, and its underwater caves and seas are home to the endangered Monk Seal; inland there are rare birds and birds of prey and a unique species of wild goats, with one or two guards protecting wildlife. Excavations in the cave show Middle Neolithic, Bronze Age, Hellenistic, and Roman remains, including potsherds, bone tools, fish hooks, and oil lamps, indicating use as a sanctuary around the 2nd and 3rd century A.D.