---

Modern Description: Five kilometres west of Pyrgos, a branch road leads south 1.5 km to the village of Neochóri built against the cliff of natural rock in a panoramic position, overlooking a fertile landscape of citrus and olive trees. The traditional stone buildings and hillside position are similar to the villages of the north coast, but the light and aspect are quite different. At the heart of its network of narrow, precipitous streets is the church of the Taxiarchis, with a fine, carved iconostasis, recently re-gilded. In spite of its name (‘New Village'), the settlement here is clearly of some antiquity, because the deep valley below represented the only pass through the Ambelos massif: there are sculpted niches, probably relating to the cult of the Nymphs, and a rock-cut 6th century BC inscription recording the names of the builders of a wooden bridge across the stream at the bottom of the valley, 1.8 km below Neochori, on the road to Skouréïka. (The inscription is about 3m off the ground near the east end of the existing bridge, cut into the rock-face on the east side of the stream, where it passes through a narrow gorge.)
Trismegistos Geo: 54196

Info: McGilchrist's Greek Islands

(From McGilchrist’s Greek Islands, © Nigel McGilchrist 2010, excerpted with his gracious permission. Click for the books)

---