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 Location |
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Ios is located to the south of Naxos, between Sikinos and Santorini and is 108 sq km in area, has 81km of coastline and is 107 nautical miles from the Athens port of Piraeus. It's a mountainous island with no cultivable plots of land. It has wonderful sand beaches, clear sea and attractive landscape with olive groves and vineyards.
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 Population |
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Ios has a population of 1,650, with 1,450 of the population living in Ios town. Ios gets extremely overcrowded with partying tourists, however, during the summer months.
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 History |
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According to mythology, Ios was first settled by Phoenicians and was said to be the last resting place of Homer. From 1207 onwards it belonged to the Duchy of Naxos, was persistently a victim of pirate attacks and in 1537 was captured by the Turks as were many of the other Greek islands
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 Religion |
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There are several churches in Ios, including the church of St. Catherine, which was erected on the site of the ancient temple of Apollo. There are also over 300 small chapels scattered over the island.
This topic below is not island-specific. It applies to the nation of Greece.
Orthodox Christianity is the recognized dominant religion of Greece and it is legally protected by the state. This has caused legal discrimination against non-Orthodox Churches, and although the constitution of 1975 removed the power of most of the old laws against Protestants, problems still exist today. There is a lot of fear towards anything outside of the Orthodox Church, especially on the islands. However, repeated rulings of the European Court of Justice in favour of religious minorities in cases of discrimination have led to a relative increase of the freedoms that these religious minorities now enjoy.
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 Prayer |
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Pray that God would give some Christians a heart to be committed to praying for Ios
Pray that there might be a permanent Christian presence on the island and that some of the islanders would be reached with the message of the gospel.
Ios is often considered as 'The Party Island' and so the island sees a great deal of tourists practising immorality and with a spiritual emptiness inside. Pray that God would call these young people to reconsider their way of life and to receive His love and truth into their hearts!
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 Miscellaneous |
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 Celebrations |
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 Resources |
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www.greektravel.com
www.in2greece.com
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