Ithaki.org Offers chat forum,web hosting,travel maps,real estate & more
Title
Ithaki
Description
The island of Ithaca is located west of the mainland of Greece in the Ionian Sea and is the second smallest inhabited island of the so called "Heptanese". It is well known around the world owing its fame to Homer's epic poems. The name Ithaca has been used in place of the words: target, homesickness, nostalgia and return in many poems and other literature.
Ithaca consists of two peninsulas with about equal extent which are joined by the isthmus of Aetos that is only 620 m. wide. The island has a length of 29 km. max. width of 6.5 km. with the total area covering 92.5 sq. km. The channel between Ithaca and Cephallonia is 14 miles long, with a maximum width of 3 miles and a minimum of 1.5 miles. Its coastline is about 45 mile which is indented all around with many natural ports. The island is mostly rocky and mountainous but it does have several small valleys where olive trees, vineyards, vegetables and fruit trees are cultivated. The main physical characteristic of Ithaca is the high contrast in its scenery. There are huge menacing rocks jutting up from the ground and just a few steps away are the tranquil orchards and vineyards.The three highest mountains on the island are Mt.Petaleiko in the south, the Homeric Mt. Neritos and the Mt. of Exoghi in the north.
The occupations of the people are: cultivation, stock-breeding, trade, technical jobs, fishing and tourist businesses, also a large percentage of the working population are traditional sailors. There are thousand of emigrants of Ithacan origin living in m parts of the world chiefly Australia, South Africa and the United States, many are also living in Greek cities of Athens and Patras.
