Amorgos

Amorgos is the easternmost island of the Cyclades, a long, narrow strip of rock rising to 823 metres and trailing sixteen smaller islets in its wake. Its position at the edge of the group made it a genuine crossroads in antiquity: the island once supported three separate city-states, was a member of the Delian League, and gave its name to the Battle of Amorgos in 322 BC, a naval clash between Athenian and Macedonian fleets. The 2021 census put the island's population at 1,961, concentrated mainly in the harbour towns of Katapola and Aigiali and in the hilltop capital, Chora.

Amorgos owes much of its modern profile to the Panagia Hozoviotissa monastery, a narrow whitewashed structure built directly into a cliff face above the sea, founded in the early second millennium and still home to an icon said to date from the year 812. The island's other defining moment came in 1988, when Luc Besson filmed much of The Big Blue around its coastline; the film's success turned Amorgos into a magnet for freedivers and travellers chasing the same dramatic combination of cliffs and deep blue water, a reputation reinforced by the devastating magnitude-7.7 earthquake and 30-metre tsunami that struck the island in 1956.

Sailors are drawn to the same coastline for more practical reasons: steep cliffs drop straight into clear water, and the natural harbours at Katapola and Aigiali that once sheltered ancient traders now shelter modern yachts. It has become a popular stop for gulet charter guests exploring Greece, whether the plan is to climb up to the monastery, swim off a quiet cove, or simply admire the cliffs from the water.