NOTIO AIGAIO - Geography and history
The Southern Aegean region comprises a group of about 35 large islands and a multitude of uninhabited rocky islets. The islands of the nomós of the Cyclades are situated in the heart of the Aegean Sea, in an imaginary circle around Délos, the sacred centre and sanctuary of Apollo. They are mountainous islands with very little arable land. Some of the best known of them are Mykonos, Paros and Santorini.
At the southeastern end of the Aegean there are the islands of the nomós of the Dodecanese (12 islands), which are thought to be the summits of the mountains of Aegeas, the land that was a continuation of Asia Minor and sank hundreds of thousands of years ago. This nomós includes the islands of RhodesPatmos and Kos.
The capital of the Cyclades is Ermoupoli on the island of Siros. The climate is one of the healthiest in the Mediterranean, with mild winters, cool summers and high sunshine totals.
Tourism: the motor of development
The region's economy is based mainly on tourism. Rhodes is the largest tourist centre in the eastern Mediterranean. Other well-known resorts are Mykonos, Paros, Santorini, Kos and Patmos. The upsurge in tourism has led to the decline and gradual abandonment of the primary and secondary sectors, which in turn has led to the depopulation of many of the region's islands.
The primary sector is faced with structural problems due to the fact that what little farmland there is on the islands is fragmented and inadequately irrigated.
The region possesses ? especially in the Cyclades ? some of the richest fishing grounds in Greece. Here is a strong development in the extractive industries, with the Cyclades leading in the production of emery, Santorin earth, kaolin, bentonite and talc. Marble from Paros, Naxos and Tinos is also well known.
Trade in the region has expanded considerably as a result not only of the high level of tourist activity but also of the favourable customs tariffs applying in the Dodecanese.
Different levels of development
The economy of the nomós of the Dodecanese is based mainly on tourism and trade. Rhodes is the main economic and social centre, the other islands acting only as satellites.
In the Dodecanese the islands are a long way both from each other and from the centre (Piraeus), while in the Cyclades the islands are closer together and not so far from the centre. Naxos is the largest and most fertile island in Cycaldes. The economy of the Cyclades is based on farming, the extractive industries and tourism. Ermoupoli, the traditional trading and shipping centre, has lost its former splendour and is now overshadowed by Athens.
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