Hydra Ídra

Chief town: Hydra

The island of Hydra (ancient Hydrea) is a bare limestone ridge, 12km/7.5 mi long and up to 5 km/3 mi wide, lying off the southeast coast of the Argolid. This arid and infertile island lives mainly on the tourist trade and the sale of its craft products (jewelry, pottery, embroidery; hand-woven cloth, leather goods). A tempting local speciality is amygdalotá (almond cake).

The island was occupied from Mycenaean times, but until the 18th century A.D. remained a place of no importance.

In the 15th century, and again after 1770, following the rising in the Morea, Albanian refugees settled on the island and through their commercial and seafaring activities, together with a certain amount of piracy, made it a wealthy cultural and social center. During the war of liberation from the Turks Hydra converted its merchant fleet into a naval force and also met a considerable proportion of the costs of the war. It has now returned to its former unimportance.

Regular services from Athens (Piraeus).