“Piracy” is directly related with the Aegean archipelago since the ancient times.
The roots of the word “piracy” come from the ancient Greek πειράομαι, or peiráomai, called pi-rá-o-me, meaning “attempt;” i.e., an attempt to rob for personal gain.
Aegean archipelago, due to its special conditions (geographical location, closed sea, thousands of islands inhabited by ancient civilisations), was one of the very first seas where ships were used in favour of trade.
That means it was also one of the first seas where piracy actually begun!
MILOS ISLAND and PIRACY
The famous cove of Kleftiko (Bandits’ Lair) was an old pirates’ hideout and now one of the most popular tourist attractions in Milos island. Kleftiko is famous for its crystal-clear water, elaborate caves and imposing rock formations, and is the destination for several daily sailboat cruises during the summer months.
Kleftiko, on the southwest tip of Milos island, is only accessible by boat or hike. Sailboats for hire go as far as Kleftiko stopping there for 2-4 hours for swimming, snorkeling and cookout on the beach. The larger, “Round of Milos” boats go by Kleftiko making approx. a 2-hour stop for swimming before continuing their regular route around the island. You cannot claim to have seen Milos island if you haven’t visited Kleftiko at least once!
JET SKI SAFARI to KLEFTIKO
Get ready for a thrill jet ski safari ride to the famous pirate hideout of Kleftiko!
Leave the calm, colorful beaches of Milos for a few hours to ride the waves on a jet ski. Explore Milos unique sights by the sea and get ready for an awesome one-of-a-kind experience!
Choose Kleftiko, the most famous natural attraction of Milos, grab your favourite company and enjoy this escorted 2.5 hour adventure safari into the open sea!
Before you depart you will have a briefing session. Once you are set with the instructions, a speed boat will accompany you to your destination, and an experienced captain will show you the best features that Milos coastline has to offer.
DID YOU KNOW? “The Britannic” was Titanic ’s sister boat (built by the same company) and one of the 5 biggest shipwrecks in history – a sunken giant at the bottom of the Aegean not far from the port of Kea, known as a true diver’s paradise.
The HMS Britannic had been serving as the World War I hospital ship when it struck a German mine five kilometers off the island of Kea, 60km southeast of Athens, in November 1916. The ship sank in just 55 minutes.
Leading up to the November 21 centenary of the sinking, applications for diving permits have soared and the Greek government wants the 49,000-tonne wreck, the largest in the world, to become the centerpiece of a series of marine museums.
The Britannic’s keel was laid at the Harland and Wolff shipyards in Belfast, just five months before the Titanic was launched. The ship was barely taking shape when the Titanic went down, and the disaster threw the shipyard into a crisis of confidence.
These ships were technological firsts. They were the first ships ever this big, and after the Titanic’s failure, the engineers worked to improve the technological designs.
As it evacuated a thousand crew members, Captain Bartlett tried to beach it on Kea, but the ship had already begun to list to starboard, and the port propeller hung half out of the water as it roared to life.
The idea of an underwater museum was mooted as early as 1963 but was only legislated in 2013.
More than 1,000 wrecks have been mapped in the Greek seas and some are already designated museums, but Kea dreams of becoming a global underwater World War I museum with three wrecks.