Salamina is also the home of the Greek poet Angelos Sikelianos’ house, which was restored in 2006. While living there Sikelianos had written some of his most important works and a frequent guest of his was King Pavlos, who had visited him every time he had to go and check the naval base on the island. An interesting fact about Sikelianos is that in 1946 he was chosen for a chairman of the Association of Greek Literature Scholars and three years later he was a nominee for the Nobel Prize.

The island is also the home of some sculptures by the famous Yanoulis Halepas – one of the best Greek sculptors, and they can be seen in the temples Saint Mina and Saint Dimitar.

Did you know that the ancient Greek tragedy author Euripides was born and had worked on the island? The cave that they say that he used to live in, is in Peristeria and can be visited and the open amphitheatre, which holds his name, was built 15 years ago, it has 3000 seats and a great view of the sea.

Find the strange house!

One of Salamina’s landmarks, which is not mentioned in any tourist guide is the house made out of wooden branches, which were taken out of the sea. It looks like a forest palace taken out of an Andersen’s story.

In the area around the house, you can find benches made in the same style, which are for the fans of the local soccer team and also a platform for pool diving, which during summer is put to sail in the sea.

What do the citizens of Salamina do?

The biggest naval base in Greece is in Salamina and 10 000 people work in it, 2 000 of whom are local citizens. For the Salamina people it is prestigious to work in the base and there was even a wish to work there, which older people were saying to younger ones regarding their professional careers. Also a big part of the food and provision needs of the base are covered by the local market and this way the local employment is flourishing. During the last century, some of the most popular jobs on the island were cashier at a minimarket and an employer of the base. The old citizens of the island used to call the naval base “Saint Spas,” because it gave them the opportunity to work during the hard years in the country. After the end of World War Two and the Civil War in Greece, many people leave the country but the citizens of Salamina are of the few ones, who did not need to leave.

How do I get there?

In order to get to Salamina you need to go with a car to Perea or to Pieria and from there to take a ferry. Every 15 minutes there is a ferry from Perama and for 15 minutes you can get to Paloukya – the price for a ticket is ?1 and for a car ?5. The ferry also travels at night. There is also a ship from Nea Perama every 30 minutes and for 3 minutes you can get to Salamina. When you are on the island, you can move around either with a bus or with a taxi.

From the center of Athens you can get a bus to Perea, where you can find the closest port to Salamina.