The seven substantial islands and four minor islets scattered off the north Aegean coast of Asia Minor and northeastern Greece form a rather arbitrary archipelago. Although there are some passing similarities in architecture and landscape, the strong individual character of each island is far more striking. Despite their proximity to modern Turkey, members of the group bear few signs of an Ottoman heritage, especially when compared with Rhodes and Kós. There's the occasional mosque, often shorn of its minaret, but by and large the enduring Greekness of these islands is testimony to the four-millennium-long Hellenic presence in Asia Minor, which ended only in 1923. This heritage is regularly referred to by the Greek government in an intermittent propaganda war with Turkey over the sovereignty of these far-flung outposts. Tensions here have often been worse than in the Dodecanese, aggravated by potential undersea oil deposits in the straits between the islands and the Anatolian mainland. The Turks have also persistently demanded that Límnos, astride the sea lanes to and from the Dardanelles, be demilitarized, but so far Greece has shown no signs of giving in.

 

The heavy military presence can be disconcerting, and despite the growth of tourism, large tracts of land remain off-limits as army or air force bases. But as in the Dodecanese, local tour operators do a thriving business shuttling passengers for inflated tariffs between the easternmost islands and the Turkish coast with its amazing archeological sites and busy resorts. Most of these islands' main ports and towns are not quaint, picturesque spots, but urbanized administrative, military and commercial centres. In most cases you should suppress any initial impulse to take the next boat out, and press on into the interiors.

Sámos ranks as the most visited island of the group, but if you can leave the crowds behind, is still arguably the most verdant and beautiful, even after a devastating July 2000 fire. Ikaría to the west remains relatively unspoiled, if a minority taste, and nearby Foúrni is a haven for determined solitaries, as are the Híos satellites Psará and Inoússes , neither of which have any package tourism. Híos proper offers far more cultural interest than any neighbours to the south, but its natural beauty has been ravaged by fires, and the development of tourism was until the late 1980s deliberately retarded. Lésvos may not impress initially, though once you get a feel for its old-fashioned, Anatolian ambience, you may find it hard to leave. By contrast virtually no foreigners and few Greeks visit Áyios Efstrátios , and with good reason. Límnos to the north is much livelier, but its appeal is confined mostly to the area immediately around the attractive port town. To the north, Samothráki and Thássos are totally isolated from the others, except via the mainland ports of Kavála or Alexandhroúpoli, and remain easier to visit from northern Greece, which administers them. Samothráki (officially in Thrace) has one of the most dramatic seaward approaches of any Greek island, and one of the more important ancient sites. Thássos (technically belonging to eastern Macedonia) is more varied, with sandy beaches, mountain villages and minor archeological sites.