Portes () is a Greek fishing village located on the east side of

Aegina Aegina (; ; ) is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina (mythology), Aegina, the mother of the mythological hero Aeacus, who was born on the island and became its king. ...

. It is about 28 km from the main town of Aegina. Behind the village is an agricultural plain with hills on the edges. There is a tiny harbour with fishing boats surrounded by a rocky mole. The shore and sea bed are pebbly. The inhabitants of the village live mainly on

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

. The landscape and the wild beauty attracts visitors. It is said that Portes suffered from the activities of the Ottoman pirate

Barbarossa Barbarossa, a name meaning "red beard" in Italian, primarily refers to: * Frederick Barbarossa (1122–1190), Holy Roman Emperor * Hayreddin Barbarossa (c. 1478–1546), Ottoman admiral * Operation Barbarossa, the Axis invasion of the Soviet Uni ...

, so they built houses without windows, only with doors (portes or πόρτες in Greek) which is the origin of the name of the village. A second explanation is that the name Portes comes from the word porto (i.e.

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

) since the village has a port from which volcanic material, named Mavropetres, were loaded into ships that sailed to

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

. There are fishing areas at ''Kavos Antoni''. The area is ideal for

scuba diving Scuba diving is a Diving mode, mode of underwater diving whereby divers use Scuba set, breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface breathing gas supply, and therefore has a limited but variable endurance. The word ''scub ...

and underwater spearfishing.

References

External links

Portes Beach

{{coord missing, Greece Populated places in Islands (regional unit) Aegina