Article of Financial Times about Ikaria: Chris Moss, Live Long and Prosper

Article of Financial Times about Ikaria: Chris Moss, Live Long and Prosper

Live long and prosper
By Chris Moss

Scientists are trying to understand why residents of the laid-back Greek island of Ikaria enjoy such longevity

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/d3986dfa-d7fb-11e2-b4a4-00144feab7de.html#ixzz2Xi3bCkID

You know a place is laid-back when the only locals in a hurry are the turtles. In a cool stream behind Livadi beach, the little chaps would paddle up really close, pop their heads out of the water, take a look, realise I was a 6ft tall potential predator and then dive under water and swim off as fast as possible.

Otherwise, Ikaria does not do stress. Over the centuries, the 40km-long mountainous island, just west of the Turkish coast, has seen its fair share of pirates and invaders, wars and revolts – even a four-month flirtation with independence from Greece in 1912. But, in recent years, it has become known as a place of peaceful, pastoral mores and long-lived locals. An Ikarian is two and a half times more likely to reach the age of 90 than an American, and, on average, Ikarians live 10 years longer than other Europeans.

For the past four years, a team from the University of Athens Medical School has been visiting Ikaria, drawing blood and studying the islanders’ lifestyles to find out the key to their longevity. They have already reported in scholarly reviews on the Ikarian diet, coffee consumption and testosterone levels and were back on the island this month for the latest stage of their research. Of course, a lot of the magic might be trapped inside the islanders’ genes, but perhaps there’s something in that Ikarian lifestyle, or food, or drink, or something in the very air, that can rub off on visitors.

Getting there was an odyssey. Given the distance, it should take three and a bit hours from London. It took 15. Ikaria has some domestic flights from Athens but no international airport, so our journey involved a flight to the island of Samos, a bus to the port, then a slow ferry from Samos to Ikaria, stopping at the island of Fourni on the way. The wisest move is to treat the voyage as a sort of mini-cruise. My girlfriend and I kicked back on the deck – June is early in the season, so there was plenty of space – and enjoyed frappés and the bright blue Aegean. It was dark when we docked but after a short transfer by minibus – the clock now nudging 11pm – we were eating garlicky melitzanosalata (aubergine dip) and moussaka and drinking red wine overlooking the tiny port of Armenistis.

We woke up at the stylish, clifftop Erofili Beach Hotel to a cloudless sky, a breakfast of fruit, pine honey and Greek yoghurt, and three empty beaches within walking distance. Armenistis is a tranquil base for a holiday. Like most Mediterranean islanders, Ikarians have historically lived away from the coast, where the land is better, the air cooler and where pirates are less likely to steal your daughter/goat/gold. The port is used by a few local fishermen but is essentially a place to eat, sleep and relax.

©Corbis

One of the island’s beaches

Once we’d met the turtles and had a swim, we joined local guide and painter Rania Mytika and took a hired jeep into the highlands. The road was a series of hairpins, winding up through rocky, arid ground to a high mountain plateau.

We stopped at Christos Raches, a town famous on the island for its nocturnal habits. Some 1,000 people (an eighth of Ikaria’s population) live in or around the town and on Fridays and Saturdays, and during panegyri (festivals), it’s a community hub.

“Because so many people are farmers or smallholders and have to work late, they tend to socialise after 10pm,” said Rania. “People meet, as elsewhere in Greece, at the local kafeneio [café] but on Ikaria it’s not just for men or for a certain age group. The community organises everything, and everyone is invited. You won’t see old grannies in black on Ikaria but you will see them chatting to young people, even in clubs playing rock music.

“This social mixing helps prevent loneliness and depression. No one on Ikaria has panic attacks – except me, but I’m an artist!”

......... for more check the site from Financial Times!!!

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/d3986dfa-d7fb-11e2-b4a4-00144feab7de.html#ixzz2Xi3bCkID