In Greece, you will often find communities, especially on the islands, with a separate but similar named area, except with an addition of the word “Skala” in front of the name, such as the village of Rachoni and Skala Rachoni, on the island of Thassos.

The word Skala is to distinguish the area from the administrative centre of the community, where local people usually live all year round, and more importantly, to let you know it is by the sea, where you find beaches, tavernas and sea-side activities.

The two communities are usually not adjacent to each other as with Rachoni and Skala Rachoni which are some 5 km apart.

In many cases, it was during the Medieval period, that communities by the sea were abandoned due to the threat of pirates who at that time roamed the Mediterranean. For protection, villages moved inland to select a more secluded and defensible location, leaving the shore areas purely for the village’s fishing activities.

It was only with the advent of tourism that it was realised how valuable the Skalas were, triggering the development and rapid growth of these areas.