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Kea also known as Gia or Tzia, is a Greek island in the Cyclades archipelago in the Aegean Sea.
Its capital, Ioulis, is inland at a high altitude (like most ancient Cycladic settlements, for fear of pirates) and is considered quite picturesque. Other major villages of Kea are the port of Korissia and the fishing village of Vourkari. After suffering depopulation for many decades, Kea has been recently rediscovered by Athenians as a convenient destination for weekend and yachting trips.
The island is famous for scuba diving, with excellent visibility, rich marine life, and wall, cavern and wreck diving. The water temperature ranges from 20°-26°C. The highlight for recreational divers is the wreck of the unique paddle/wheeler steamship Patris which sank in 1868 and the world-famous wreck of the HMHS Britannic, sister ship of the Titanic
Britannic was the largest ship lost in the First World War.
HMHS Britannic was the sister ship of RMS Olympic and RMS Titanic.
The most important finds of the excavations in Karthaia are exhibited now in the Archeological Museum in Ioulis
Karthaia is the most important archeological site of the island. As it occurs by the finds, it should have been the most prominent from the four cities-states. The earliest finds in the area date back to the early Cycladic period
Diving here reveals one of the world’s most impressive shipwrecks
Patris paddle steamer of exceptional shipbuilding design for its time, lies sunken off the southwestern part of Kea, a Cyclades island