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Shopping in Cyclades with Mykonos and Santorini

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Cyclades with Mykonos and Santorini Shopping

Mykonos, with Santorini taking a close second, is the best island in the Cyclades for shopping. You can buy anything from Greek folk items to Italian designer clothes, cowboy boots, and leather jackets from the United States. Although island prices are better than in the expensive shopping districts of Athens, there are many tourist traps in the resort towns, with high-pressure sales tactics and inflated prices for inferior goods. The Greeks have a word for naive American shoppers—Americanakia.

Among the standard shops there are still craftspeople who make at least some of their own items. Each island has a unique pottery style that reflects its individuality. Santorini potters like the bright shades of the setting sun, though the best pottery islands are Paros and Siphnos. Island specialties are icons hand-painted after Byzantine originals; weavings and embroideries; local wines; and gold worked in ancient and Byzantine designs.

Don't be surprised when many stores close between 2 and 5:30 in the afternoon and reopen in the evening; even on the chic islands most everybody takes a siesta.

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