Symi town is an amphitheatre of ochre and pastel neoclassical mansions rising from the harbour, the most beautiful arrival in…Symi town is an amphitheatre of ochre and pastel neoclassical mansions rising from the harbour, the most beautiful arrival in Greece. Then Agios Georgios Dysalona, a pebble beach at the foot of a 300m sheer cliff that puts the whole bay in shadow by mid-afternoon. Panormitis has a working monastery on the water. Symi grew rich on sponge diving and shipbuilding under the Ottomans, which paid for the mansions; the fleet and the fortune collapsed with synthetic sponges. The instrument of German surrender in the Dodecanese was signed here in May 1945. Anchorage: Panormitis is a near-landlocked natural harbour with excellent shelter. Symi town quay is stern-to with a strong afternoon meltemi. Hazards: No site-specific hazards noted, brief normally. More