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KASTELLORIZO ISLAND
The Island of Blue Cave

Geography

HISTORY

PLACES TO VISIT

ACCOMMODATION

ACTIVITIES

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GEOGRAPHY
Kastellorizo or Megisti is an island located in the Dodecanese, between the Rho Island and the Strongyli Island, and belongs to the Megisti complex, which includes the following islets and rocky islets: Agios Georgios, Agrielaia, Koutsoubas, Megalo Mavro Poini, Mikro Mavro Poini, Polyphados one, Polyphados two, Rho, Savoura, Strongyli, Tragonera, Psomi and Psoradia. This is the easternmost inhabited point of Greece. It has an area of 9,113 square kilometers and a coastline of 19.5 kilometers. Megisti is 72 nautical miles from Rhodes, 150 nautical miles from Cyprus and 328 nautical miles from Piraeus. The only settlement of the island is Kastellorizo , of the same name. The population of Kastellorizo currently stands at 492 inhabitants. Before the Greek revolution, it numbered approximately 2500 inhabitants, while at the beginning of the 20th century, the population reached 15,000 inhabitants.
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The climate of the island is maritime Mediterranean, with mild winters and hot and dry summers. The island has rich and rare flora and fauna. In terms of flora, among others there are oaks, hollies, carobs, wild olives, gorcias, cinquefoil, chickpeas, myrtles, oleanders, ederas, asparagus, capers, heathers, milkweeds, bromocladias, aphanes, oregano, thrumbia, thyme and styraca and the endemics species Campanula kastellorizana and Cymbalaria microcalyx subsp paradoxa. Regarding the fauna of the island, the bird fauna includes many interesting species. The egrets, griffon eagles, gerakins, black petrels, peregrines and rock cranes stand out. Among the marine species, we find artemis, midges, cormorants, herring gulls and winter terns. Other species of the island are quails, wood pigeons, terns, owls, grebes, grebes, eagles, goldfinches and grebes. The most emblematic animal of the island is the salamander. In addition, the reptile fauna of the island is extremely rich. The kurtodactylus, the samiamid, the ablepharos and the gilding lizard stand out. Among the mammals, the Mediterranean seals stand out. Rare bat species also live on the island. Finally, the underwater fauna is interesting, with many species originating from the Eastern Mediterranean and the Red Sea, such as the fish Oxyurichthys petersi, the bivalve molluscs Chama pacifica and the nudibranchs Hypselodoris infucata.
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The ancient name of the island, Megisti (Greater), is attributed either to the fact that it is the largest of the surrounding islands, or as a euphemism due to its small area. The Dorians had given the island this name, as the Municipality is still officially called. According to another version, the first inhabitant of the island was called Megisteas. According to Stephanos Byzantius, the island was called "Polyistor", while Strabo mentions it as "Megisti Kistheni", since Kistheni was probably the name of an ancient city on the island. It is worth noting that Rigas Feraios on the map of Greater Greece marks the island as "Kisthine". The Byzantine name Kastellorizo is possibly due to the words Castello Rosso, meaning red rocks, on which the castle of the Knights was built, or to the red coat of arms of the 8th Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes, who occupied the island in the 14th century. According to Ioannis Hatzifotis (The Folk Culture of Kastellorizos), the second word of Kastellorizo comes from the Dodecanese "rizovouni", because all the houses are built at the "roots", i.e. at the foot, of the mountain.
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HISTORY
Kastellorizo could reasonably be characterized as the island with the most varied course, whose great history goes back thousands of years before Christ. Neolithic era - Mycenaean period: The island was inhabited during the Neolithic era (14,000-9,000 BC), according to findings, including stone tools made of pyrite, kept in the Rhodes Museum. In addition, the Cyclopean Walls with lacoid or carved tombs and the inscriptions they bear testify to the Dorians as the first permanent residents, who also took part in the Trojan campaign. Then, the island was inhabited by Phoenicians. The Minoans and later the Mycenaeans inhabited the island, as demonstrated by the gold wreath found in a sarcophagus on the Agios Georgios plateau, which is now preserved in the Athens Archaeological Museum. Megisti was independent from Lycia, as evidenced by the island's inscriptions, which were always written in Greek, while those of Lycia were written in both Greek and Lycian. Their relations were only commercial.
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Classical era - Hellenistic era: The island flourished during this era, during which it was controlled by the Rhodians (4th century BC). However, from 333 BC. until 304 BC, Megisti seems to have been autonomous, as it minted its own coins. Control from the Rhodians was restored under Demetrius Poliorkitis. The Rhodian power was overthrown by the tyrant of Halicarnassus, Idrieus, and after him by the generals of Alexander the Great. Subsequently, the Romans occupied the island, which was under the jurisdiction of Ptolemy I, being again partially autonomous, until 38 BC. After the division of the Roman state, the island became part of the Byzantine Empire.
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Byzantine period: In the first centuries of the Byzantine state, the island prospered, belonging to the Theme of the Kyvirraeotes. It is worth noting that Saint Helen had passed through the island during her journey to the Holy Land to find the Holy Cross, while according to tradition, she built a small church on the island which is covered by the Church of the patron Saints Constantine and Helen. Subsequently, the history of the island begun to be painted in black. In particular, during the Second and Third Crusades, in 1147 and 1189 respectively, the island suffered the greatest disasters in its history. In 1306 it was occupied by the John Knights of Rhodes and in 1440 by the Egyptians. As a result, Megisti was ruined, the Castle of Agios Nikolaos was destroyed, and its inhabitants were captured in the East. In 1461 the island passed into the hands of the Catalans, then in 1470 to the King of Naples, while in 1480 it was deserted due to fear of turkish occupation. Later, in 1498 it passed to the King of Naples, while in 1512 to the Spanish, in 1570 to the Venetians, in 1635 to the ottomans and in 1659 to the Venetians, who destroyed the castle with Morosini. In addition, Maltese pirates took refuge in the island at the time. In 1792 the ottomans returned to the island, where they remained until the Revolution of 1821.
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Revolution of 1821: With the declaration of the Greek Revolution, the inhabitants of the island participated with all their energy and provided material means and themselves for the defense of the ideals of Greece against the turkish yoke. In fact, the people of Kastellorizo were among the first to embrace the pursuits of the Friendly Society. While the island numbered about 2500 inhabitants, the women and children fled to Amorgos, Karpathos and Kasos. At the same time, the inhabitants converted their merchant ships into warships, engaged the turkish fleet in the Gulf of Atalya and actively participated in the sea battles. "... With their ships they caused horror and terror to the enemy and captured many Turkish merchant ships...", as Paleon Patron Germanos referred. As the Dodecanese did not become part of Greek territory with the London Protocol in 1830, Turkish rule on the island was once again a fact. The island excelled in shipping in the 19th century, so that it had 165 ships with a capacity of 24,000 tons, schooners, bracers and other smaller vessels. Beginning of the 20th century the island had a rich commercial activity, which it even transported to the coasts of Asia Minor, with a population of around 15,000 inhabitants at the time.
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Balkan Wars - World War I: The people of Kastellorizo actively participated in the Balkan Wars, liberating homelands and islands that for centuries remained enslaved. Although they sought union with Greece, Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos did not encourage them, on the pretext that the geographical position of the island required naval forces for its protection, which he did not have. On March 1, 1913, 30 armed Cretans led by Daskalakis and two Kastellorizoites, sent by Ionas Dragoumis, arrived on the island. The inhabitants of the island took up arms, captured the turkish garrison and raised the Greek Flag, guided by the interest of the homeland and disregarding any consequences. Thus, on March 29, 1913, the inhabitants gathered in Agios Konstantinos and issued a unifying resolution "declaring irrevocably the union of the island after Mother Greece" despite the opposition of the Greek Government. Then, the French took advantage of the unstable situation on the island, and on December 28, 1915, they landed forces and occupied it, with the intention of being an advanced base for their military operations in Syria and Cilicia. And while the French promised union with Greece after the end of World War I, on March 1, 1921, France ceded the island to Italy.
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The conditions during the Italian occupation were miserable, with persecutions, repressions, exiles, as a result of which the island was deserted, and the inhabitants fled to Rhodes, Piraeus, Egypt, America and Australia. In 1941 the island had 1,500 inhabitants. Fortunately, the island was not de-Hellenized. World War II: In November 1941, the Allies occupied the island for 24 hours, and the people of Kastellorizo glorified God by chanting "Christ is Risen" and raising the Blue-White Flag. However, the next day, horrible tortures began against the residents, with exiles, imprisonments and beatings. On September 13, 1943, the destroyer "Navarhos Kountouriotis" sailed into the port and brought the message of Freedom. When the inhabitants realized that after eight centuries they were freed, they raised the Greek flags, sang the glorified Anthem and gave thanks to God.
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Kastellorizo was turned by the British into a supply center for the Allies. From October and November 1943, German aircraft attacked the Allies, demolished houses and forced the inhabitants to flee to Asia Minor and Palestine. Only the "Lady of Rho", Despina Achladiotis, remained on her homonymous rock island, proudly raising the Greek flag every morning for forty years. The desolation of Kastellorizos was taken advantage of by English soldiers, who mercilessly looted the island, also burning the most fertile area, and destroying 1400 houses. The tortured people of Kastellorizo saw their lives disappear and the labors of entire generations shattered. Another black page was written when the boat carrying the third shipment of the persecuted inhabitants to the island caught fire, as a result of which thirty-five people lost their lives. Several conquerors passed through the island, burned it, destroyed it, looted it, killed and drove away the inhabitants and spread havoc without mercy. Despite this, the island never lost its Greek identity, with the inhabitants never bending, while even in adverse conditions they prospered. Finally, on March 7, 1948, the island was officially united with the rest of Greece.
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ROUTE PLANNER

HOW TO GET THERE

- By ferry from Piraeus and Rhodes
- By air from Rhodes, and from Athens or Thessaloniki via Rhodes.

HOW TO GET AROUND

- By taxi
- By water taxi
- By foot
- By bus
- By rental cars or motorbikes
- By boats

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