Kastellorizo or Castellorizo ( ; ), officially Megisti (), is a Greek island and municipality of the Dodecanese in the Eastern Mediterranean. It lies roughly off the south coast of Turkey, about southeast of Athens and east of Rhodes, almost halfway between Rhodes and Antalya, and northwest of Cyprus.
The island has become very popular in recent years among tourists looking for an isolated place in the Dodecanese, thanks also to the 1991 Oscar-winning movie Mediterraneo, by Gabriele Salvatores, which is set on the island during the Second World War.
Name and etymology
The island's official name, Megisti (Μεγίστη) means "biggest" or "greatest", but at only in area, it is the smallest of the Dodecanese. The name refers to the fact that it is the largest island of its small archipelago. but is now rarely used in Greek, the name Kastellórizo (Καστελλόριζο) being common since the 12th century. There are several hypotheses about the origin of this name. "Kastello" derives from the Italian word "castello", meaning "castle". and both Turkish, the former deriving from the island's official name in Greek, the latter meaning "Red Castle", a translation of the Italian name.
Physical geography
thumb|260px|Map of Kastellorizo and the surrounding islets.|right
Kastellorizo is (with the exception of the nearby islet of Strongyli) the easternmost Greek island and is situated in the Levantine Sea. It is the largest island of the homonym archipelago comprising the islands and islets of Agios Georgios, Agrielaia, Voutsakia, Megalo Mavro Poini, Mikro Mavro Poini, Polifados Ena, Polifados Dio, Ro, Savoura, Stroggili, Tragonera, Psomi and Psoradia. It lies about from the Anatolian coastal town of Kaş, more or less halfway between Rhodes and Antalya. Cyprus is about to the south-east. It is six kilometres () long and three kilometres () wide, with a surface of . It has a triangular shape, and is oriented from north-east to south-west. The island features three capes: Agios Stefanos (north), Nifti (east) and Pounenti (south west); between the first two there is a wide and accommodating bay, the island's main harbor, where one finds the only town on the island. Cape Agios Stefanos, the nearest to Anatolia, is south of the modern Turkish town of Kaş (Greek: Andífli, the Ancient Greek City of Antiphéllos). Cape Nifti lies some greater distance from the Anatolian coast. The island is mountainous, with high and steep coastlines, which become more difficult to access moving west. The soil is composed of limestone and produces only small amounts of olives, grapes and beans. On the island there is no source of drinking water. The Municipality of Megísti includes the offshore islands of Ro and Strongyli as well as several smaller islets. It has a total land area of .
Nearby islands between Turkey and Kastellorizo
There are many islets in this area; Volos, near Kalkan (in Greek Kalamaki), Ochendra, Furnachia, Prassonisi, Ro, Tragonera, Marathi, Strongyli, Dhassia, Alimentaria, Kekova and Psomi besides many rocks and cliffs. Behind the waterfront, many houses are still in a ruinous state. At the entrance to the harbour, on the east side, stand the single-story remnants of the former Italian government house (palazzina della delegazione), erected in 1926 by the Italian architect Florestano Di Fausto, who also designed some of the most important buildings of the Italian period in Rhodes. Nearby is the island's former Ottoman mosque which dates from the second half of the 18th century and which has been restored and re-opened as a museum since 2007. From here starts the town's quay, which runs along all three sides of the harbour. The central square — Plateia Ethelondon Kastellórizou ("Kastellorizo Volunteers' Square") — lies at the midpoint of the eastern side, near the vessel dock. On the opposite side of the harbour one has a good view from this vantage of Pera Meria, the western quay, and the monasteries of Profitis Ilías and Aghia Triadha, the former now an army base.
Above the quay on the eastern side is a pathway which leads to the Castle of the Knights (14th century). Of it remain the curtain wall, part of a square tower, the remains of a cylindrical tower at the east corner, and toward the sea another cylindrical tower. A Doric inscription, carved in the rock, attests to the existence of an earlier fortress here during Antiquity. Kastellorizo records on average 158 tropical nights per year and falls in 11a hardiness zone. After Lindos, the island records the highest average annual temperature in Greece with 21.9 °C.
Geology
The island's geology is almost exclusively limestone laid down at the Mesozoic/Cenozoic boundary. As a result of the lack of significant flora covering the island, the landscape shows many features of karstification. There are a number of notable sea caves including the so-called Blue Grotto which is much larger than its namesake in Capri. Exploration undertaken in 2006 by members of the SELAS Caving club of Greece has revealed vertical caves in many parts of the island. The deepest found so far was surveyed to a depth of in March 2006 and will be the subject of further exploration in the future by the same team.
History
Ancient period
The island was colonised by Dorian Greeks, who named it "Megiste". In antiquity it was known both as Megiste and Cisthene (Κισθήνη), but in later times only as Megiste. The Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax says that the island belonged to the Rhodians. In addition, inscriptions found at the foot of the Knight's castle confirm that during the Hellenistic period the island was ruled by Rhodes, and formed part of its Peraia. The Rhodians sent an overseer, or epistates, to monitor events on the island.
The three towers of Kastellorizo, Ro and Strongyli comprise the main links in a dense network of watchtowers constructed by the Rhodians during the Hellenistic period, to control the sea routes and the coast. Palaiokastro was (and still is) the main and largest fortified site on the island.
Byzantine era
During the period of the Byzantine Empire, Kastellorizo was part of the "Province of the Islands", the capital of which was Rhodes.
Knights Hospitaller period
In 1306 the island was taken over by the Knights Hospitaller, headed by Foulques de Villaret, as part of their expedition to conquer the island of Rhodes, which became the centre of their Crusader state. They restored the castle, which was thereafter used as a prison for disobedient knights. Around 1440 the island was occupied by sultan Sayf ad-Din Jaqmaq of Egypt, who destroyed the castle.
In 1912, during the Libyan war between Italy and the Ottoman Empire, the inhabitants asked Giovanni Battista Ameglio, chief of the Italian occupation forces in Rhodes, for their island to be annexed to Italy. This was refused, and on 14 March 1913 the local population imprisoned the governor and his Ottoman garrison and proclaimed a provisional government.
Demographics and economy
thumb|[[CS Salamis Glory in Kastellorizo harbour.]]
The population rose from 4,870 in the 1880s and reached its peak in 1908 with an estimated 9,000 people residing there. At that time, Kastellorizo was still the only safe harbor along the route between Makri (today's Fethiye) and Beirut.
- Kastellorizo - Kaş: 1 trip / week (winter period)
Air connection is provided by Olympic Air, which operates from Kastellorizo Airport 4 times/week (winter period). There is one small bus in service on Kastellorizo, and it is used to collect tourists from the airport.
Culture
Kastellorizo's inhabitants had characteristic traditions, partly influenced by the Muslim tradition. There were at least three types of women's dress, which used brilliantly colored fabric, and women wore necklaces, brooches, pendants and earrings made from ancient Venetian or Byzantine gold coins.
On Easter, the Liturgy of the Resurrection takes place in the open at midnight, the faithful bearing candles. As soon as the bells start ringing, the young people let off fireworks, and the people tell each other the ritual words "Christ is resurrected". Then everyone enters the church and lights his candle from the holy fire held by the priest, and then goes home to light the fire in the fireplace.