Karpathos Island
Karpathos
Karpathos
(Greek: Κάρπαθος) is the second largest of the Greek Dodecanese islands, in the
southeastern Aegean Sea. Together with the neighboring smaller Saria Island it
forms the municipality of Karpathos, which is part of the Karpathos regional
unit. Because of its remote location, Karpathos has preserved many peculiarities
of dress, customs and dialect, the last resembling those of Crete and Cyprus.
The island has also been called Carpathus in Latin, Scarpanto in Italian and
Kerpe in Turkish
Geography
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| View of Pigadia |
The island
is located about 47 kilometres (29 miles) southwest of Rhodes, in the part of
the Mediterranean which is called the Carpathian Sea (Latin: Carpathium Mare).
The Sea of Crete, a sub-basin of the Mediterranean Sea, has its eastern limit
defined by the island of Karpathos. Karpathos' highest point is Mt. Lastos, at
1,215 metres (3,986 ft). Karpathos comprises 10 villages. Pigadia (official
name Karpathos), the capital and main port of the island, is located in the
southeast of the island. The capital is surrounded by the villages of Menetes,
Arkasa, Aperi, Volada, Othos, and Pyles. In the north Mesochori, Spoa and
Olympos. There are two ports, in Karpathos and in the north of the island next
to Olympos named Diafani.
The island
Saria was once united with Karpathos, but an earthquake divided them. Saria
preserves many important antiquities.
Climate
The weather
station of Karpathos alongside Ierapetra holds Greece's highest annual mean
temperature, 20.1 °C (68 °F) (1950–1960, 1970–1975).
Municipality
He present
municipality Karpathos was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the
merger of the following 2 former municipalities, that became municipal units:
- Karpathos
- Olympos
The
municipality has an area of 324.800 km2, the municipal unit 219.924 km
History
The island
of Karpathos was in both ancient and medieval times closely connected with
Rhodes. Its current name is mentioned, with a slight shift of one letter, in
Homer's Iliad as Krapathos (οἳ δ' ἄρα Νίσυρόν τ' εἶχον Κράπαθόν τε Κάσον τε).
Apollonius of Rhodes, in his epic Argonautica, made it a port of call for the
Argonauts travelling between Libya and Crete (Κάρπαθος: ἔνθεν δ' οἵγε
περαιώσεσθαι ἔμελλον). The island is also mentioned by Virgil, Pliny the Elder,
and Strabo.
The
Karpathians sided with Sparta in the Peloponnesian War in 431 BCE and lost
their independence to Rhodes in 400 BCE. In 42 BCE, the island fell to Rome.
After the division of the Roman Empire in 395 CE, the island became part of the
Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire.
Of its
Christian bishops, the names are known of Olympius, who was a supporter of
Nestorius, Zoticus (in 518), Mennas (in 553), Ioannes, Leo (in 787), and
Philippus (in 879). In the 14th century, the island was a see of the Latin
Church, four of whose bishops bore the name Nicolaus. No longer a residential
bishopric, Karpathos (in Latin Carpathus) is today listed by the Catholic
Church as an archiepiscopal titular see.
In 1304,
Karpathos was given as fief to the Genoese corsairs Andrea and Lodovico
Moresco, but in 1306 it fell to Andrea Cornaro, a member of the Venetian
Cornaro family.The Cornaro controlled Karpathos until 1538, when it passed into
the possession of the Ottoman Turks.
During the
Greek War of Independence from 1821 to 1822, the island rebelled, but
afterwards it fell again under the Ottoman rule. In 1835, Sultan Mahmud II
conceded to the island the privilege of the Maktu tax system; that is, the tax
was calculated as an annual lump sum, and not on an household basis. The
Ottoman rule ended on 12 May 1912, when the Italians occupied the island,
together with the whole Dodecanese, during the Italo-Turkish War of 1911-12. On
that day, sailors from the Regia Marina ship Vittorio Emanuele and the
destroyer Alpino landed in Karpathos.With the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923,
Karpathos joined the other islands of the Dodecanese in the Italian possession
of the Italian Aegean Islands,and was ceded by Italy to Greece with the Paris
Peace Treaties of 1947. The island formally joined the Kingdom of Greece on 7
March 1948, together with the other Dodecanese islands.
In the late
1940s and 1950s, due to the economic problems after World War II, a number of
Karpathians emigrated to the U.S. eastern seaboard cities;. Karpathos today has
a significant Greek-American constituency who have returned to their island and
invested heavily. Inhabitants of the mountains to the north are more traditional.
Transportation
The airport
Karpathos
Island National Airport, with its relatively large runway, is located on the
south side (Afiartis area). Karpathos is connected to neighboring islands and
to the mainland via ferries and airplanes. The ferries provide transport to and
from Piraeus (via Crete and Rhodes). Scheduled domestic flights connect the
island with Rhodes, Kasos, Crete and Athens daily. Additionally, charter
flights from various European cities are frequently scheduled during the high
season (April–October).
Within the
island, cars are the preferred mode of transportation. The port, the airport,
the main villages and other popular locations are connected by an adequate
system of municipal roads, most of which are paved. During the summer months,
small private boats depart from Pigadia to various locations daily, including
Olympos (via Diafani) and some inaccessible beaches. Fixed-rate taxis (agoraia)
and municipal buses are also available all year long.
Population
The
island's 2011 census population was 6,181 inhabitants. This number more than
doubles in the summer months as many Karpathian expatriates come to the island
for their vacation with their families. Also, taking into consideration the
number of tourists that visit, there can be up to 20,002 people on the island during
the summer months. The population density is greatest during the 15th of August
due to the Panagias festival (Assumption of Mary), which is considered the most
important festival on the island. Individuals travel from around the world to
attend the festival and view the many traditions that still remain on the
island.
Beaches
Apella beach
The beaches
of Karpathos island can be divided into four large groups: the beaches on the
east coast are smaller and gravelly but without wind; the beaches of the southern
part of the island, near the airport, area made of fine white sand; the sandy
beach on the west coast are the most exposed to the Meltemi and they are only
available in low wind conditions; the beaches of the north of the island,
accessible only by sea and partly by a jeep.
East Coast: Amoopi, Karpathos Beach,
Achata, Kato Latos (reachable only by foot), Kyra Panagia, Apella, Agios
Nikolaos (Spoa).
South Coast: Damatria, Diakoftis, Devils
Bay, Agriopotamos (nude beach).
West Coast: Lefkos beach, Mesohori Finiki,
Arkasa Leucadius.
North Coast: Diafani, Vananda, Forokli