Karpathos

Karpathos is situated in the most south part of Dodecanese complex, between Crete and Rhodes, and is the second largest island of the complex. Basically, it is considered a mountainous island (Kali Limni is the highest peak-altitude 1.214m) full of water springs, pine-trees forests, vineyards, olives and fruit-bearing trees. The rock-caves of the island are the home of the Mediterranean seal called Μonachus monachus, while, along with Kastelorizo, this is the only place where we can meet the amphibian species Mertensiella luscani. According to mythology, Iapetos, the son of Uranus and Gaea [Sky and Earth] was the first inhabitant of the island. It was firstly inhabited during Neolithic Age, while in the Homeric Sagas it is reported as Anemoessa.  Its history has a close affiliation with Rhodes and Dodecanese. The conquerors who defined the island’s character were Francs, Turks and Italians.  The island extends over a surface of 301 km2, its coastline is 106 km long and it has 6,500 inhabitants.

The island of Karpathos is located between the two well know Greek islands of Rhodes and Crete, with a history dating back to the Minoan era and Mycenean tombs and settlements going back to the second millennium B.C. In the Doric times (1000 BC) it was referred to as Tetrapolis, after the four famous cities, Potideo (Pigadia), Arkessia (the present Arkasa), Vrykous and Nissyros (in the area of Olympos). In the Classic and Hellenistic periods followed the history of the rest of Greece. In 42 BC Karpathos was conquered by the Romans and later became part of the Byzantine Empire. From the 7th to 10th century A.D. Karpathos was ravaged by the pirates. The people who lived close to the sea moved to the mountains. The island was invaded by the Genoans, St. John's Knights, the Venetians and the Turks. In the 1821 revolution Karpathos was liberated and in 1830 was given back to the Turks under a treaty. In 1912 the island was conquered by the Italians and in 1948 it was liberated and joined the rest of Greece.