With our home safe in the anchorage near Kas marina we hopped on the ferry to visit the Greek island of Kastelorizo for Liza’s birthday.
The ancient name of Kastelorizo refers to Megisti being “the largest” island of the surrounding archipelago of 30 smaller islets and reefs.
Lovely waterfront as seen from the ferry.
When reaching the top of the stairs we get to the monastery after a short hike. The monastery is uninhabited but recently restored with EU funding (read; tax payers money). It is not a top attraction pulling hundreds of visitors, but still nice.
Upon reaching the 400 steps for our decent back to town we saw the ferry from Rhodes docking stern to in the small harbour. The two military craft that were docked at the cay had to temporarily leave to allow the big ship to manoeuvre.
Kastelorizo has a turbulent history for such a small island. It is located in the midst of an all-important sea route along the southern Anatolian shore which connected the East with the West. It also lays at an interface between Greek civilization and the cultures of Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Lebanon and Israel. As a result, it was a preferred stop for trading vessels to re-provision and for war ships to control the shipping lanes.
The pre-classical (350 BC) citadel of Palaiokastro further in-land on top of Mt Vigla (273 m) is an indication of the islands early importance and power.
In classical times the island was part of the Hellenistic empire – Empire of Rhodes – Roman Empire – Byzantine Empire and from 1300 onwards occupied by the Knights of Saint John, from where we will pick up the story in trying to keep it interesting. The drawing below shows how the town looked like after the knights finished the castle around 1380 AD. The castle was build with reddish stones and the Europeans referred to it as “Castello Rosso” which slowly changed to the current name.
Note the heavily build up area to the right of the castle (already) at that time.
The Order of St. John grew from the Knights Hospitaller, an organization founded in Jerusalem in 1050 and related to an Italian hospital to take care of poor and sick pilgrims to the Holy Land. After the (re)capture of Jerusalem by the crusaders in 1099 during the 1st Crusade, it became a Catholic military order. Following the loss of Christian held territories of the Holy Land to Muslims, the Order worked from Rhodes (1309 -1522), over which they were sovereign. The knights used Kastelorizo as their base to concur Rhodes.
As is often the case with castles, they get destroyed and are rebuild many times. The castle plus fortifications were at its largest around 1460.
After several devastating wars over an 80 year period between the advancing Ottoman empire and several European powers the island came under Ottoman rule in 1523. With the Ottomans having consolidated their hold on Kastellorizo, a lasting stability allowed the island’s residents to reestablish their customs, regain prosperity and build anew.
Wood for merchant ships was readily available on the opposite Anatolian mainland, and the port of Mandraki became a center of shipbuilding and repair. Kastellorizian captains sailed throughout the Aegean, as well as to Constantinople and the ports of Alexandria, Cyprus, Antalya and Tunis. They traded in timber, charcoal, sponges, carpets and a host of other items. Men worked in all aspects of maritime commerce.
Although the Ottoman empire was still engaged in wars, Kastelorizo was largely spared, Muslims and Christians tolerated each other and the island achieved great prosperity.
By mid-19th century, more than 40 Kastellorizian families owned large cargo ships, while the island’s entire fleet of 165 large and small vessels boasted a total cargo capacity of 24,000 tons. Most Kastellorizian men were sailors.
Kastellorizians also established small communities on the Anatolian coast (e.g., Kalamaki, Antiphellos, Tristomi, Kakava, Myra, Livisi and Finikas), where they operated second farmsteads producing wine, wheat and other agricultural goods to supplement their food supplies.
The small arid island itself is devoid of resources. It doesn’t even have a water source. Everything had to be imported and the rainwater collected in cisterns during winter had to sustain the island during summer. The diligent Kastelorizans managed it all, and more.
Early 1900 Kastelorizo’s fortunes slowly turned. The introduction of steamships impacted their trades. The Young Turk Revolution of 1908 brought additional hardship, as Kastellorizians lost many former privileges. Families that saw their business dwindle started to leave, many to Australia
The destruction of the Kastellorizians’ once highly developed island and seafaring society during WWI, the Italian occupation (1921-43) and WWII was, for the islanders a tragic, too-often-repeated pattern. With each war, more of the islanders emigrated.
All remaining Kastellorizians now fled or were evacuated by the British. Some again reached Australia, but many others became refugees – traveling through Cyprus or Syria before being settled in large camps in Palestine and Egypt.
More devastation occurred in Kastellorizo in July 1944, when a British fuel depot exploded. A massive fire engulfed the town, destroying another 1,400 houses. In a final insult, the residents’ abandoned homes were looted of all their valuable possessions.
In 1948 Kastelorizo finally became part of Greece again (after 400 years!) and some of the islanders returned to their beloved island.
We returned with the afternoon ferry back to Kas and our floating home. In hindsight we should have stayed one more day. It is a beautiful place. The people are friendly and polite. The food is honest, authentic and tasty. The history is mind boggling and you need more than one day to let it all sink in.
If you ever visit popular Rhodes island then do book the ferry to Kastelorizo and stay at least two nights.
We hope you enjoyed this story. Liza and Frits.