Karpathos

Karpathos
Κάρπαθος

View of Pigadia
Karpathos

Coordinates: 35°35′N 27°08′E / 35.583°N 27.133°E / 35.583; 27.133Coordinates: 35°35′N 27°08′E / 35.583°N 27.133°E / 35.583; 27.133
Country Greece
Administrative region South Aegean
Regional unit Karpathos
Area
 • Municipality 324.79 km2 (125.40 sq mi)
Highest elevation 1,215 m (3,986 ft)
Lowest elevation 0 m (0 ft)
Population (2011)[1]
 • Municipality 6,226
 • Municipality density 19/km2 (50/sq mi)
 • Municipal unit 6,226
Community
 • Population 2788
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code 857 00
Area code(s) 22450
Vehicle registration ΚΧ, ΡΟ, ΡΚ
Website www.karpathos.org

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

Map of Karpathos, by Giacomo Franco (1597)
The community of Olympos

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.[2] 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).[3]

Municipality

The present municipality Karpathos was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 2 former municipalities, that became municipal units:[4]

History

Diafáni village
Menetes village
Fountain of Neptune in Diafáni
The building of the district administration of the island, Pigadia

The island was in 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.[5] The island is also mentioned by Virgil, Pliny the Elder and Strabo.

The Karpathians sided with Sparta in the Peloponnesian War in 431 BC and lost their independence to Rhodes in 400 BC. In 42 BC the island fell to Rome. After the division of the Roman Empire in 395 AD, the island became part of the 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.[6][7] No longer a residential bishopric, Karpathos (in Latin Carpathus) is today listed by the Catholic Church as an archiepiscopal titular see.[8]

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.[9] The Cornaro controlled Karpathos until 1538, when it passed into the possession of the Ottoman Turks.[9]

During the Greek War of Independence between 1821–22, the island rebelled, but afterwards it fell again under the Ottoman rule.[9] 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.[9] The Ottoman rule ended on May 12, 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.[9] With the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923 Karpathos joined the other islands of the Dodecanese in the Italian possession of the Italian Aegean Islands,[9] 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.

Due to the economic problems after World War II, numerous 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 20,000 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.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Απογραφή Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2011. ΜΟΝΙΜΟΣ Πληθυσμός" (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority.
  2. ↑ Peter Saundry, C.Michael Hogan & Steve Baum. 2011. Sea of Crete. Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds.M.Pidwirny & C.J.Cleveland. National Council for Science and Environment. Washington DC.
  3. ↑ "The Climate of Magouliana of Arcadia" (PDF). The Climate of Magouliana of Arcadia (in Greek). See table 4, page 19. Academy of Athens, Research centre for Atmospheric Physics and Climatology. Retrieved 2011-02-15.
  4. ↑ Kallikratis law Greece Ministry of Interior (Greek)
  5. ↑ Argonautica 4.1635-36
  6. ↑ Pius Bonifacius Gams, Series episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae, Leipzig 1931, p. 449
  7. ↑ Konrad Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi, vol. 1, p. 439
  8. ↑ Annuario Pontificio 2013 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ISBN 978-88-209-9070-1), p. 859
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bertarelli, 137

Sources

External links

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