Geography

Kasos lies SW of Karpathos, between this island and Crete. Its shape is elliptic, and resembles that of Rhodes. The main island has a surface of 49 km2, and it is 17 km long and 6 km wide. [1] It is wholly mountainous, and its highest mount is Mt. Prionas, which is 550 m high. [1] On the island there is fresh water. [1]

History

In ancient times, the island was a safe harbor for the Philistines,^{[citation needed]} and to this day is still regarded as an island where ship owners could locate a sea savvy crew. It has a very rich and proud history of seamanship and its naval skills were feared by surrounding countries as they waged war on their neighbors and the Kassiots intervened.^{[citation needed]}

During the Classical antiquity it followed the history of Karpathos. [2] In the middle ages as Karpathos it was subjected from 1306 until 1537 to the noble Venetian Cornaro family. In that year Kasos was conquered by the Ottoman Turks. [2]

In 1824, during the Greek War of Independence, Mehmet Ali, the Pasha of Egypt, furious about the Kassiots, he dispatched his naval fleet to the island and killed the population.[3] [4]

At the beginning of the XX century a strong emigration began. It was directed mainly to Egypt (about 5,000 people), then to Istanbul, Greece, USA and South Africa. In the twenties of last century, out of about 2,300 houses on the island, only 400 were permanently inhabited. [2]

On May 12, 1912, during the Italo-Turkish War of 1911-12, the island was occupied by the sailors of the Regia Marina ship Regina Elena. [2] With the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923 Kasos joined the other islands of the Dodecanese in the Italian possession of the Isole Italiane dell'Egeo, and was ceded by Italy to Greece with the Paris Peace Treaties of 1947. The island formally joined the Greek State on 7 March 1948 together with the other Dodecanese islands.

Description of the island

The Municipality of Kasos includes several uninhabited offshore islands, the largest of which are Armathia and Makronisi. Its total land area is 69.464 km². Main villages are Fry (pronounced like free, pop. 335), Agia Marina (393), Panagia (17), Poli (78), Arvanitohori (167).

Fry is the capital as it holds the island's harbor, while Agia Marina is the biggest village in population. The airport is located close to Agia Marina and is big enough for an ATR 42 to land.

References

Sources

• Bertarelli, L.V. (1929). Guida d'Italia, Vol. XVII. Consociazione Turistica Italiana, Milano. .

External links

• Official website (English) (Greek)

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