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 Location |
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Karpathos is the second largest island in the Dodecanese, with an area of 301 sq. km and a coastline of 160 km. It lies beween Rhodes and Crete.
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 Population |
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Karpathos has a population of not more than 5.000 inhabitants.
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 History |
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Karpathos is relatively near Crete, and it would seem that the island was first inhabited by the Minoans. They were followed later by the Dorians, who enjoyed great prosperity in the 5th century BC. At this time the island had four cities of importance (Poseidon or Potidaion, Arkesia, Broukous and Nisyros) and belonged to the Athenian League. This was followed by Roman domination, and after the break-up of the Roman state, by the long Byzantine period, during which the island was repeatedly raided by pirates. In 1206 it passed into the hands of Leo Gavalas, and susequently into those of the Genoese, the Knights of Rhodes and the Venetians. The Turks took Karpathos in 1538 and held it for almost four centuries. The island took part in the uprising against the Turks of 1821 and managed to gain ist independence for seven years. In 1832, however, by the Protocol of London, it again came into the hands of the Turks, until 1912, when it was taken by the Italians. Karpathos even found itself ruled by the Germans for a few years after World War II.
The union of Karpathos with the Greek state finally came, together with the rest of the Dodecanese, in 1948
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 Religion |
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This topic is not island-specific. It applies to the nation of Greece.
Orthodox Christianity is the recognized dominant religion of Greece and it is legally protected by the state. This has caused legal discrimination against non-Orthodox Churches, and although the constitution of 1975 removed the power of most of the old laws against Protestants, problems still exist today. There is a lot of fear towards anything outside of the Orthodox Church, especially on the islands. However, repeated rulings of the European Court of Justice in favour of religious minorities in cases of discrimination have led to a relative increase of the freedoms that these religious minorities now enjoy.
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 Saints |
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St. Onufrius
St. Luke
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 Miscellaneous |
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Karpathos has a beautiful, wild landscape with wonderful beaches. It is mountainous in the north and fertile in the south.
The people on Karpathos are employed chiefly in farming, stock-breeding and fishing, while in the summer months a portion of the population is involved in the tourist trade.
Traditions are well kept on Karpathos, especially in Olympos. This village was until recently completely isolated - standing on the inaccesible mountains of the norhtern oart of the island - a village where, as they say, time had stood still. Its history gos back at lesast five centuries, when the seaside city of Vroukounta was destroyed by an earthquake. Olympos, save from pirates in its lofty position, tries as much as possible to keep itself apart from the rest of the wold. The traditional architecture of the houses has remained unaltered. The same can be said about the layout and decoration of the interiors. The manner, the costumes, the songs, the way of life have remained the same. Even the language has changed only very little. In other words, the whole village is a kind of museum.
Olympos is also a good place to try `makarounes` - the speciality of Karpathos
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 Celebrations |
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 Resources |
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www.greekislands.com/karpathos/home.html
www.karpathos.org
www.greektravel.com
www.in2greece.com
http://www.dilos.com/location/362
http://www.karpathos.org/
http://www.karpathos.com/
http://hermes.hri.org/cosmos/gr/karpathos/
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