home
back
menu bar
Your Business
advertised here
advertisers link
slideshow
Kastelorizo is a small Greek island and municipality located in the southeastern Mediterranean. It lies roughly 1,300 m off Kas on the south coast of Turkey, about 570 kms southeast of Athens and 110 km east of Rhodes, almost halfway between Rhodes and Antalya.
It has gone by several different names in its history, including Italian: Castellorizo, Castelrosso, and Turkish: Meis. The meaning of its current official name Megisti is "Biggest" or "Greatest" because, although it is the smallest of the Dodecanese, it is the largest of the three island archipelago.
The houses of the town are slender and characterised by wooden balconies and windows of the Anatolian type. Behind the waterfront, many houses are still in a ruinous state. At the entrance to the harbour, on the east side, stand the single storey remnants of the former Italian governate (palazzina della delegazione), erected in 1926 by the Italian architect Florestano Di Fausto, who also designed some of the most important buildings of the Italian period in Rhodes. Nearby is the island's former Ottoman mosque which dates from the second half of the eighteenth century and which has been now restored and re-opened as a museum (2007). From here starts the town's quay, which runs along all three sides of the harbour. The central square lies at the mid-point of the eastern side, near the vessel dock. On the opposite side of the harbour one has a good view from this vantage of Pera Meria, the western quay, and the monasteries of Profitis Elias and Aghia Triadha, the former now an army base.
Above the quay on the eastern side there is a pathway which leads to the Castle of the Knights (14th century). There remains the curtain wall, part of a square tower, the remains of a cylindrical tower at the east corner, and toward the sea another cylindrical tower. A Doric inscription, carved in the rock, attests to the existence of an earlier fortress here during Antiquity. Inside the tower there is a large covered cistern.
Ascending the steps on the eastern side of the town, one reaches the suburb of Horafia, where there is a square surrounded by the Church of Agios Yeorgios (1906), with a high dome of Byzantine type, and the Cathedral of Agios Konstandinos and Eleni (1835). It has three naves divided by monolithic granite columns from the temple of Apollo Lykios in Patara (Anatolia). The columns carry ogival arches. Further east is the small bay known as Mandraki, the secondary harbour of the island.
West of the town, beyond the summit of the island known as Vigla, stands Paleokastro (old castle), the island's ancient acropolis. This fortified elevation has classical origins (see below, history section): its plan is rectangular and measures 60 x 80 m. In its interior stand an ancient tower, built with square limestone blocks, and large water cisterns. Carved on the base of the castle there is also a Doric inscription, dating back to the 4th or 3rd centuries BC, with references to Megiste (the ancient name of Kastelorizo) and its dependence on Rhodes. On the east side there are remnants of a gateway, or Propylaea.
It has gone by several different names in its history, including Italian: Castellorizo, Castelrosso, and Turkish: Meis. The meaning of its current official name Megisti is "Biggest" or "Greatest" because, although it is the smallest of the Dodecanese, it is the largest of the three island archipelago.
The houses of the town are slender and characterised by wooden balconies and windows of the Anatolian type. Behind the waterfront, many houses are still in a ruinous state. At the entrance to the harbour, on the east side, stand the single storey remnants of the former Italian governate (palazzina della delegazione), erected in 1926 by the Italian architect Florestano Di Fausto, who also designed some of the most important buildings of the Italian period in Rhodes. Nearby is the island's former Ottoman mosque which dates from the second half of the eighteenth century and which has been now restored and re-opened as a museum (2007). From here starts the town's quay, which runs along all three sides of the harbour. The central square lies at the mid-point of the eastern side, near the vessel dock. On the opposite side of the harbour one has a good view from this vantage of Pera Meria, the western quay, and the monasteries of Profitis Elias and Aghia Triadha, the former now an army base.
Above the quay on the eastern side there is a pathway which leads to the Castle of the Knights (14th century). There remains the curtain wall, part of a square tower, the remains of a cylindrical tower at the east corner, and toward the sea another cylindrical tower. A Doric inscription, carved in the rock, attests to the existence of an earlier fortress here during Antiquity. Inside the tower there is a large covered cistern.
Ascending the steps on the eastern side of the town, one reaches the suburb of Horafia, where there is a square surrounded by the Church of Agios Yeorgios (1906), with a high dome of Byzantine type, and the Cathedral of Agios Konstandinos and Eleni (1835). It has three naves divided by monolithic granite columns from the temple of Apollo Lykios in Patara (Anatolia). The columns carry ogival arches. Further east is the small bay known as Mandraki, the secondary harbour of the island.
West of the town, beyond the summit of the island known as Vigla, stands Paleokastro (old castle), the island's ancient acropolis. This fortified elevation has classical origins (see below, history section): its plan is rectangular and measures 60 x 80 m. In its interior stand an ancient tower, built with square limestone blocks, and large water cisterns. Carved on the base of the castle there is also a Doric inscription, dating back to the 4th or 3rd centuries BC, with references to Megiste (the ancient name of Kastelorizo) and its dependence on Rhodes. On the east side there are remnants of a gateway, or Propylaea.
Information Panel – Kastelorizo
These pages combine wonderful photographs of Kas with music to add an extra dimension to showcasing the town we all love. Watching one of the sequences will give visitors a real “flavour” of what Kas is like.
Note: If you see this symbol there is a link to more photos on the same theme.
Slideshows of Kas, Turkey
Source: wikipedia
Life in Kas > Images > Slide Shows
© Life in Kas, Turkey www.lifeinkas.com