Kastellorizo (Megisti)

Kastelorizo is an island of the Dodecanese and is the easternmost tip of not only Greece but also of Europe. It has an area of 9.1 sq. Km. and a population of 498 inhabitants, constituting the municipality of Megistis. It is the largest island of a small archipelago, including the islands: Saint George, Agrielia, Great Black Poini, Little Black Poini, Poliphados number one and two, Ro, Stroggili, Psomi, Psoria and some other islands Turkey, since the island is very close to the Turkish coast. The island is accompanied by a great maritime tradition, with strong signs of maritime and commercial development that it once experienced.

Mediterraneo (1991)

Although a small island, Kastellorizo ​​(or Megisti) has a long history, having been inhabited since the Neolithic period, and then colonized by the Dorians, as well as all the Dodecanese. They gave the island the name Megisti , as it is still officially called. A legend attributes the baptism to the first settler called Megesteas, but the name is probably due to its size being distinct from the surrounding islets.

In 1306 it was occupied by the Knights of St. John of Rhodes and was named Kastellorizo around the end of the 14th century, when they built it on the red rock next to the port entrance, a castle under which the city was developed. During this time, the Knights exiled the unwanted people to Kastellorizo, and in general, all those who wished to punish. For this reason, they rebuilt the island's tall castle, with its high double walls and warblers, making it one of the strongest in the Aegean Sea.

Chronology

• In 1440 it is occupied by the Egyptian Fleet of Jalal el Din, who ravaged the city and transported captives to the East.
• In 1461 it was occupied by the Catalans.
• In 1470 he passes to the king of Naples.
• In 1480, the island was deserted by the Turks.
• In 1498, the king of Naples recovers the island.
• In 1512, the Spanish occupied it.
• In 1523 it was occupied by the Turks, under Sultan Suleiman I.
• In 1570 the Venetians ruled on the island.
• In 1659 it falls again into the hands of the Ottomans, under Sultan Suleiman II.
• In 1788 the Russo-Turkish war broke out and in July Lambros Katsonis and his men besieged the island and the Turkish guard there surrendered.
• In 1792 the war was over and the Turks returned to the island.
• In 1821 (autumn) the Turks were persecuted when the revolutionary forces arrived there.
• In 1830 (after the successful liberation of Greece in 1821), the London Protocol mandated the Dodecanese to return under Turkish rule.
• In 1913 (1/14 March), the inhabitants of Kastellorizo ​​rebelled and expelled the small Turkish guard of the island, declaring the Union with Greece, which, however, was not accepted.
• In 1914, after the Great Powers convention in London, it was decided to return Kastellorizo ​​to Turkey (along with Imbros and Tenedos).
• In 1915 (December 28), with the outbreak of World War I, France seized it by seeking to make the island a naval base.
• In 1920, with the Treaty of Sevres, Turkey withdrew from the claim of Kastellorizo ​​in favor of Italy.
• In 1921 (1 March), France granted the island to Italy for a high fee.
• In 1923 the Italians acquired the island under the Treaty of Lausanne.
• In 1941 (February 24), following the Second World War, English commanders landed on the island.
• In 1943 (September 13), the destroyer "Admiral Koundouriotis" arrives at the port and Kastellorizo ​​is the first piece of Greek land to be liberated.
• In 1943 (October and November), German Stuccos begin bombardments and air strikes with the Allies, tearing down the houses that were left standing and forcing the few inhabitants to leave the island. Only "Lady of Ro", Despina Achladiotis, remained on her homonymous island, to raise the Greek flag every morning, as she had been used to doing for forty years.
• In 1945 the Kastellorizians return to their homeland on three missions. In the last one mission has heavy casualties after a fire broke out on the Emirates Patrol aboard, causing 33 people to drown and burn many.
• In 1948 (March 7th) it formally joined with Greece, as did the rest of the Dodecanese, after the disasters, the many bombings and looting, and until then it remained under allied military occupation.