Kasos Κάσος
Old Harbor of Fry
Location
Kasos
Coordinates	35°24′N 26°55′E / 35.4°N 26.917°E / 35.4; 26.917Coordinates: 35°24′N 26°55′E / 35.4°N 26.917°E / 35.4; 26.917
Location within the region
Government
Country:	Greece
Region:	South Aegean
Regional unit:	Karpathos
Population statistics (as of 2001)
Municipality
- Population:	990
- Area:	69.464 km2 (27 sq mi)
- Density:	14 /km2 (37 /sq mi)
Other
Time zone:	EET/EEST (UTC+2/3)
Elevation (min-max):	0–550 m ­(0–1804 ft)
Postal code:	857 00
Telephone:	22450
Auto:	ΚΧ, ΡΟ, ΡΚ
Website
www.kasos.gr

Kasos (also Kassos; Greek: Κάσος) is a Greek island municipality in the Dodecanese. It is the southernmost island in the Aegean Sea, and is part of the Karpathos regional unit. As of 2001, its population was 990. The island has been called in Italian: Caso, Turkish: Kaşot.^[1]

Geography[link]

Kasos lies SW of Karpathos, between this island and Crete. Adjacent to the island is the Strait of Kasos, through which some of the Modified Atlantic Water enters the Sea of Crete.^[2] 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.^[3] It is very mountainous, its highest mount being Mt. Prionas, which is 550 m high.^[3] There is fresh water on the island.^[3]

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. It has five villages, Fry (pronounced like free, pop. 335), Agia Marina (393), Panagia (17), Poli (78), and Arvanitohori (167). Fry is the capital and home to the island's harbor, Agia Marina is most populous village. The airport is located close to Fry and is big enough for an ATR 42 to land.

Kasos is notable for its lack of large scale tourism, the quality of its fish, cheeses, and other culinary specialties, and its hospitality toward visitors.

History[link]

In ancient times, Kasos (then known as Amphie^{[pronunciation?]}, Astrabe^{[pronunciation?]}, and, most commonly, Achnis^{[pronunciation?]}) was used as a safe harbor by the Philistines.^{[citation needed]} The first known settlements are Minoan and Mycenaean in origin.^[4] According to Homer, Kasos contributed ships toward the Trojan War.^[5] It has a very rich and proud history of seamanship and has been an important resource for merchant shipping and pirating. It is still regarded as an island where ship owners can locate a sea savvy crew.^{[citation needed]}

During classical antiquity it closely followed the history of Karpathos.^[1] In the middle ages, as Karpathos, it was subjected from 1306 until 1537 to the Venetian Cornaro family, after which Kasos was conquered by the Ottoman Turks.^[1]

In 1824, during the Greek War of Independence, Mehmet Ali, the Pasha of Egypt, furious with the Kasiots, dispatched his naval fleet to the island. Kasos had been the first island to declare independence during the Greek Revolution and supported the cause with its fleet of ships. The Egyptian armada burned the entire island and killed most of the population.^[6][7] Given the scale of destruction and the fact that the whole of the island was burned, this tragedy is notable for being the first holocaust of the modern era.

The island's population recovered as did its economy, still largely based on shipping. The introduction of steam ships made Kasos' shipyard (which produced wooden sailing ships) redundant and its economy suffered accordingly. Beginning in the later half of the 19th century, many emigrated from Kasos, initially to Egypt (about 5,000 people), then to Istanbul, Greece, USA and South Africa. By the 1920s, out of about 2,300 houses on the island, only 400 were permanently inhabited.^[1]

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.^[1] 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.

In Popular Culture[link]

Kasos is the island where the Nazis opened the Ark of the Covenant in the film Raiders of the Lost Ark.^{[citation needed]}

References[link]

Sources[link]

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

External links[link]

• Official website (English) (Greek)

v t e Administrative division of the South Aegean Region Area: 5,286km² • Population: 302,686 (2001) • Capital: Ermoupoli Regional unit of Andros Andros Regional unit of Kalymnos Agathonisi • Astypalaia • Kalymnos • Leipsoi • Leros • Patmos Regional unit of Karpathos Karpathos • Kasos Regional unit of Kea-Kythnos Kea • Kythnos Regional unit of Kos Kos • Nisyros Regional unit of Milos Kimolos • Milos • Serifos • Sifnos Regional unit of Mykonos Mykonos Regional unit of Naxos Amorgos • Naxos and Lesser Cyclades Regional unit of Paros Antiparos • Paros Regional unit of Rhodes Chalki • Kastelorizo • Rhodes • Symi • Tilos Regional unit of Syros Syros-Ermoupoli Regional unit of Thira Anafi • Folegandros • Ios • Sikinos • Thira (Santorini) Regional unit of Tinos Tinos Regional governor: Ioannis Machairidis (el) • Website: www.pnai.gov.gr