Kastellórizo

Kastellórizo (in Greek Καστελλόριζο or Kastellòrizo , in Turkish Meis , in Italian Castelrosso , in English Kastelorizo ) is a Greek small island of the Eastern Mediterranean, located at less than five kilometers of the southern part of the Turkey and at approximately 110 kilometers in the East of Rhodos. The island bore various names spelled in various manners through the history of which Castellorizo or Castelrosso . Its current Greek name of Meyísti or Megísti or Μεγίστη (meaning largest ) is ironic since with its nine square kilometres of surface, it is more the small island of the Dodécanèse.

Two close small islands, Ros and Strogili , are associated for him.

History

See also: Contenu=Pour to deepen, see [[History of Greece]]

Antiquity

Excavations highlighted traces of human occupation as of the Neolithic . The Mycéniens construsirent there walls Cyclopéen S of which there remain vestiges.

In the neighborhoods of fourth century BC, the island was one of the Dème S of Piraea and emits its clean Monnaie presenting the head crowned of bay-tree of Bacchus on a face and Megisteon on the other. However, these coins really circulated only on the island of Rhodos thus showing the progressive slip of the capacity of Piraeae towards Rhodos.

From this period are in particular found in 1913 on the plate of Agios Georgios (Saint-Georges) the remainders of 22 tomb X plundered including one Sarcophage containing a crown in Or decorated with vines and who constitutes one of the showpieces of the archaeological National museum of Athens. According to the estimates, these tombs would date from fourth century BC. Another tomb of the same time at summer discovered on the island close to Ros.

Until 146 av. J. - C. and the arrival of the Roman domination on Greece which will last until in 330, Kastellórizo belongs to the ancient Greece.

The Middle Ages

Under the Byzantine Empire, the island takes the name of Castellorizo, name which will be then deformed in all the other variations during the various occupations.

In 1306, the island is taken by the Ordre of Malta and is integrated into their cross State of Rhodos. The island was used as place of Exil and detention.

After takebeing taken in 1440 by the Egyptian army of the Ottoman Empire, Kastellórizo is successively controlled by the Catalans in 1461, by the Royaume of Naples in 1470, by the Othomans in 1480, again by the Kingdom of Naples in 1498 and by the Spaniards in 1512.

In 1635, the République of Venice takes possession of the island which it renames Castellorosso by deformation of the original name. It is taken again by the Ottoman Empire in 1686.

Contemporary time

From 1821, the island is managed by the Greece at the time of its war of independence but the island is finally recovered by the Ottoman Empire in 1833.

Between 1913 and 1915, Kastellórizo acquires the autonomy before undergoing various periods of occupation and changing with many resumptions of mains :

of the December 24th 1915 with the August 21st 1920 : occupation by the France. The Turkey, in reprisal vis-a-vis this presence, bombards the island regularly and destroys in 1917.
of the August 21st 1920 with the mid- 1944 : occupation by the Italy which integrates it into these possessions of the Dodécanèse ( Isole Italiane dell' Egeo ) the July 11th 1922 and re-elects it Castelrosso . During the Years 1930, the island was an important stopover for the planes of Alitalia and Air France.
mid- 1944 with the March 22nd 1945 : occupation by the the United Kingdom following the Italian capitulation vis-a-vis the Allied . During this occupation, the explosion of a gasoline stock causes a Incendie which devastates the island and destroys half of the dwellings.

The March 22nd 1945, Kastellórizo is officially integrated into Greece but it will remain under British administration until the September 15th 1947 then under Greek administration until the March 22nd 1948, date of the énosis (union) effective.

Permanent population of the island, estimated at 15 000 people towards 1900, then fell to approximately 250 individus1900, has dwindled to around 250, heavily subsidized so territorial ace to forestall claims by Turkey. -->. Indeed, the majority of the inhabitants emigrated towards the Australia where they are known under the Sobriquet of Kassies , towards the the United States and the France where one finds some their descendants with Marseilles and in the area Provence-Alp-Coast of Azure.

Nowadays, Kastellórizo is visited more and more by tourists in the search of an island isolated from the Dodécanèse and decorations of the film Mediterraneo of Gabriele Salvatores oscarized in 1991.

Geography

Kastellórizo is the Greek island Eastern and is located in the Eastern basin of the Mediterranean. Of triangular and mountainous form, it is six kilometers long and three kilometers broad and is distant only of 2 250 meters of the Turkey (Kas, province of Antalya) to the course Stefanos Agios.

The only village of Kastellórizo, Megísti, is placed at the bottom of a bay in the North-East of the island, vis-a-vis the Turkish coasts.

Postal history

In 1920, the French occupying forces surimprimèrent stamps Raising French with B.N.F. CASTELLORIZO directed vertically or horizontally (B.N.F. for bases naval Frenchwoman ) then with O.N.F. Horizontally directed Castellorizo (O.N.F. for French naval occupation ) and finally OF vertically directed CASTELLORISO (OF for French occupation ). These pullings rare and are sought by the collectors. These are fifty stamps (without counting the varieties) which were emitted under the French occupation.

In 1922, the Italy NS surchagèrent their own stamps with the mention CASTELROSSO affixed with the horizontal one. In 1923, they printed a series of five stamps representing a chart of the island and the Italian flag. The island having become an Italian colony in 1924, they again overloaded stamps Italian with the mention CASTELROSSO affixed in diagonal then the series Ferrucci in 1930 (horizontal overload) and the series Garibaldi of 1932 (horizontal overload). In all, 39 stamps were emitted under the Italian occupation.

External bonds

Information on Kastellórizo
Personal site on Kastellórizo
Kastellórizo on WorldStatesmen.org
Presentation of Kastellórizo by immigrants in Australia
Photographs of Kastellórizo
History of Kastellórizo

Reference

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