Why Kastellorizo
Kastellorizo, officially known as Megisti, is a Greek island situated in the Levantine Sea within the Eastern Mediterranean. Positioned roughly two kilometers off the southern coast of Turkey near Kaş, it serves as the easternmost island territory of Greece alongside the neighboring islet of Strongyli. It lies approximately 125 kilometers east of Rhodes and 280 kilometers northwest of Cyprus. Despite being the largest landmass in its immediate small cluster of islets, Kastellorizo is the smallest municipality in the Dodecanese, with the main island covering just over nine square kilometers. In recent years, it has attracted travelers seeking a secluded destination, a reputation enhanced by the 1991 Academy Award-winning film Mediterraneo, which was filmed on location and set on the island during World War II.
The history of Kastellorizo dates back thousands of years to its settlement by Dorian Greeks. Over the centuries, control of the island shifted between the Rhodians, the Byzantine Empire, the Knights Hospitaller, Egypt, the Crown of Aragon, the Ottoman Empire, Venice, France, and Italy before its eventual integration into Greece. The common name Kastellorizo, used since the twelfth century, combines the Italian word for castle with elements that historians attribute to local geological features, early place names, or the roots of the hill supporting the fortress.
The main harbor is set within a wide bay on the northern coast and supports the island's single town. The settlement features slender houses with Anatolian-style wooden balconies lining a continuous waterfront quay and central square. Notable historical structures along the port include a restored eighteenth-century Ottoman mosque that now serves as a museum, as well as a single-story 1926 Italian administration building designed by architect Florestano Di Fausto.
Above the harbor's eastern shore stand the ruins of the fourteenth-century Castle of the Knights, which preserves medieval wall sections, towers, a large cistern, and ancient Doric inscriptions carved directly into the rock face. A stone staircase leads to the residential quarter of Horafia, site of the 1906 Church of Saint George and the 1835 Cathedral of Saints Constantine and Helena, built using monolithic granite columns taken from an ancient temple in Patara. Further east lies Mandraki, serving as the secondary port, while the town also features an interactive Puzzle Museum.
To the west, atop the 270-meter summit of Vigla, lies Palaiokastro, an ancient fortified acropolis containing classical stone walls, square towers, and water reservoirs. The island's terrain consists almost entirely of limestone, creating stark karst formations, surveyed vertical caves, and coastal features such as the cavernous Blue Grotto. Kastellorizo experiences a hot-summer Mediterranean climate with dry summers and exceptionally mild winters, recording one of the highest average annual temperatures in Greece.
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