Kastellorizo lies at the far eastern edge of Greece and the European Union, in the Dodecanese archipelago in the eastern Mediterranean. It is only about 2 kilometres from Kas in Antalya province on Turkey’s southern coast. Although it covers no more than 9 to 10 square kilometres, the island contains a historical record shaped by successive civilisations and powers, as well as archaeological, natural and architectural landmarks reflecting its maritime position and diverse heritage.
The island is officially known in Greek as Megisti, a word meaning ‘the largest’, referring to its being the largest island in the small archipelago around it, rather than to its absolute area. In Turkey, it is known as Meis and is also called Kizilhisar, associated with the meaning ‘red fortress’.
The commonly used name Kastellorizo derives from ‘Castel Rosso’, meaning ‘red fortress’. This was the castle built by the Knights of St John in the fourteenth century above the red rocks overlooking the harbour. Over time, the name became Kastellorizo locally, while the old name Megisti remained the island’s official Greek name.
The island is about 6 kilometres long and nearly 3 kilometres wide, while its coastline extends for about 19.5 kilometres. Its size makes it one of the smallest inhabited islands, but its position opposite Anatolia and its close proximity to the Turkish coast gave its harbour commercial and military importance at different stages of the region’s history.
Early settlement and Hellenistic and Byzantine transformations
The earliest evidence of human settlement on Kastellorizo dates to the Neolithic and Bronze ages, particularly the period between 1600 and 1100 BC. The Dorians later settled on the island and called it Megisti, a name that remained associated with it into the modern era.
During the Hellenistic period, the island came under the authority of the maritime state of Rhodes, which sent a military inspector to oversee its affairs. Remains from that period still stand, notably the rock-cut Lycian tomb and the walls of the acropolis at Palaeokastro.
Kastellorizo subsequently came under Roman rule and then became part of the Byzantine Empire within the Province of the Islands. Its harbour gained military importance during the Byzantine period, serving as a base and headquarters for the Byzantine navy. Early Christianity also spread on the island, as shown by the remains of basilica churches and mosaic panels discovered there.
In 1306, the Knights of St John took control of the island and built a fortified castle above the red rocks overlooking the harbour, calling it the red fortress. The fifteenth century saw successive conflicts: Egypt’s Mamluks attacked the island in 1440 and caused extensive damage, before Alfonso V, King of Naples and Aragon, took control in 1450 and restored the castle.
The island came under Ottoman rule in 1512, during the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, although it briefly fell under Venetian control in 1659. During the nineteenth century, its residents received self-government privileges and tax reductions in 1835 and 1836 in return for paying an annual ransom. These arrangements coincided with a period of broad economic prosperity.
Kastellorizo’s economic activity peaked in the nineteenth century, benefiting from a large merchant fleet and sponge fishing, as well as trade in coal and goods between Anatolia, Egypt and Mediterranean ports. The island’s population rose during that period to between 10,000 and 15,000, accompanied by urban expansion reflected in its neoclassical houses and public buildings.
Buildings associated with that architectural heritage include the Ottoman mosque, built in 1753, and the neoclassical Santrapeia school, built in 1903. The harbour also acquired its distinctive character from the colourful multi-storey houses and wooden balconies around it, which remain evidence of the wealth the island accumulated through trade and maritime activity.
Occupations and wars reshape the island’s fate
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Kastellorizo entered a period of turmoil and economic decline. In 1910, the imposition of conscription and restrictions on commercial activity during the Young Turk era weakened its economy and prompted some residents to emigrate. In March 1913, a local revolt ousted the Ottoman unit stationed on the island, and residents declared a provisional government that called for union with Greece.
But the island’s political course in the following years remained tied to the First World War and the contest for the islands of the eastern Mediterranean. France occupied Kastellorizo in 1915 during the First World War and used it as a naval base. The island also came under artillery bombardment during that period.
In March 1921, France handed it over to Italy, making it officially part of the Italian Dodecanese. Five years later, an earthquake struck the island in 1926, damaging its buildings and urban fabric. Losses worsened during the Second World War, when Kastellorizo was subjected to bombardment and fighting.
The events included German air raids and explosions that hit British ammunition stores, destroying most of the island’s homes. Most residents were then forcibly displaced, extending the waves of displacement and emigration that had begun with the economic decline in previous decades. After the Second World War, the island passed under Greek sovereignty under the Paris Peace Treaty, signed on 10 February 1947.
Under the treaty, Italy ceded the Dodecanese to Greece, and an official ceremony marking Kastellorizo’s accession to the Greek state was held on 7 March 1948. Emigration continued as a result of the destruction caused by the war, before the island recovered part of its activity in the following decades.
Tourism puts Kastellorizo back on the international map
Growing tourism and cultural interest helped restore its international profile, particularly after the Italian film ‘Mediterraneo’ was filmed there in 1991. The film won an Academy Award. The island also became the venue for the international Beyond Borders documentary film festival. The Blue Cave is among Kastellorizo’s best-known natural landmarks.
It is a large sea cave into which sunlight enters through a low opening, reflecting off the water and walls to give it a distinctive blue colour. Reaching it requires small boats, and it can be visited only when the sea is calm.
Landmarks bringing together the castle, harbour and caves
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Castello Rosso Castle; historic harbour; Palaeokastro; religious and cultural landmarks.
Castello Rosso Castle, built by the Knights of St John in the fourteenth century, stands on a red rock overlooking the harbour, giving Kastellorizo its name. The island also contains a rock-cut Lycian tomb dating to the fourth century BC, the only Lycian tomb located within Greek territory.
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Historic harbour
The historic harbour is the heart of the island’s urban fabric. Colourful multi-storey neoclassical houses with wooden balconies line it, their features dating from the prosperous nineteenth century. The Ottoman mosque, built in the eighteenth century, overlooks the harbour and was later restored and converted into a museum of archaeology and folklore.
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Palaeokastro
The Palaeokastro archaeological site lies in the elevated part of Kastellorizo, with the remains of the ancient acropolis, massive walls, cisterns and Byzantine churches. The Monastery of St George stands in the mountains and can be reached by a long stone staircase; the site contains a church and an underground crypt.
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Religious and cultural landmarks
The island’s landmarks are completed by the Cathedral of Saints Constantine and Helen, the Santrapeia school with its modern neoclassical design, and the Museum of Puzzles, which contains thousands of intellectual and mathematical puzzles.
Together with the castle, Lycian tomb, Blue Cave and historic harbour, these sites present successive layers of Kastellorizo’s natural, maritime, religious and architectural history.
