Kasos

Kasos has around a thousand residents and a long maritime history: its captains and crews served on ships across the world, and from the later 19th century some 5,000 islanders emigrated to Egypt, which is why the island keeps ties to Alexandria and Port Said. The port village of Fry is small and functional, with a fishing harbour at Bouka and a scatter of villages inland, Agia Marina, Arvanitochori, Panagia, each with churches out of proportion to their present populations. The Ellinokamara cave, with a wall of large ancient blocks across its mouth, sits above Agia Marina, and beaches such as Helatros in the southwest, at the end of a rough track, are entirely undeveloped. Boats run to the uninhabited islet of Armathia, which has the best sand in the area.

History

The first known settlements on Kasos are Minoan and Mycenaean, and Homer says the island sent ships to the Trojan War. After a short period under the Knights of St John it was held by the Venetian Cornaro family from 1306 until Barbarossa took it for the Ottomans in 1537. Kasos joined the Greek Revolution with its fleet, and in 1824 Mehmet Ali of Egypt sent his navy, which plundered the island, in what is known as the Kasos massacre; the island recovered on shipping, until steamships made its yard for wooden sailing ships redundant, and from the later 19th century many islanders emigrated, about 5,000 of them first to Egypt (Wikipedia, Kasos).

What's there

• Fry and Bouka - the small port and its picturesque fishing harbour.
• Ellinokamara cave - an ancient walled cave mouth above the village.
• Helatros beach - a remote bay at the end of a long track.
• Armathia islet - an uninhabited island with fine sand, reached by boat.

When to go

May, June and September; the island is exposed and the meltemi can be fierce in high summer, occasionally cutting ferry links for days. Winter is very quiet.

What to expect

There is minimal infrastructure: a few rooms, a handful of tavernas, one small shop cluster and no organised activities. A car or scooter is needed for the beaches, and the tracks are rough. Boats and flights are both weather-dependent.

Nearby

Karpathos lies northeast; Crete is the next landfall west.

Key facts