Castellorizian Society of America
History Forum
In 1926, the Castellorizian Benevolent Society of America was established in New York by a group of newly-arrived Castellorizians which included Andreas K Mihalakis, Athanasios K Tsakounis, Nikolaos Y Karazepounis and Moschos A Paraskevas. With increasing Castellorizian arrivals, the Society prospered and among its many activities was an annual ball which was held each year in the Manhattan Centre in NYC. The Castellorizo Forum has recently obtained a copy of the Society's ball programme from 1948.
Italian Watercolour
History Forum
In 1943, an Italian export company, Mabo SA, sponsored the publication of a calendar that featured 12 watercolours of the Dodecanese islands, then under Italian dominion. The month of June was adorned by a charming watercolour of the Kavos promontory by an unknown artist. It is reproduced here.
St Anthimos
History Forum
Not many know that the Monastery of St George of the Mountain (Ayios Yeorgios tou Vouniou) on Castellorizo was erected by a saint of the Greek Orthodox Church, Anthimos. Anthimos Kourouklis (1727-1781) was born on the island of Cephallonia. He was blind from the age of seven, and entered monastic life from the age of 25...
Boys' Class, c. 1924
Photography Forum
Here is a photograph of a boys' class from c. 1924 taken on the steps of the Santrapeia school. The first boy from left in the second bottom row is Yeorgios Anastasiou Fermanis, while others in the photo include Vanias Pitsikas, Adam Adamides , Ioannis Anast. Papanastasiou and Nikos Exindaris.
Albert Gabriel
History Forum
Albert Gabriel (1883-1972) was a French architect, archaeologist, painter and traveller whose large body of work recently featured in a major exhibition in Istanbul.
While Gabriel's published works on his travels in the eastern Mediterranean have been widely-known for some time, his vast private collection of writings, paintings and photographs has remained untapped until recently and formed the centrepiece of the exhibition in Turkey.

History

This page will feature articles on the history of Castellorizo      through the ages.

Click on the links below to view the corresponding article.

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In late 1933, Castellorizo was the scene of some dramatic civil protests against the island's municipal councillors that were to culminate in 1934 with the enforced resignation of longstanding mayor Ioannis Lakerdis and many of his supporters.  This article examines some conflicting contemporary interpretations of these events which were characterised, at one extreme, as a Greek nationalist uprising against a colonial power.  With the aid of oral history, the authors uncover far more complex causes underlying these unusual protests which were underpinned by distinctly localised agendas. 

Petition, 15 April 1920
On 15 April 1920, while Castellorizo was still under French occupation, 105 male citizens of the island delivered a signed petition to the admiral
commanding the Syrian Division of the French Navy asking him to receive a deputation from them which they hoped could convey to him "the real
situation of the island, both from an internal point of view and from an
economic perspective."  The document is a revealing snapshot of the
conditions on the island in the last stages of French occupation and is
reproduced here in its entirety.  For a more thorough analysis of the
document, including a full translation of the text and the signatories'
names, please visit the History Board in the Castellorizo Forum.

An American journalist's visit to 'Castelrosso', 1940
 
 In late 1940, an American journalist, Dorothy Hosmer, was despatched by The National Geographic Magazine to visit  the Dodecanese islands, then under Italian occupation.  Here is an extract  of her report which appeared in the April 1941 edition of the magazine (vol.  LXXIX).  The piece is particularly revealing of the worsening conditions on the island with the onset of war.  It includes an interview with the Economou family and various casual photographs of life on the island in the  last years of Italian rule.

'Our Micro-Gibraltar':  The French on Castellorizo, 1915-1921
 
This short piece provides a convenient overview of the turbulent 
years between 1915-1921 when Castellorizo became a French 
naval colony with its own governor, postage stamps and even 
a papier-mâché Arc de Triomphe in its main square.

Reminiscences of Antifilo and Myra

The strong economic and cultural links between Castellorizo and the Anatolian mainland, particularly in the nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries, are well-documented.  This piece, which is drawn from the
collection of the Centre for Asia Minor Studies in Athens, features
translated reminiscences of two elderly Castellorizians about daily life in
the towns of Myra (modern Demre) and Antifilo (Kas) before the compulsory exchange of populations.

The Adventures of HMS Ben-My-Chree in the Wine-Dark Sea

This article, which featured in The Athenian (September 1995), deals with the sinking of the British seaplane carrier, the HMS Ben-My-Chree, in the harbour of Castellorizo in January 1917 when the island was bombarded from the Turkish coast while under French occupation.

 
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