2011. Greece, once upon a time… Kastellorizo

Welcome to the special section “BAM 35 Years.” We are presenting “cult” articles from the Motor Boats archive, starting in 1990. A journey through time among stories unobtainable today, even in the great sea of the internet! A dive into the world of epic moments in motor boating. We begin with one of the stories we were most passionate about.

Once upon a time… Kastellorizo

From Boats to Motors 2011, no.3, April, pp. 60-61.

The water is crystal clear, it feels like a bay and not a harbor. A large turtle wanders quietly under the boats, appearing and disappearing. Wild and colorful, the last Greek outpost in front of Turkey has retained the charm of more than a hundred years ago.

Kastellorizo is the smallest of the Dodecanese islands. A good 70 miles from Rhodes, it is the extreme eastern outpost of Greece. It is a wonderful fresco of stately houses in gentle pastel colors that are reflected in a delightful old natural harbor. You can moor there wherever there is room by setting anchor. As almost everyone does, I accepted mooring help (always offered!) from one of the owners of the restaurants on the south quay. The water is crystal clear, it feels like a bay. A large turtle wanders quietly under the boats, appearing and disappearing to the delight of the boaters. Everything is calm and quiet but there is something electric in the air that makes me feel alive, curious, happy to be. I finally feel like a fulfilled traveler who has reached a special destination….

A place that stays with you

Also Skevos Vrondos, sculthours and wandering stonemason originally from theisland of Kalymnos, has decided to stop. “At least for a while,” he says. as long as there are stones suitable for carving!” What is most fascinating about Kastellorizo is its troubled history. Always the best port in the area, in a strategic location, Kastellorizo has suffered repeated Turkish, French, Italian, and British invasions while always remaining extraordinarily Greek. In the early 1900s Kastellorizo was a town of 9,000 people. Today the houses are much sparser and the population has shrunk to 270. Since the 1970s the town has enjoyed a clever restoration effort, both by islanders who have decided to return and by those who have not forgotten it. Like Marina Pistonis, an Australian emigrant but always a “kassie” in her soul. Her guide Capture Kastellorizo takes me on a paved mule track protected by a small white wall. As we climb, the view becomes spectacular, embracing the harbor, the bay-port of Mandraki and the not-so-distant Turkish coast. In less than an hour you reach the old abandoned farms and the impressive monastery of St. George. On the way back, the quay is bustling with onlookers and tourists who don’t shy away from stopping at the places overlooking the sea. I leave Kastellorizo to go not far away to theisland of Ro, only four miles away. At the highest point of the island one notices a kind of fort, the only imprint of man in a silent nature. Here Despina Achladiotou, the legendary “Lady of Ro,” lived alone after the death of her husband for 42 years. Every day she raised and lowered the Greek flag as a sign of patriotic love, just a few miles from the Turkish coast. She did this until her death in 1982.

An Oscar-worthy setting

It was 1991 when Gabriele Salvatores shot his “Mediterraneo,” right on the Greek island of Kastellorizo. The film, with Diego Abatantuono in the leads, was a huge international success, even winning an Oscar the following year as Best Foreign Film. Also thanks to this film, Italian viewers were able to discover the charm of this island.

by Giorgio Daidola

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