Karpathos
is a long and narrow island with many different faces. The southern
part of the island is low with gentle hills and sandy beaches.
The byzantine city of Thaetho, was situated here, at the area
where the airport is today. Of the city only extensive sherds
and demolished edifices are still to be traced today. The middle
southern part of the island, is marked with low stony mountains,
valleys dedicated to agriculture, and long sandy beaches.  The
capital of Karpathos, the town of Karpathos or Pigadia, is situated
on this part of the island, on the site of the ancient greek city
of Karpathos. Another seven villages, Menetes, Arkasa, Phoeniki,
Pyles, Othos Volada and Aperi, belong to this part of the island,
which the Karpathiotes call Kato Horia (lower villages). Aperi
was the old capital of Karpathos, and is still the seat of the
archbishop. Above the village on the top of the commanding hill
of Kastro, there are the remains of medieval fortifications.
A nice path to walk up the hill, begins at the village of Volada
(30min). From Volada you can also set off to conquer the island's
highest peak (1215m), which bears the unusual for a mountain name
of Kalolimni, meaning "Good Lake". Take the road to
Othos, and before reaching the village, take the turn to the right
(north), towards the plateau of Lastos. It is said that Lastos
was in prehistoric times a lake, formed by the water from the
springs of Kalolimni. In recored history times, Lastos has been
producing excellent wine. There are still a few farmers' cottages
in the platau, the "stavli" where the Karpathiotes resided
during the harvest. The road continues from Lastos up the mountain
to a camp of relay transmitters' installations. You can either
follow the road or trace and follow goat paths. You
will have reached the peak in 4 hours. Menetes and Othos were
built after the destruction by the pirates of the byzantine city
of Thaetho, by the city's remaining inhabitants. Arkasa and Phoeniki,
lay at the area of the ancient greek city of Arkesea. The villages
were built only as recently as the the end of last century.
As it has been common practice, the builders used material of
the ancient Arkesea to built their houses. The big church of Menetes
was also built with ancient stones capitals and columns, which
were carried on donkeys from Arkesia up to Menetes. The builders
seem to have been too eager to carry the ancient material, so
that 4 columns remained unused, standing now out side the church!
All the cottages of the area were also built with ancient material,
but the long story of "the city for the taking" does
not stop here. Every traveller in the past several centuries has
to record a diminuition. Ludwig Ross, the Austrian archeologist
who visited and described the site in 1836, speaks of the removal
of 20 pillars to Samos island, for the building of the monastery
of Stavros, and of a project to remove more material to the island
of Kasos.
The area of Arkesea is mostly turned into fields today. The chapel
of Agia Sophia marks the site of three early byzantine basilicas
of large proportions (20x15m), built successively on one another,
and each level having mosaic floors. Unfortunately the long story
of "diminuition" of the ancient Arkesea continues today
with the destruction of the fragile mosaics of the basilicas.
The ancient acropolis of Arkesea occupies the prominent peninsula
projecting out of the sea. There are cyclopean walls and ancient
greek walls, and foundations of public buildings, probably temples.
Follow up the path from Agia Sophia. The middle northern part
of Karpathos is dominated by the island's highest mountain range,
Mount Kalolimni. There are two vilages here, Mesohori and Spoa,
with their sea side fishing-hamlet of Lefkos, situated at the
site of another byzantine city, of considerable size. The Basilica
excavated in the mid '70s at Lefkos's anchorage was of unusual
size, being 60m long.
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