The Mini Rough Guide to Kos by Rough Guides

Author:Rough Guides
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Travel, Greece
Publisher: Apa Publications
Published: 2025-03-18T04:57:54+00:00

Kálymnos

First impressions of Kálymnos w [map] , northwest of Kós, are of an arid, mountainous landmass with a decidedly masculine energy in the main port town of Póthia. The former dominant industry, sponge-diving, has now been supplanted by tourism and commercial fishing. But the island’s prior mainstay is evident in home decor of huge sponges or shell-encrusted amphorae, and souvenir shops overflowing with smaller sponges.

Kálymnos essentially consists of two cultivated, inhabited valleys sandwiched between three limestone ridges, harsh in the full glare of noon but magically tinted towards dusk. The climate, especially in winter, is alleged to be drier and healthier than on its neighbours, since the quick-draining limestone strata, riddled with many caves, doesn’t retain much moisture. Kálymnos’s position and excellent harbours ensure that it has always been important – especially during Byzantine rule, which left many ruined basilicas here. Another Byzantine legacy is the survival of peculiar medieval names (Skévos, Sakellários and Mikés for men, Themélina, Petránda and Sevastí for women), found nowhere else in Greece.

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