Gavdos island, Crete
The island of Gavdos is believed to be the ancient isle of
Ogygia which is where the nymph Calypso lived in Homer"s "Odyssey. It has also been known by a variety of other names
throughout history such as "Cavdos" and Clavdos" (Ptolemens and
Ierocles); "Glavdi" (the Epistles); "Gozzo" (the Venetians) and
"Bougadoz" (the Turks). During the first Byzantine period it had
many inhabitants and, consequently, Gavdos had its own bishop.
However, during the Venetian rule pirates began to seek refuge
on the island and, slowly, the locals began to abandon the
island for mainland Crete.
Until the late 18th, early 19th century, Gavdos was part of the
Municipality of Anopolis Sfakion, belonging to Sfakia but in
1925 it was declared a separate community but remaining part of
the county of Sfakia until 1950. After this time the majority of
inhabitants began to move away to Paleochora and, as a
consequence, Gavdos became part of the county of Selinos.
Kastri is the capital of the small island, Gavdos, which lies
opposite Sfakia and is the southern most border of Greece and
Europe. Its position is 24 nautical miles from Agia Roumeli and
the island lies in the middle of the Libyan Sea. It has only
four villages: Karavi, the harbour; Kastri, the capital; and
the villages of Vatsiana and Ambelos.
Together, these four communities house around 40 year round
residents. The shape of the island forms a triangle and its
terrain is semi rocky with a warm and dry climate and very
little rain. A large part of the island is covered with cedar
and pine trees and it has some superb golden beaches which have
recently won the award "Golden Starfish", in particular the
beaches of Agia Ioannis, Korfos, Potamos, Saracenico and Tripiti.
.
