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Castellorizian Society
of America |
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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. |
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Italian Watercolour |
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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. |
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St Anthimos |
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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... |
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Boys' Class, c. 1924 |
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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. |
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Albert Gabriel |
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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. |
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Cemetery of Castellorizo
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The cemetery of Castellorizo at Mikro
Nifti in the Mandraki has been in this
location since the beginning of the twentieth century.
Prior to this, it was located in the Horafia
precinct of the town, close to the chruch of Ayios
Yeorgios tou Louka. A small circular ossuary at the
rear of this church is the only reminder of the
burial ground that existed here from at least the 17th
century. |
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The Tringali Family |
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Italian rule on
Castellorizo is closely identified with the individual
who represented the Italian Governor of the Dodecanese
islands on the island. Salvatore Tringali
(1876-1950) was until 1924 a senior finance bureaucrat
based in Rhodes. In September of that year, he was
posted to Patmos as delegato (delegate) of the
Italian Governor. In March of the following year, he was
transferred to Castellorizo, a post he was to retain
until July 1934 when he and his family were transferred
to Simi. |
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Castellorizo Today |
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Here are some photos taken in July 2007
by Bill Alexiou of Sydney. I have taken the liberty of
adding a few captions to them to highlight the more
important places of historical interest. |
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Municipal Elections |
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In 1928, the Italian authorities
permitted the first free municipal elections on
Castellorizo and the other Dodecanese islands. Until
this occurred, Castellorizo's municipal council had been
appointed (rather than elected) by the Italian Governor
of the Dodecanese islands based in Rhodes and, before
Italian occupation, by the French authorities (in the
period 1915-1921). |
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The Fire of 6 July 1944 |
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There is only one known photo of the
devastating fire which destroyed much of the Kavos
promontory on 6 July 1944. It was taken by a British
officer of the Levant Schooner Flotilla, WE Benyon-Tinker,
who had entered the harbour while the fire was raging.. |
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Seaplanes |
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The history of the seaplanes that used
Castellorizo as a stopover in the 1920s and 1930s is a
fascinating one.
With the advent of the first long-haul seaplane flights
from Western Europe to the Near & Far East, stopover
destinations were required at convenient and
accommodating locations.. |
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Castellorizians in the USA |
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Genealogy
Forum |
From 1892 to 1924, more than 22 million
immigrants, passengers, and crew members came through
Ellis Island and the Port of New York. The ship
companies that transported these passengers kept
detailed passenger lists, called "ship manifests".. |
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Junior Girls' Class 1928
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Here is a photograph of the junior girls'
class from 1928. The teacher in the middle is the
headmistress of the girls' school, Anastasia
Arnaoutoglou. Behind her stands Eleni Agapitou, who
assisted in instruction of the junior classes. The other
teacher at left is Evangelia Harami.. |
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Literature
Click books for
larger image
If
you would like to promote any literature connected
with Castellorizo on this page, please email
[email protected]
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Ben-My-Chree,
Woman of
my Heart
The
Ben-my-Chree
was a
British
seaplane
carrier
that is
widely
credited
with
having
played a
pioneering
role in
the
growth
of naval
aviation.
What is
less
known is
that she
was sunk
in the
harbour
of
Castellorizo
in 1917
when the
island,
then
occupied
by
France,
was
subjected
to
fierce
bombardment
from the
Turkish
coast.
Here,
for the
first
time, is
the
complete
story of
the
ill-fated
Ben-my-Chree,
from her
days as
an Isle
of Man
steamer
to her
conversion
to one
of the
first
floatplane
carriers
to serve
in the
Great
War.
Author
Ian
Burns, a
leading
aero-naval
historian,
brings
to light
her
fascinating
story of
passenger
travel
and her
years of
combat,
culminating
in her
tragic
sinking
in the
island’s
accommodating
harbour
and the
inquiry
that
followed.
£32.50,
240 pp
Click here to order |
 From
Kastellorizo...Memoirs
of a
Greek
Migrant
Family
Michael
(Stratos)
Jack
Kailis
was
born
in
Western
Australia
of
Greek
parents.
His
formative
years
were
spent
in
North
Perth,
now
known
as
Northbridge,
where
many
of
the
early
migrants
from
Castellorizo
first
settled.
Michael
tells
of
the
dangerous
times
that
forced
his
parents'
families
to
come
to
Australia
from
Castellorizo.
He
tells
of
how
his
parents
met,
of
their
courtship
and
marriage,
and
of
their
humble
beginnings.
Above
all,
he
writes
with
pride
about
the
hard
work
and
dynamism
of
his
father
in
building
a
major
business
which
grew
to
employ
over
800
people.
This
is a
moving account
of
the
migrant
experience that
will
resonate
with
many
Australians
of
Greek
background
$42.50,
Hesperian
Press,
2006,
311pp
Click here to order |
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Near Eastern Dreams: The French Occupation of
Castellorizo, 1915-1921
On a small island in the Eastern Mediterranean,
successive European powers have demonstrated their grand
aspirations. In the last century alone, Castellorizo has
been ruled by Turkey, France, Italy, Britain and Greece.
Its period under French administration
opens a fascinating window into the ideas of the French
about their country's place in the world. However,
French dreams of a Near Eastern empire, expressed
eloquently by naval administrators on the island, were
to have little place in the plans of Paris bureaucrats.
Nicholas Pappas looks engagingly at the island, its
people, its French overlords and the conflicting
aspirations of the cultures and nations. His
Castellorizo - "the Pearl of the Levant" to its French
occupiers- is a touchstone of 20th century Western
history, revealed with precision in this highly readable
illustrated study.
$30.00, Halstead Press, 2005, 162pp
Click here to order |
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Kastellorizo: To margaritari tou Levante: I Galliki
Katohi, 1915-1921
(Greek edition of 'Near Eastern Dreams')
$25.00, Zaharopoulos Press, 2004, 303pp
Click here to order |
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Embers on the Sea: The Empire Patrol
Disaster, 1945
The conflagration which destroyed the Empire Patrol
after World War II took with it more than just the lives
of many Greek refugees.
For most of the survivors, their
prospects of returning to normal peacetime homes went
down along with the ship and their worldly belongings,
and any physical evidence which might have revealed who
was to blame. 50 years on. Embers on the Sea provides
the first clear analysis of what went wrong before and
during the journey, in the lax rescue operation, and at
the British Naval Inquiry which followed.
Paul Boyatzis, a Perth doctor who survived the voyage,
and Sydney lawyer and historian Nicholas Pappas, have
teamed to piece the whole story together in text,
pictures and interviews.
Tracing the historical background since the turn of the
century, they explain how it is that a single shipwreck
spelt the end of a Mediterranean town and set off a wave
of migration to Australia.
$20.00, Halstead Press, 1995, 128pp
Click here to order |
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 Castellorizo:
An Illustrated History of the Island and its Conquerors
Castellorizo- An Illustrated History of the Island and
its Conquerors charts great movements in history that
have controlled the fate of a small island, remote from
Greece. Since distant antiquity Castellorizo has been a
prize in the power games of the Mediterranean. Its story
traces the unsteady fortunes of the Rhodians and Romans,
the Knights of St. John, Byzantine and modern Greece,
Venice, Turkey, France, Britain, Germany and Italy.
And through the ancient and modern
ravages of war, and last century's peace and prosperity,
through the depopulations of the Middle Ages and our own
time, we find in the rocky isle's constant Greekness,
one condition which trade, diplomacy and conquest have
never effaced.
For the first time, Nicholas Pappas
presents this history as careful scholarly research
reveals it. The many fascinating illustrations include
maps, old prints and rare wartime photos showing scenes
of devastations which Catellorizians themselves were
never able to see.
$35.00, Halstead Press, 1994, 223pp
Click here to order
For any book recommendations, questions
and feedback, please log on to our online forum.
Click here.
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