Kalimnos (
Kalymnos) mountainous Greek island in the
Aegean Sea, part of the
Dodecanese islands group, 42 square miles (111 square km) in area. The capital,
Kalimnos (Pothia), located at the head of an inlet inthe southeast, is the chief port and a prominent
Aegean commercial centre with the bulk of the island's population. As in classical times, sponge fishing remains the chief industry, with the sponge fleet away to the North African coast for up to six months each year after
Easter. Toward the centre of the island, the volcanic valley of Vathys, irrigated from springs, supports citrus, olives, figs, and vines.
Kalimnos island is the seat of a metropolitan bishop of the Greek Orthodox Church.
Believed to have been settled by a Dorian colony from Epidaurus in the
Peloponnese, the island coined its own money and took part in the first and second Athenian leagues (5th and 4th centuries BC). As a Persian satrapy, it was conquered in 332 by the Macedonian forces of Alexander the Great and was later annexed by Rome to the province of Asia. Until AD 1310 it was occupied by Venetians, who then gave way to the Knights of
Rhodes (the future Knights of Malta). In 1522 it was captured with the other
islands of the Dodecanese by the Turks, and in 1912 it was occupied by Italy.The people of
Kalimnos resisted Italianization, and during World War II many fled to Turkey. The necropolis of Damos and more than 100 ancient Greek inscriptions are among the antiquities found or excavated on
Kalimnos island.
Kalimnos or Pothia, the island's capital, is amphitheatrically built, and descends to the portlike a multicoloured torrent of bright houses, churches and belfries. On the coast lies the church of Jesus Our Saviour, its interior is decorated with murals and old icons painted by local artists. The temple has been constructed by Giannoulis Halepas, the famous Greek sculptor. With the city as a base you can visit the wonderful countryside and villages.
