In 1912, the Italian warship Regina Margerita reached Karpathos Island and released its anchor. However, the chain got loose fell into the sea along with the anchor. The Italian admiral who was on the ship immediately asked for the help of the local people on the island.
One of the most beautiful ports of the Mediterranean Sea, right on the outskirts of the Aegean Sea. It resembles Symi, it could even pass as its little sister. It is an architectural wonder of traditional houses painted in soft colours. Being just opposite of the Turkish city Kas, it is adored by the Turks, who regularly visit it by boats in huge numbers. Among ordinary people, it is not a barrier to the relations of the two countries, but a bridge of friendship. Italians have also fallen into love with it. It territorally belongs to Greece, but it is aesthetically shared by everyone. (Photos: Stamatis Zafeiropoulos)
An island with a rich history, untouched natural environment, vast beaches and great sights, such as the Asclepieion of Hippocrates and the Castle of Knights. Many animals roam free in the countryside and as a result the island offers a range of amazing meat and cheeses. The hotel infrastructure, the taverns and the entertainment venues are of a very high level.
Around 1865-70 Fotis Mastoridis, a seaman from Symi aboard an English ship, saw how shipwrecks are pulled up from the bottom of the sea at the Cape of Good Hope. A diving machine used supplied air to the diving suit via a rubber tube. The machine was operated by two people, who rotated an iron wheel connected to a pneumatic drill. That was when the Greek seaman came up with the idea to use this machine to collect the sponges around the Island of Symi.
“I’ve been photographing people visiting the island for 44 years. Back in the old days no more than 10 tourists per day came from Rhodes to Symi. The last couple of years, however, thousands of them come to visit. They stay for an hour and they leave again by boat. I hurry up to have them photographed as soon as they reach the harbour and instantly print the photos. I place the photos on benches for them to see as they leave and buy them as souvenirs. I also get some help from my son Michalis, who is a photography school graduate. Since he was 8, he has been hanging pictures on tenters with me”.
"I once used to work as an engineer in a trader braccera of 150 tones. It was called "Saint Spyridon" and belonged to Dimitris Mpinotsis. It had a Greek "Axel" engine with power of 120 hp and we used to route Rhodes - Symi - Piraeus with eight miles per hour. It was a real wooden sea boat, thirty metres long".
