Karpathos
Karpathos is the third biggest island in the Dodecanese complex in the southern Aegean sea. It is 242 miles away from Piraeus. Is about 301 sq. km. There are about 4.649 people on the island.On the northern promontory of Karpathos, lies the Diafani village; on the nearby little island of Saria we see Palatia, with ruins of the ancient city of Nisyros. In the northern part of the Eland there are high mountains full of forests; Profitis Elias is the highest (1140 m.).
From the tiny port of Diafani we shall visit the mountainous village of Olympus, whose inhabitants take care to preserve local traditions. They cultivate their folk art; older people use the Karpathian dialect which includes many Doric elements. The women of Olympus go on wearing their traditional local costumes in everyday life even today.The traditional everyday costume worn by the women consists of a white, calf-length cotton shirt (i pukamissa) with long sleeves, embroidered at the cuffs and button band. Over this is worn a shorter, blue or grey coat-like top (to kavai). It is open all down the front and has slits in the sides. The hem and cuffs of these wide sleeves are also embroidered. A wide fabric belt (i zoni) holds up a flowery apron (i podia). Married women wear a black headscarf, the young girls a white one. Leather boots (ta stivania), made to measure in the village, protect their legs against thorn bushes and boulders. Under the skirts, the women wear white, three-quarter length bloomers (i vraka) and when working in the fields they hitch up their skirts and work in their bloomers.There are regular routes linking Karpathos to Piraeus by boat, also with Rhodes and Kassos three times a week. There are daily flights to and from Rhodes. For transport within the island visitors may use buses or taxis, or hire a caique to reach Aperi, Volada, Mirtonas, Othos, Mesochori, the beach of Agia Marina and the fishing villages Finiki and Arkassa.The climate is subtropical with hot and dry summers, followed by mild and sometimes very rainy winters. The daily temperatures vary from 20� C in April to 32� C in July. During the summer months there often blows a strong north wind called Melt�mi, which makes the hottest months more bearable. Windy days usually alternate into calm and hot periods and you may observe that the weather seems to have close connections to the changing of the moon. In our opinion the most beautiful months to stay on Karpathos are May and September: May because the climate is not too hot and everything is green. In September the temperature lowers and the sea usually becomes very calm, which gives you best conditions to spend beach holidays. After all the weather may stay warm until November. Windsurfers will find their paradise at the south east coast near Afi�rtis, which has a strong wind all over the summer.
