We are going to visit the island closest to Turkey… Meis (Megisti) now more romantically known as Kastellorizo!  The island went through the same row of rulers as the other Dodecanese. A staging post between Rhodes and Cyprus it had a population of up to 9.000 in 19th C. At the beginning of the last century the island was occupied by the French, then in 1923 by Italy and eventually ceded to Greece in 1947 when the population heaved a sigh of relief… ’home at last’! 

But the logistics were not so easy!… Kastellorizo is a large triangular barren rock all of 115 km from Rhodes and a stone’s throw from the Turkish mainland. It has no water, no livestock… just plenty of fish. The Island’s pride is its horseshoe-shaped harbour which practically interlocks with its opposite number at Kas. 

According to custom on the appointed day the Turkish bakers would rise earlier than usual for a busier bake and any pre-ordered goats and sheep would assemble on the Quay, while vats of spring-water and vegetables would arrive from the surrounding hills; all to await the large fishing boat generally carrying the priest (who preferred Turkish tobacco to the everyday Marlboro) and the  precious cargo. Within an hour and the time it took for the two harbour masters to agree that value was given for value accompanied by  a conciliatory glass of Raki, the operation would be completed.

Today there is a 20 minute service every day from Kas to Kasto… passports being handed in for scrutiny the night before. For yachts there is good but limited anchorage in the harbour.  Many of the houses are now Airbnb. There are two small hotels and as far as the writer knows the Island is deemed suitable for sustainable development only…and that is its great charm…’small is beautiful’.

Apart from a good meal in a very picturesque setting there is more than enough to do on a day-trip from Kas.