The Harbour front at Pothia, Kalymnos.

Arriving in Kalymnos

The Greek island of Kalymnos is situated between Kos and Leros and is the fourth largest island in the Dodecanese, the chain which largely clings to the Turkish coast from Rhodes in the south to Samos in the north; there are a number of other smaller islands around Kalymnos however, only Pserimos and Telendos are inhabited.




Apostoli's Kafeion



Kalymnos is best known as the island of some of the world's finest sponge divers. The sea has always been a focal element of local life, which has preserved its traditional character colours and style to a great extent. The “high street” of the island is the harbour front of Pothia (The Port) which has a dramatic setting in a natural amphitheatre facing towards Kos, some 10 miles distant. The life of the island revolves around this harbour front with fishing boats; inter island ferries and visiting yachts and pleasure boats providing a continually changing spectacle. The harbour front is best viewed from the sea where the domes of the Orthodox churches on and overlooking the harbour, the Italianate public buildings from the Italian Occupation (1912 – 1944) and the whitewashed houses rising from the harbour front provide a charming vista leading the eye onwards as far as the Kastro, the 14th Century Castle of the knights of St. John who occupied these islands from 1308 to 1522 when the forces of Suleiman the Magnificent conquered them.


Monastery of Agios Savvas overlooking Pothia

In the 19th Century this was the centre of the world sponge industry and still an important festival takes place one week after Easter just before the sponge fleet departs for its four-month expedition to the waters between southern Italy and the north coast of Africa. Known as Sponge Week, the weeklong celebration is feast of food, drink, and dance. The dances depict the relation between the Kalymnian people and the sponge (the Kalymnian “Gold” as it is often referred to) and recount the joy and the tragedy of this incredibly dangerous deep-sea endeavor. Known as the “Dinner of Love” in former times it was a poignant affair as roundly 20% of the divers would either be killed and not return or be crippled by the “bends”. This is a story ably told by an English woman settled on the island, Faith Warn in her book “The Bitter Sea”.

Today this is a very “Greek” Greek island with its own distinctive cultural and musical traditions and little trace that for 640 years until 1948 it was separated from Greece proper. The reasons it maintained its Greek identity are to be found in its language and religion. Overlooking the harbour on a hill is the monastery dedicated to St. Savvas, Agios Savvas, the Orthodox priest who led the opposition to Italian rule and the latinisation of the island and who died in 1948, the year Kalymnos was reunited with the motherland.



The harbour front bustles all year round for even in winter the returnees from the Kalymnian Diaspora to Tarpon Springs in Florida and Darwin in Australia return so the cafes and restaurants bustle all year round and English is widely spoken, albeit with an American or strine accent!

At the far end of the harbour from the ferries you find the authentic fish restaurants who bring you into the open kitchens and let you choose from that day’s catch. There is little point in asking what the fish are as they have different Greek names to the ones we are used to so navigate by site. Our favourite for a traditional seafood lunch is Baba Stoukas, the best of the many fish restaurants which nuzzle the harbour front. We break bread here with our good buddy Bill Psaros. Bill is a Greek- American polymath originally from Detroit who moved to the Kalymnian colony of Tarpon Springs in Florida and then to Kalymnos where his family hailed from. The cathedral in Pothia is built on land donated by his family and his grandfather was a mason on the cathedral sized church on the other side of the harbour built in some style by the wealthy sponge merchants in C19.


Cathedral Pothia




Baba Stoukas



Fish is good in Kalymnos as are the Octopus croquettes and the pungent garlic sauce. Another specialty is Horta, the wild greens of the island served as a side dish. Kalymnos is a very traditional island with a distinct musical tradition and a strong sense of identity forged by the harshness of the sponge fishing in the past and the pain of emigration by the Kalymnian Diaspora in America and Australia.

Another favourite people watching location the traditional family Kafeoin run by Apostoli. His pastries and deserts are all traditional specialities of the island and are justifiably famous. The most well known and a speciality of the island is "Galaktoboureko" a sticky desert as if semolina pudding has been mated with Baklava!

Kalymnos is like the Clapham Junction of the Greek ferry system in the Dodecanese and there is a constant stream of Greeks in transit who hop up to Apostoli's to have the best coffee on Kalymnos and to take his deserts home as a very welcome gift when visiting families and friends.

This is a big change from the traditional policy:


Equo ne credite, Teucri
Quidquid id est,
timeo Danaos et dona ferentis

Do not trust the Horse, Trojans
Whatever it is,
I fear the Greeks even when they bring gifts

Virgil (Aeneid)

Incidentally there is now a new Greek word, "Nokiaphobia", a fear of walking into a Greek using a mobile phone!


Pothia is a bit like a Monet, it looks better from a distance than close up but sitting on the harbour front at night surrounded by the hustle and bustle of this busy town with its illuminated churches and watching the ballet like motions of the implausibly large inter island ferries which enter and exit the harbour in less than 15 minutes you absorb something of the pride and spirit of this ancient crossroads which is uniquely Greek.



Farewell to Pothia



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