Unaltered Peace in Kasos
The southernmost isle of the Dodecanese cluster, Kasos seems to float in a sea of its own.
All photos courtesy of SteMa Journeys.
The southernmost isle of the Dodecanese cluster, Kasos seems to float in a sea of its own. Although the hazy outline of the larger neighbour of Karpathos, perpetually visible to the northeast, serves as a reminder that a world beyond the island does exist, it is delightfully easy to pretend otherwise. Seclusion can be found no matter where one roams, from quiet beaches on hidden stretches of coastline and deserted islets offshore, to uninhabited mountains, to quiet alleyways winding through quaint villages. Nearly untouched by the touristic enterprise which has consumed so many other of the Greek isles, Kasos is unique in this sense of being at the edge of the earth, inviting its visitors to seep gently into island life alongside what seems like only a handful of other souls.
A concentrated culture is prominent in the island’s towns, characterised by whitewashed walls accented with blue-shuttered windows and doors, brightly painted boats, and piles of yellow fishnets, upon which stray cats doze in the sun. While passing one another on foot or by car, scooter or fishing boat, almost everyone greets one another by name. Days melt by with the same slow drip of condensating iced coffee in the midmorning sun, the kind locals sip for hours outside the many cafes – a surprising number relative to the number of inhabitants – tucked within the narrow streets. The wafting scent of hortopita, pies filled with local green vegetables and rice, fills the streets all day long and lure locals and visitors alike to shop windows, where they’re sold piping hot for a single euro.
In the evening, the courtyards of picturesque churches echo with traditional music and poetry as periodic panegyric spectacles unfold, where islanders young and old congregate to play traditional music, improvise limericks, sip church wine, recite handed-down poetry, and dance lightly on feet that know the steps by heart. Meanwhile under strings of lights on taverna terraces, Kasos-style risotto, creamy pasta, freshly-caught fish, and dolmades are spread across tables and served as an accompaniment to spirited conversation.
The five charming villages that the island’s population of just over 1,000 call home are dwarfed by the cloud-grazing mountains and vast sea below. Seemingly boundless space, not to mention raw beauty, unfolds in whichever direction you look. Trekking through the deserted peaks high above the horizon, one gets the sense of being someplace hardly brushed by human touch. However, a few ceramic fragments littered across barely-distinguishable trails, row after row of stone walls transforming the mountainside into partitioned plateaus, and periodic stone-built stables all imply otherwise. These higher grounds are not unmarked but abandoned, leaving the nostalgic impression of someplace forgotten.
While hiking through the now-abandoned hills, one can’t help but wonder: ‘Who was here before me? Did they see what I see? Is it silly to readily believe that this land, which seems so formidable and untouched by time, has remained the more or less same for thousands of years?’
Guided across the mountaintop by Ilias, a guide who claims he has been walking the island since he was a boy of twelve or thirteen, we reach a particularly steep ledge where an ancient inscription is carved into the cliff, saluting the gods. When I ask how the inscription was discovered, I receive the reply, ‘it has always been known.’ This is not the first inference to a strong sense of place possessed by the spirited locals, a fervent tie between their identity and their island. They are, understandably, firmly rooted in the ground from which their entire lives and communities have grown.
Between its sublime beaches, scenic landscapes, and lovely villages where island life peacefully unfolds, Kasos may be one of the last Aegean destinations where the overall environment is one of peace and quiet. For those craving to be left undisturbed, this island on the edge of the sea is without a doubt the perfect place to escape.
No different from the rest of the Mediterranean, Kasos has a long history and strong association with the sea throughout. I was lucky to visit as a result of working as a diver-archaeologist on the Kasos Maritime Archaeological Project, a fascinating initiative I encourage you to read more about here. I happened to be on the island at the same time as the truly remarkable duo behind SteMa Journeys, who have kindly shared with me their beautiful photos.
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