I + 3 : Kasos - Sinister Echo of a Massacre?

The barren Island of Kasos has thousands of Terraces but little Vegetation and no Water

Today, winds finally died down. We woke up to a flat sea which invited for a morning splash. Karpathos showed itself from its most beautiful side. It is a mountainous island with villages perched high up on the slopes. Peak springs water the surrounding dark green orchards full of olive, almond and fruit trees. Despite a new airport, there is still little tourism on the island

The little Harbor of Karpathos was half empty with only a few Fisherboats on the Pier

After breakfast, it was time for shopping. We run out of soft drinks, beer, wine and veggies and were craving for fresh fish. At 8.30 am, the tender brought us to Karpathos, the island's main town - it was quiet still - no early mornings here - the coffee shops and magazines just opened. The fruit and vegetable stalls were set up for the day's business. We found what we looked for but unfortunately missed the fish monger on his tricycle.

Loading the Goodies into our Tender

Plan for today was to sail to Kasos, once home to a large merchant marine. Every country has its bleak moment in history. For the Polish it is Katyn, where the Sovjets massacred the Polish Officer Corps, for the Vietnamese Me Lay, where a young US Lieutenant killed an entire village. For the Greek it is Kasos. The island actively participated in the War of Independence using its fleet of 100 merchant ships to support rebels throughout the Aegean archipelago. Their fighting methods were vicious - no prisoners. When they captured an Ottoman ship, all Turks were executed. Their guerrilla style of fighting - using their vessels as fireboats - was successful. Most Turkish island garrisons were effectively cut off.

Greek Fireships (converted freighters) attack the Turkish Fleet at Lesbos, 8 August 1824

The Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II would have none of this and asked the commander of his Egyptian Army to teach the people of Kasos a lesson. By mid June 1824, the Egyptian Fleet showed up and landed 1'500 Albanians trained in mountain warfare. The fight was short and brutish. The Albanian infantry overwhelmed the Kasiots, killing the fighters they captured. They were given 24 hours to plunder the island and so they did. 500 men below the age of 10 were summarily executed. 2'000 women and children enslaved and sold in Cairo's slave market. More than 50 ships were confiscated and many more burnt. A few elders were left behind as a deterrent to tell the gruesome story.

There are thousands of unused Dry Stone Terraces on Kasos - What were they used for?

It is unclear whether the island ever recovered. Some articles state that Kasos' shipbuilding industry was rebuilt but I wonder where they had the timber from. There are no trees on the island. Nor on Karpathos. Also, there are thousands of dry stone terraces but all are empty. Nobody builds terraces for decoration. The island looks really desolate with almost no vegetation and no springs. It cannot have been like this in the past. Kasos was a maritime center known for its ship building, the fine wine and the excellent quality of its honey. Without a rich flora though there is no honey. Without a forest there is not timber and thus no ships. Without water there is no vegetation. The seven decaying wind mills I counted around Fry must have had a purpose. The island today looks as if it had been cleaned out by goats who ate everything until nothing was left. Maybe some of my readers know the cause of this environmental catastrophe which destroyed this once beautiful and vibrant island.

Kasos' small Harbor for its tiny Fishing Fleet - it was very different before the fateful 1824

Today, a small monument 3 miles west of Fry, Kasos' port, reminds us of the atrocities 201 years ago. There is an annual rememberance day on the island. In the rest of the world, hardly anybody remembers. Greece became independent because of the intervention of Europe's great powers (none is great anymore). The heroic fighting of the Greeks put the issue of Greek independence on the table but the decisions were made in London and Paris - but island like Kasos never recovered. There are things even grand politics cannot repair.

A small Ceremony is held every year on 7 June to remember the Massacre