Zourafa

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Zourafa
Waters Aegean Sea
Archipelago Thracian archipelago
Geographical location 40 ° 28 ′  N , 25 ° 50 ′  E Coordinates: 40 ° 28 ′  N , 25 ° 50 ′  E
Zourafa (Greece)
Zourafa
surface 0.125 km²dep1
Residents uninhabited

Zourafa ( Greek Ζουράφα ), also Ladoxera (Λαδόξερα), is a small, rocky island in the Thracian Sea in the northern Aegean Sea . The uninhabited island , built only with a lighthouse, belongs to the municipality of Samothraki . It is part of the Thracian archipelago and the northeasternmost Greek territory in the Aegean Sea. Zourafa is part of a Natura 2000 protected area.

geography

Zourafa is 11 kilometers east of Skepasto, the northeast tip of the island of Samothraki, and 41 kilometers south of the port city of Alexandroupoli on the Greek mainland. The island has an area of ​​0.125 km 2 . Zourafa rises on a 30-meter-long underwater reef, the remnant of a volcanic island that has gradually shrunk through erosion . Sailors are warned of the shallows near the island.

Zourafa is administered by Greece. In 2011 the Greek press reported that Turkey was claiming the island.

Surname

Page of the sea ​​map of Piri Reis (1521), on which the nearby island of Samothraki is drawn in red and the name appears

The meaning of the name Zourafa is not certain. Giorgos Lekakis, author of Samothrace: Holy Island , claims that it is probably composed of ζούρα ([volcanic] rock) and φα (visible). The name appears on an Ottoman sea ​​map, the map of Piri Reis , from 1521 as Zürafa kaya , which means 'giraffe rock '. The other name, Ladoxera ('oil rock'), was given to the island by sailors who frequently sighted oil around the island.

lighthouse

The Zourafa lighthouse was destroyed by severe weather in winter 2012 and rebuilt by September 2013. The new lighthouse is powered by solar energy . An icon of Nikolaus von Myra , the patron saint of seafarers, was attached to be visible from afar.

Protected area

Zourafa, together with Mount Fengari , the coastal area in the east of Samothraki and the adjacent sea, is part of a Natura 2000 protected area. The area was declared a Special Area of ​​Conservation in 2011 according to the Fauna-Flora-Habitat Directive .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Charles Arnold: The islands of the Mediterranean . A unique and complete overview. 2nd Edition. Marebuch, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-86648-096-4 , pp. 353 (English: Mediterranean Islands . London 2008. Translated by Heike Holtsch).
  2. ↑ a b ΖΟΥΡΑΦΑ - ΛΑΔΟΞΕΡΑ ( Greek ) Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  3. ↑ a b Η Αγκυρα αμφισβητεί το ... μισό Αιγαίο (Greek) . In: I Kathimerini , June 19, 2011. Retrieved July 7, 2015. 
  4. ↑ a b c Σαμοθράκη: Επαναλειτουργεί ο φάρος της βραχονησίδας "Ζουράφα" (Greek) . In: agelioforos.gr , September 22, 2012. Archived from the original on July 9, 2015. Retrieved on July 7, 2015. 
  5. ↑ National Geospatial-intelligence Agency: Sailing directions (enroute): Eastern Mediterranean ( English ), 11th edition, Lighthouse Press, Annapolis, MD 2005, ISBN 9781577856573 , p. 229.
  6. ↑ Theofanis Malkidis: Η Βραχονησίδα Ζουράφα- Λαδόξερα και μία ακόμη μία αμφισβήτηση της εθνικής κυριαρχίας ( Greek ) on January 7th, 2014. Retrieved on July 14, 2014.
  7. ↑ Greece ( English ) Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  8. ↑ Patron Saint ( English ) Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  9. ↑ GR1110004 / FENGARI SAMOTHRAKIS, ANATOLIKES AKTES, VRACHONISSIDA ZOURAFA KAI THALASSIA ZONI ( English ) Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  10. ↑ Site factsheet for FENGARI SAMOTHRAKIS, ANATOLIKES AKTES, VRACHONISSIDA ZOURAFA KAI THALASSIA ZONI ( English ) European Environment Agency. Retrieved July 8, 2015.