Chalki
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Halki municipality Δήμος Χάλκης (Χάλκη) |
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| Basic data | |||
| State : |
 Greece
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| Region : | South Aegean | ||
| Regional District : | Rhodes | ||
| Geographic coordinates : | 36 ° 14 ′ N , 27 ° 34 ′ E | ||
| Area : | 37.043 km² | ||
| Residents : | 478 (2011) | ||
| Population density : | 12.9 inhabitants / km² | ||
| Seat: | Chalki | ||
| LAU-1 code no .: | 6905 | ||
| Districts : | no | ||
| Local self-government : | no | ||
| Website: | www.dimoschalkis.gr | ||
| Location in the South Aegean region | |||
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Chalki ( Greek Χάλκη [ ˈxalkʲi ] ( f. Sg. )) Is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea , which belongs to the historical region of the Dodecanese and the archipelago of the Southern Sporades . The 26.988 km² island has around 34 km of coastline. Together with Alimia and a few other uninhabited islets, it forms a municipality in Greece in the Rhodes regional district of the South Aegean region of Greece .
geography
Chalki extends for almost 10 kilometers in a west-east direction, with a width of up to three kilometers. From Cape Armenistis, which is located west of Monolithos on Rhodes , Chalki is only about 9 km away; It is about 6 km to the east to the coast of the neighboring island of Alimia. The small Trachia peninsula in the south is only connected to the island by a narrow isthmus. In the southeast there are two bays: Pondamos Bay with the only shallower beach with gravel and coarse sand and Emborios Bay, which offers a natural protected harbor through the offshore islands of Krevvati and Nisaki, where the only place is today. Another 13 small beaches surround the island. Overall, Halki is barren and quite mountainous; the highest peaks are Maistros (593 m), Profitis Ilias (578 m), Elias (518 m) and Kapnikari (501 m).
Halki seen from Rhodes
Chalki from the port entrance
Chalki from the port entrance
The castle above the village
history
In ancient times, up to 8000 people lived on Halki. Wheat was mainly grown on the island, which was then still well forested and rich in precipitation. The name Chalki means ' copper ', the ore of which was previously mined on the island.
The history of Chalki is closely related to the history of Rhodes . So the island belonged to the Byzantine Empire until 1204 and was later under changing rule. From 1523 to 1912 Chalki belonged to the Ottoman Empire . In 1912 Chalki, like the entire Dodecanese , was occupied by Italy and ceded to Italy in 1922. From 1943 to May 1945 German and until March 7, 1948 British troops occupied the island. Then Chalki came to Greece .
For a long time Chalki was the center of sponge diving in the Aegean Sea, together with the two islands of Symi and Kalymnos . With the emerging end of this industry, many residents left the island and emigrated to the United States , especially to Florida . Many settled in Tarpon Springs , the "place of the sponge fishermen".
economy
After the sometimes glamorous times of the past, the island is now marked by decay. In Chalki only the port of Emborios or Imborios (Ημποριός) is still inhabited (478 inhabitants), which officially bears the name of the island. The original main town of Chorio below the Venetian castle in the interior of the island has been abandoned. As on the other islands of the Dodecanese, tourism is almost the only source of income today. Until recently, however, it was difficult to supply the residents and tourists who make day trips from Rhodes, as even drinking water has to be brought to the island by ship. Since 2014, however, a desalination plant financed with EU funds has been in operation, so that at least the process water supply is self-sufficient. However, mineral water is still delivered by supply ship.
Web links
- Chalki - an unknown paradise for connoisseurs . Travel report in the GEO travel community , 2008
- Halki - Time out on a timeless Greek Island engl. Newspaper article in The Independent , 2010
- Exploring the heavenly Greek Island of Halki engl. Newspaper article in The Telegraph , 2016
Individual evidence
- ↑ Results of the 2011 census, Greek Statistical Office (ΕΛ.ΣΤΑΤ) ( Memento from June 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (Excel document, 2.6 MB)
- ↑ Ελληνική Στατιστική Αρχή [ΕΛΣΤΑΤ] (Ed.): Στατιστική Επετηρίδα της Ελλάδος (Statistical Yearbook of Greece) 2009 & 2010 . Piraeus 2011, p. 47 .
- ↑ The island of Chalki . ( Memento of the original from April 6, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. sonnenziel.net
- ↑ Michael Martens: Crisis in Greece: The dream of tomatoes for Chalki . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . June 12, 2012
