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Alimnia Island The island which lies north-east of Halki
has been uninhabited since 1943. It is a wild and beautiful island where many
herbs scent the hillsides and some Halkians still
keep goats and sheep as well as a thriving “feral” cat population. Its
deep-water harbour was used as a submarine base by the Axis forces during the
Second World War and there is still plenty of evidence of their presence.
There is also the remains of the old village and church which is still used
on St George’s Day. Overlooking the island stands the sentinel of the
crusader castle. The island is the destination of the traditional weekly boat
trip & picnic - a treat not to be missed. Dodecanese History
Halki belongs to the group of islands known
as the Dodecanese. In translation Dodeka and Nissos means 12 islands but just to confuse you there are
actually 16. Over the centuries these islands have been occupied by various
nations and were only returned to Greece back in 1947. Nevertheless they have
always clung to their language, religion and traditions, although their long
separation from Greece has indeed given them a distinct character and
architecture. The islands were the site of a prominent and
flourishing ancient culture and this continued into Roman times. As the
Byzantine empire slowly waned they became vulnerable to the “hit and run”
raids of pirates. During the final years of the empire various Admirals and
merchants from Italy, in particular Genoa and Venice, were able to exert
control over some of the islands. At the end of the 11th century, the
Crusaders began to pass through the Dodecanese they were not averse to the
odd bit of plunder themselves and managed to carve out their own principalities
in these captured islands. When
Jerusalem fell in 1291, the Knights of St John, a wealthy order made up of
the cream of European nobility, retreated to Cyprus and later set up their
headquarters in Rhodes, bringing with them control of the Dodecanese. To
protect their ‘investment’ they began
to fortify the islands against invaders by building the Crusader castles. In 1522 Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent
attacked Rhodes and defeated the Knights leading to a long period of
occupation by the Turks, which in fact lasted until as recent as 1912 when
the Italians took possession again. During the Turkish rule a few churches
were converted into Mosques but generally speaking they interfered with
little and kept their distance. The indigenous Greek culture changed very
little in this period. The Italians on the other hand poured money into the
islands with massive public works programs, restorations and archaeological
excavations etc, but they also attempted to outlaw the Greek language and
religion. This gained them a reputation for cruelty and repression somewhat
undeserved but even today most of Halki’s older
generation speak Italian as this was taught to them at school. In 1943 when the Italian army surrendered, the
German army assumed control of the Dodecanese. At the end of the Second World
War the allies returned the islands to Greece, in whose power they have
remained ever since. |
