Arkoi ( el, Αρκοί; also Arkioi ()) is a small

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

island which is part of the

Dodecanese The Dodecanese (, ; el, Δωδεκάνησα, ''Dodekánisa'' , ) are a group of 15 larger plus 150 smaller Greek islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Turkey's Anatolia, of which 26 are inhabited ...

archipelago. It is situated in the eastern

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi ( Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...

, close to the Turkish Aegean Coast. The island belongs to the municipality of

Patmos Patmos ( el, Πάτμος, ) is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea. It is famous as the location where John of Patmos received the visions found in the Book of Revelation of the New Testament, and where the book was written. One of the norther ...

, and has a population of 54 inhabitants at the 2001 census. The small population means that there is no real capital, but most inhabitants live close to the main harbour with the rest living scattered around the island on higher ground. The majority of the population find employment in fishing, goat herding or running one of the island's four tavernas.

Geography

The island is characterized by dry, rocky land with little in the way of vegetation apart from

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ' ...

trees and some hardy shrubs. Fauna on the island mainly consists of livestock such as

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

s or

donkey The domestic donkey is a hoofed mammal in the family Equidae, the same family as the horse. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as ...

s, though

heron The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychu ...

s can be spotted occasionally. The marine life in the bays around the island has not suffered as much as on other

Greek islands Greece has many islands, with estimates ranging from somewhere around 1,200 to 6,000, depending on the minimum size to take into account. The number of inhabited islands is variously cited as between 166 and 227. The largest Greek island by a ...

with various species of

grouper Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes. Not all serranids are called "groupers"; the family also includes the sea basses. The common name "grouper" ...

and

nudibranch Nudibranchs () are a group of soft-bodied marine gastropod molluscs which shed their shells after their larval stage. They are noted for their often extraordinary colours and striking forms, and they have been given colourful nicknames to match, ...

present.

Landmarks

Front Arkoi Leipsoi Leros Back Agathonisi Farmakonisi Turkey coastline

On the hill overlooking the main harbour are situated the ruins of an

acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...

. Although little remains of the structure, the stones used to build it make a good viewpoint at which to see the sun set over the Aegean. At one end of the island, towards the island of

Lipsi Leipsoi ( el, Λειψοί, also: ''Lipsi''; anciently, Lepsia, grc, Λέψια) is an island south of Samos and to the north of Leros in Greece. It is well serviced with ferries passing between Patmos and Leros and on the main route for ferrie ...

is the best beach on the island, Tiganakia. This beach is small and somewhat rocky but provides crystal clear waters to swim in and the view across the bay to the nearby

islet An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanen ...

s is idyllic. This beach can become swamped in high summer (July and August) as day trippers from nearby

visit the beach frequently. At the other end of the island, in the direction of

Samos Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a sepa ...

, is what is referred to as the 'Italian jail'. Villagers say it was used during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

as a prison by the

Italian army "The safeguard of the republic shall be the supreme law" , colors = , colors_labels = , march = ''Parata d'Eroi'' ("Heroes's parade") by Francesco Pellegrino, ''4 Maggio'' (May 4) ...

, since from 1912 to 1943 the island was part of the Italian Dodecanese. Also at this end of the island is a cave, which contains a number of

stalactite A stalactite (, ; from the Greek 'stalaktos' ('dripping') via ''stalassein'' ('to drip') is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble ...

and

stalagmite A stalagmite (, ; from the Greek , from , "dropping, trickling") is a type of rock formation that rises from the floor of a cave due to the accumulation of material deposited on the floor from ceiling drippings. Stalagmites are typicall ...

formations. The cave is however difficult to find as the land around it is covered by olive trees and bushes.

Nearby islands

The closest inhabited island is that of Marathi, though the closest populations of any significant size are found on the islands of

and

Transportation

There is ferry service that runs between

, and

, that calls at the island, as well as occasional small ferries to other nearby islands such as Marathi.

References

External links

Arki Webpage
{{Authority control Dodecanese Patmos Landforms of Kalymnos (regional unit) Islands of the South Aegean Islands of Greece