Halki ( el, Χάλκη; alternatively ''Chalce'' or ''Chalki'') is a

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 and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

in 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 in the

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 ...

, some west of

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...

. With an area of , it is the smallest inhabited island of the Dodecanese. It is part of the Rhodes regional unit. It has a permanent population of 330 (increased during the summer months), concentrated in the only village Emporio. The 2011 census showed a population of 478 inhabitants. The community is divided in two parts, Chorio (Χωριό, also spelled Horio, "Village") and Emporio (Εμποριό, "Market").

History

The island supported a much larger population but following emigration in the mid-20th century Chorio was almost completely abandoned. A sizable group of the residents moved to

Tarpon Springs, Florida Tarpon Springs is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The population was 23,484 at the 2010 census. Tarpon Springs has the highest percentage of Greek Americans of any city in the US. Downtown Tarpon Springs has long been a focal po ...

, establishing the Greek-American community there that continues to this day. A ruined medieval

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

of the

Knights of St. John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headqu ...

overlooks the old town and the chapel contains some of the original

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plast ...

es. ;List of Halki rulers

Municipality

The Municipality of Chalki includes several uninhabited offshore islands, the largest of which is Alimia to the northeast, and has a total land area of . The island's primary industry is

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

, although

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from fish stocking, stocked bodies of water such as fish pond, ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. ...

is also substantial. There is virtually no natural water supply on the island and rainfall is collected in large cisterns.

Drinking water Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, ...

is brought in from Rhodes, but there can be shortages during the summer months due to the increased population. there is a desalination plant on the island and the water boat no longer comes every few days. However, bottled water still arrives.

People

Dimitris Kremastinos Dimitris Kremastinos ( Greek: Δημήτρης Κρεμαστινός; Greece, 1 May 1942 – 8 May 2020) was a Greek politician, physician, Professor of Cardiology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and member of the European ...

(1942–2020), former Greek Minister of Health (1993–1996)

References

External links

* Dodecanese Municipalities of the South Aegean Populated places in Rhodes (regional unit) {{SouthAegean-geo-stub

History

Municipality

People

References

Further reading

External links