Greek Islands Portal

Kalymnos lies between Leros to the north and Kos to the south.
It is a mountainous, greatly fragmented island with many sheltered bays, striking rocks, small valleys and caves. It has an area of 111 square kilometers and a total of 96 kilometers of coastline.

Kalymnos is well-known as the island of the sponge-fishers, since a great number of its inhabitants are occupied with sponge-fishing and diving. Kalymnos is considered one of the most important climbing destinations in the world.

Kalymnos has a rich mythological tradition and history.
It has been inhabited since Neolithic times and is called Kalydnes by Homer. The many caves on the island were used as dwellings by prehistoric man, as is clear from the rich finds that have come to light in them.
The earliest inhabitants were Karians.

In the Middle Ages it was Byzantine, and during the XIII Century it was used by Venice as a naval base. In 1310 it became a possession of the Knights of Rhodes and later it was often attacked by the Ottomans which conquered it in 1522. On May 1912 during the Italo-Turkish War, Kalymnos was occupied by Italian sailors.
Italy took control of the island along with other islands of the Dodecanese until 1947, when the Dodecansese finally were united with mainland Greece.