Karpathos
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Karpathos (Greek: Κάρπαθος, Italian :Scarpanto, Latin :Carpathus; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is the second largest of the Greek Dodecanese islands, in southeast Aegean sea.
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Geography
The island is located about 30 miles south-west of Rhodes, in that part of the Mediterranean which was called, after it, the "Carpathian Sea" (Carpathium Mare).
Karpathos is comprised of 10 villages. All villages preserve intensively the traditional style of the island. In the South East of the island you can find Pigadia (Karpathos), capital and main port of the island. The capital is surrounded by the villages of Menetes, Arkasa, Aperi, Volada, Othos, and Piles. In the North one can find Mesochori, Spoa and Olympos the last village in the North of the island, of great folkloric and architectural interest.
Population
The latest estimate of the island's permanent population is around 6000 people. This number more than doubles in the summer months as many Karpathian migrants with their families return to the island for their vacation. Also, taking into consideration the number of tourists that visit, there can be up to 20,000 people on the island during the peak summer months.
History
War and conquest define Karpathos' history. Karpathians fought with Sparta in the Peloponnesian War in 431 BC and lost their independence to Rhodes in 400 BC. In 42 BC the island fell to Rome. In the following centuries, Karpathos was ruled in turn by the Arabs, the Genovese pirate Moresco, the Venetians, and the Ottoman Empire. It was both in ancient and medieval times closely connected with Rhodes; it was held by noble families under Venetian suzerainty, notably the Cornari from 1306 to 1540, when it finally passed into the possession of the Turks. From its remote position Karpathos has preserved many peculiarities of dress, customs and dialect, the last resembling those of Crete and Cyprus. Ottoman rule ended when the Italians conquered the island during World War I. Karpathos even found itself ruled by the Germans for a couple of years before the end of World War II. The Italians named the island "Scarpanto", from which it gets it current name.
Despite such a scattered past, the last half-century has been pivotal in charactering the island. A war-ravaged economy sent many a Karpathian to the U.S. eastern seaboard cities. Karpathos today has a significant Greek-American constituency who have returned to their beloved island and invested heavily. As a result, Pigadia and other towns successfully infuse modern elements into a traditional setting. In the mountains north, a world unto itself, residents preserve tradition almost religiously.