Halki Island

By boat:

From the port of Piraeus with regular ferries (22 hours).

From the port of Rhodes with regular ferries (2 hours).

From the small port of Rhodes, Kameiros Skala, by caique (1 hour).

Timetable Information: http://www.halkites.gr/node/8

There are two suggested interpretations regarding the origin of the name of the village: a) the island got its name from the mines and the copper workshops situated there in antiquity, b) the name of the island originated from the Phoenician word ‘karki’ or ‘kalhi’, which means ‘porphyra’ and refers to the homonymous shell which was once found in abundance on the island.

478-477 B.C.: The first reference to Halki was made in the tax lists of the First Athenian Alliance.

412-411 B.C.: Halki carried out a significant role during the Peloponnesian war, functioning as both a shelter and an attacking base of the Athenian fleet in their battle against the Rhodians, at a time when the latter had made an alliance with the Lacedaemonians.  

End of 4th century B.C.: The island came under Rhodes’ realm of influence.

3rd century B.C.: The Rhodians used the port of Halki as an anchoring point for their powerful fleet. The island was also part of the dense network of observatories that the Rhodians had set up in the Dodecanese and the asia-minor coast opposite, in an effort to control the movements of enemy ships.

1366 A.D.: The Knights of Rhodes handed Halki over as a fief to the Assanti family from Ischia.

During the same period they built their castle in the ruins of the ancient acropolis.

1522 A.D.: After the fall of Rome, Halki is taken over by the Ottomans.

During the Turkish rule, the Halkians elected elders and enjoyed a form of communal self-government.

19th century A.D.: Halki thrived due to commerce, shipping and sponge- fishing. Schools were built on the island and the population’s educational level showed a marked improvement.

Beginning of 20th century: The island starts to decline. The privileges it enjoyed during the Ottoman rule were revoked and sponge-fishing was severely affected.

1912: Halki was placed under Italian rule.

1943: The governing of the island was taken on by the Germans.

1948: Halki became a part of Greece, along with the rest of the Dodecanese.

• ARCHITECTURE

Halki has been named a preserved traditional community and is protected by UNESCO.

The island has an abundance of restored mansions of an Italian architectural style, as well as neo-classical buildings.

These are high-ceilinged, two- and three-storied buildings with coloured window-shutters and pebbled mosaics on their balconies and in their yards. Most of the mansions have a shingle-roof, five windows and a large door on every floor.