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About the Greek islands of Karpathos and Kasos
ALTERNATIVE NAMES: Searpanto, Karpathos
ISLAND GROUP: Dodecanese Greek Islands
POPULATION: 5,500 of which about 1,500 live in or around the captial, Karpathos (Pighadia).
GEOGRAPHY: Nearly 50 km long, up to 12 km wide (and down to 4km wide) makes the area of Karpathos nearly as large as Kos.
GENERAL IMPRESSIONS: Island charm, dwellings dotted about, wealthy villages, and returned expatriates, lots of North American spoken, many white chapels, wind tortured trees, lots of ladies hair-dressers.
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TELEPHONE PREFIX: 22450
MAIN TOWNS: Karpathos (Pighardia) is the capital town and main port which edges a large and lovely bay flanked by mountains. The town is comparatively new and there is a lot of development underway. Lefkos 26 km away, reveals fantastic views over a long sandy beach set in a deep bay with a few white, square homesteads scattered about and a chapel on the headland. Olympos village 44 km from Karpathos, fairly inaccessible until recently has retained a real old world charm with women wearing traditional attire on high days and holidays and the architecture of the houses reputedly retains an affinity with Homer's day. Diafani, 49 km north of Karpathos Town on the west coast is the island's second largest port and the lavour is rather Turkish.