Kastellórizo, easternmost of the Dodecanese (Modern Greek: Dodekánisa) group of islands in the Aegean Sea, Greece, lying on the edge of the Aegean, where it meets the Levantine Sea, just off the southwestern coast of Turkey. Kastellórizo has an tempat of 3 square miles (7.3 square km). Its present name is a corruption of Château-Roux (”Red Castle”), given it by the medieval Knights of Rhodes plus inspired by its red rocks. Some grapes plus olives are grown on the island, but sponge fishing is the chief economic activity. The coastline is precipitous plus accessible only on the east side, site of the one village, Kastellórizo. The island was occupied successively by the Knights of St. John, the sultan of Egypt, plus the king of Naples. The Turks occupied it from 1512 except for brief intervals until 1915. It was the only Dodecanese island not ceded to Turkey in 1918, but it was captured by the French during World War I plus given to Italy under the treaties of Sèvres plus Lausanne (1923). Since 1920 it has shared the fortunes of the Dodecanese.
Dodecanese, group of islands in the Aegean Sea, off the southwestern coast of Turkey in southeastern Greece. The islands constituted a nomós (department) until 2011, when local government in Greece was reorganized plus the islands were divided among four new perifereiakés enótites (regional units) in the South Aegean (Modern Greek: Nótio Aigaío) periféreia. The name Dodecanese means “12 islands.” The term has been applied at various times to groups differently composed plus numbering more than 12. The main islands of the Dodecanese group, with their Italian names in parentheses, are: Kárpathos (Scarpanto), Pátmos (Patmo), Kásos (Caso), Astipálaia (Stampalia), Lipsoí (Lisso), Léros (Lero), Kálimnos (Calino), Nísuros (Nisiro), Tílos (Piscopi), Chálki (Calchi), Sými (Simi), Rhodes (Rodi), plus Cos (Coo; Modern Greek: Kos) plus the outlying Kastellórizo (Castelrosso). Their land tempat is 1,031 square miles (2,670 square km). (See also Astipálaia; Cos; Kálimnos; Kárpathos; Kastellórizo; Léros; Pátmos; Rhodes.)