Gavdos
Gavdos is the southernmost Greek island, located to the south of its much larger neighbour, Crete, of which it is administratively a part, in the regional unit of Chania. It forms a community with surrounding islets and was part of the former Selino Province. The island is situated at the southern tip of Greece; it is the southernmost point of Europe.
Name
Gavdos has been known by a wide variety of names. For example, it appears in the biblical account of Paul's journey to Rome in Acts 27 as "Clauda" or "Cauda". The island was also referred to as "Cauda" by Roman geographer Pomponius Mela, and as "Gaudos" by Pliny. Ptolemy called Gavdos "Claudos". The Venetians called it "Gotzo", perhaps in imitation of the Maltese island "Gozo". From the 17th to the 19th centuries, the island was known as "Gondzo". A Turkish name of Godzo was "Bougadoz".Geography
The island is south of Chora Sfakion. The area of the municipality, which includes the small island Gavdopoula, is. The island is roughly triangular in shape. Its highest point is Mount Vardia,. The southeastern corner is a rocky peninsula with a natural arch carved by the elements, called Trypiti. A sculpture of an oversized chair sits on top of Trypiti.There is an islet called Gavdopoula to the north west of Gavdos. Gavdos and Gavdopoula are covered with phrygana, low-lying shrubs. Both are important stops for migrating birds. Local birds include the Eurasian scops owl and the European shag. Gavdos also has a variety of other vegetation, such as maquis as well as forests of pines and junipers.
Climate
Gavdos is the southernmost island in Greece and all of Europe, with a Hot desert climate , making it one of the two regions in Europe with such a climate, along with Almería, Spain. Summers are constantly hot, with daily temperatures reaching in July and August. Extremes are occasional, sometimes reaching up to, and it has extremely mild winters by European standards. January, the coldest month, has an average temperature of. The Mediterranean Sea is an important thermal regulator that surrounds its island in all its directions, while maintaining the high temperature of the sea, especially in summer passing from. The mild climate is aided by hot winds blowing from the Sahara Desert. The countless mountains of the Balkans protect from the cold, continental air, in addition to its island condition. As a result of the Subtropical High of the Azores precipitation is concentrated in winter, making summers dry with no precipitation days during June, July and August months. It is the sunniest place in Europe and with the highest number of radiation: between 1800 and 1900 kWh/m², values closer to North Africa and the Middle East.Demographics
There are only a small number of year-round residents of Gavdos and services for tourists are basic., the total population of Gavdos was 152. In reality, fewer than 50 people live permanently on the island. In the summer the total people on the island can reach over 3,500, most of whom are campers and tourists. The largest man-made harbour is at Karave. The island's capital is Kastri. The southernmost populated village is Vatsiana, with a total permanent population of 31 people. Fokia, Ampelos and the area around Sarakiniko beach are the other main populated places.History
Gavdos has supported a permanent population since Neolithic times and the Bronze Age.Gavdos has been identified as a possible site of the mythical Ogygia where Kalypso held Odysseus prisoner. Archaeological evidence showed that the Roman empire was active on the island. During that time the flora of the island was overexploited and that started a process of erosion which has continued to this day.
Gavdos, under the name of Cauda, was briefly referenced in the Bible's New Testament in the book of Acts. In chapter 27 whilst Paul is a prisoner being transported to Rome by ship they encounter a storm, in verse 16 it reads "As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure...". They eventually shipwrecked in Malta.
Gavdos had approximately 8,000 inhabitants by 900 AD. During the Ottoman Empire's reign on the island, which lasted from 1665 until 1895, Gavdos was known as Gondzo. During this period the population decreased considerably to only 500 by 1882. A reference to Saracens on the island survives: the beach Sarakiniko.
In the 1930s the island was used as a place of exile of communists; more than 250 people were exiled including leading figures of the Greek movement, such as Markos Vafiadis and Aris Velouchiotis. During World War II, Allied forces evacuated some forces to Gavdos following the German victory in the battle of Crete. Gavdos was then occupied by the Axis powers from June 1941 until liberation.
Later on, the general phase of urbanization that started in other parts of Greece in the 1960s took place in the 1950s on Gavdos. During that period the islanders exchanged their land on Gavdos with ex-Turkish land on Crete, which had now become exchangeable via the state. Upon settling in Crete they created a community known as Gavdiotika, which is part of the town of Paleochora.
Economy
There are many abandoned terraces on Gavdos where farmers used to grow crops on the hillsides. There still is some agriculture on Gavdos. During the summer, the population of the island swells to a few thousand because of tourists, although there are few facilities for tourists. There is one year-round cafe in Carave on Gavdos run by Evangelina Tsigonakis. There is a modern non-functioning reproduction lighthouse tower on Gavdos which now serves as a cafe during the summer season; the complex also contains a museum on the history of the original lighthouse with several rooms of photos and antique equipment. Gavdos has an FM radio station, Gavdos FM 88.8, which is also available online.Transport
connect the port of Karave with those of Paleochora, Sougia, Agia Roumeli, Loutro and Hóra Sfakíon. There is a heliport in the northern part of the island. Bus services connect the island's main locations. The island's road network is a mixture of paved, unsurfaced and dirt roads.Politics
Following years of isolation, in 1996 the island came to media prominence. In a NATO exercise Gavdos was the focal point of a confrontation between Greece and Turkey. Following that, Prime Minister Costas Simitis visited Gavdos and announced a five-year, €1.5 million plan for the island's development.In 2001, Costis Stephanopoulos, the Greek President, inaugurated a telemedicine centre on Gavdos, an island which has not had a full-time doctor in recent memory. This effort, however, was marred as the island's infrastructure could not provide the necessary power required by the centre. For the purposes of the inauguration, generators were brought in, which were then removed. However, according to a 2008 BBC News report the island now features stable electrical power, and young medical graduates can serve for six months on Gavdos in lieu of compulsory military service. But visitors to Gavdos in June 2008 found that the power station was not functioning and that businesses were relying on gas generators operated for a few hours per night; locals stated that the power station worked initially, but no longer serves the entire island reliably.
In 2002, the island was in the news again, due to the arrests of members of the extremist Marxist group 17 November. The leader of this organization had been living openly for several years on Gavdos as a beekeeper.