Kastellorizo is a small island with an unusually large history. Officially, it is called Megisti, but through the centuries it has carried several names: Kistheneon, Megisti, Meis, and Kastellorizo among them.
The origin of Megisti remains debated. One tradition connects the name to an early settler or ruler named Megisteas. Another links it to the Greek word megistos — "greatest" or "largest" — because the island is the largest in its surrounding group of islets.
But that is not the only mystery that takes place on our little island.
The name Kastellorizo
One of the most common misconceptions about the island is that the name Kastellorizo was given by the Italians. Historical references show the name already existed in Byzantine times. According to local historical sources, it comes from kastello or kastelli and riza — referring to the castle built at the roots of the mountain.
When the Knights Hospitaller occupied the island in 1306, they reportedly struggled to pronounce the local name and adapted it into forms such as Castello Rougio and later Castel Rosso.
The modern harbour, the red cliffs above it, and the medieval fortress all helped preserve variations of the name across Greek, Italian, French, and Ottoman maps for centuries.
Before Greece — the Lycian connection
Long before modern borders existed, Kastellorizo was tied closely to the coast of nearby Anatolia.
The clearest evidence survives above the harbour: a Lycian rock tomb carved directly into the cliffside, dating to around the 4th century BCE. Similar tombs can still be found across the ancient Lycian cities of the mainland coast.
The island later became connected to the Greek world through Rhodes and the Dorian networks of the eastern Mediterranean. Fortifications from antiquity still survive at Paleokastro above the town.
Captains, merchants, and survival
For centuries, the sea shaped the island's economy. Sponge fishing, shipping, and trade routes linking Anatolia, Egypt, Cyprus, and Rhodes brought wealth to Kastellorizo far beyond what its size would suggest.
Under Ottoman rule, the island's Greek population remained active in commerce and navigation. By the late 19th century, Kastellorizo had become one of the most prosperous small maritime communities in the eastern Mediterranean, with thousands of inhabitants and a harbour lined with merchants' mansions.
Many of the painted waterfront houses visible today are surviving pieces of that era, later influenced by Italian-period architecture during the early 20th century.
War, exile, and return
The Second World War devastated the island.
Bombings, fires, and wartime destruction forced much of the population into evacuation camps in Egypt, Gaza, and Cyprus. When the Dodecanese were formally united with Greece in 1947, many families returned to find homes damaged or destroyed. Large numbers emigrated soon after, especially to Australia, where the Kastellorizian diaspora remains strong today.
Modern Kastellorizo is quieter than the island it once was. But the traces remain everywhere.
Walking through layers of history
Walking through Kastellorizo means moving through centuries within minutes.
The Lycian tomb above the harbour.
The ancient walls of Paleokastro.
The medieval castle.
Ottoman-era captains' houses.
Italian-period facades.
The empty spaces left behind after the war.
It is a small island, but never a small story.
And when you leave the harbour by boat and look back toward the cliffs at sunset, it becomes easier to understand why this island carried so many names — and why people always returned to it.
