‘Not Our World’: This Greek Island Wants An End To Greece And Turkey’s Feud

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The Greek island of Kastellorizo, shown here at sunset from the top of an ancient castle, is a little over a mile away from the Turkish shore. Known for its architecture, turquoise sea and friendship with the neighbor Turks, it’s recently become a pawn in a geopolitical dispute between the Greek and Turkish governments over hydrocarbons and maritime borders.

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Left: Eleni Karavelatzi, co-founder of the travel company Visit Kastellorizo. Right: A dog walks on the empty promenade along the island’s Aegean Sea shore.

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An empty military shelter on a hill of Kastellorizo that overlooks the Aegean and nearby Turkey.

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Constantina Agapitou Crowley, a former marketing executive and sixth-generation Kastellorizian, serves as the island’s ambassador-at-large. She is pictured at home with her dog, Zoe.

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A bust of Despina Achladioti, a widow from Kastellorizo who lived with her goats and chickens on the nearby islet of Ro. She’s celebrated in Greece for raising the Greek flag every morning.

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Top: Fisherman Dimitris Achladiotis and his son work on their boat after docking at the port of Kastellorizo. Left: Shrimp caught in the sea between Kastellorizo and Turkey. Right: Sayid Emasha, an Egyptian fisherman who has worked with Achladiotis for six years.

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Deputy Mayor Dimitris Achladiotis (who is related to the fisherman) says he wants the «big politicians in Athens and Ankara to work out their maritime dispute reasonably, «without any more tension, which is hurting us all here.

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Kykkos Magiafis, a Greek who grew up on Kastellorizo, met his Turkish wife, Hurigul Bakirci, almost 10 years ago in the Turkish town of Kas, which is just a 10-minute speedboat ride from the island. They run a beach and lunch bistro on the nearby islet of Kastellorizo.

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A photo from Magiafis and Bakirci’s wedding in 2012 in Istanbul.

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A Greek military ship glides along the stretch of sea between Kastellorizo and the neighboring Turkish town of Kas.

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A Greek soldier walks past patrons sipping iced coffee at cafes in Kastellorizo’s port.

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Left: Mathematician and puzzle-master Pantazis Houlis holds a type of Rubik’s cube he created and wants to gift to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. «No matter how many ways you twist it, it’s always got the pattern of the Greek flag, he says. Right: Houlis in his newly opened puzzle museum on the island.

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A Greek military ship is moored at the port of Kastellorizo.

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A Greek military ship is moored at the port of Kastellorizo.

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The European Union, which is threatening fresh sanctions on Turkey, has largely taken Greece’s side. Last week, Turkey’s government decided to pull back its exploration vessel for maintenance. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently told reporters, «Let’s give diplomacy a chance, but he added that Turkey won’t stop surveying the eastern Mediterranean.

Pantazis Houlis, a Greek mathematician who recently opened a puzzle museum on Kastellorizo, has a special puzzle for Erdogan «in case he gets any ideas that our island is his, he says.

«It’s like a Rubik’s cube with the colors of Greece, blue and white, he says, twisting the cube. «And no matter how many ways you twist it, it’s always got the pattern of the Greek flag.

Agapitou Crowley, the former marketing executive with deep roots on Kastellorizo, got used to watching Greek and Turkish military ships from her terrace, which has a sweeping view of the Aegean. She wonders how long the dispute will drag on.

«The irony is that, by the time this issue is solved, maybe all the gas and whatever will be obsolete, she says. «And in the meantime, Kastellorizo and Kas will have suffered.

Joanna Kakissis reported from Kastellorizo, Greece.