Nisiros

Population: 1,008 (2011 including Gyali)

 

ISLAND OVERVIEW

 

Nisiros is a small island located between the islands Kos and Tilos and is part of the Dodecanese group.  

Nisiros is actually a dormant, but active, volcanic which constitutes the main sightseeing on the island and many volcanologists and geologists actually come specifically to study the volcanic activity.

The island is about 8km (5mi) in diameter. The neighbouring island of Gyali, has a population of 22 (there are also five uninhabited islands). The coasts of Nisiros are generally rocky or pebbled, but there are a few sandy beaches. Deposits of perlite and pumice on Gyali provide much of the wealth of the island. It used to be self-sufficient, and many crops were grown on its terraced slopes. Today, though, they are cultivated on a smaller scale.

The capital is Mandraki, where most of the inhabitants live. The locals are generally occupied with farming, stock- raising, fishing, agriculture and tourism. Nikia is a very picturesque village in Nisyros and offers nice views of the island.

The ferry between Nisyros and Athens takes 18hrs alternatively you can fly to Kos or Rhodes and take a ferry to Nisyros. Ferries also go from Tilos.

Nisiros, Greece

The Island & Its History

 

Nisiros, Greece map
click image to view in Google Maps

The ancient name of the Nisiros was Porphyris. 

Ancient walls, dating from the 5th century BC, part of the acropolis of the island, are found near Mandraki.  It was a source of millstones used in some of the earliest watermills in the 1st century BC. 

In 479BC, Niceros became a member of the Athenian Alliance.  In Roman times it became part of the Insulae province.  The Knights Hospitaller conquered the island in 1315 and built the crusader castle. The island passed from the Ottomans to the Italians in 1911 during the Italo-Turkish War, along with the rest of the Dodecanese islands. 

It finally became part of Greece in 1947. 

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