#arkoi

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Arkoi

Photo source: https://www.humanstories.gr/xanazontanepste-ta-akritika-nisia

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Greece’s last island paradise?

I first landed on Arkoi a few years ago by chance while seeking an escape from the August crowds on Samos, another Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea. There happened to be a boat headed there one morning – a relatively infrequent occurrence, even in summer – so I jumped at the opportunity.

While Samos is teeming with commerce and pleasure seekers, the tranquil and bucolic Dodecanese gem (population: 35 people, 450 goats) calls to mind a mythical desert isle – a rugged landscape mantled by brush and wild olive trees stunted by the wind, hidden beaches shaded by tamarisk trees and a luminous teal sea. For me, it was an antidote to the hustle and noise of city life.

Yet one person’s holiday paradise is another’s home – with all the joys and complexities that come with it.

I love my work, the animals and the land

While searching for the secluded Limnari Beach, I met Tasos Melianos on a road leading through his family’s land, before taking the steep clamber down the island’s rugged eastern slope to arrive at the sheltered cove. The 45-year-old shepherd has no desire to live elsewhere, although his partner left Arkoi because she could not bear the winters. Standing in the stark afternoon light on the island summit, he explained: “I love my work, the animals and the land.”

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Local Voices From The Tiny Islands of the Dodecanese

An insider take on some of the smaller islands of the Dodecanese.

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Meet The Teacher Who Teaches on One of Greece's Smallest Islands

Maria Faedra Tsialera is the only teacher who lives on the small island of Arkoi in Greece’s Dodecanese and keeps the primary school of the island open for the one and only student who lives there permanently.

Tsialera was born and raised in Thessaloniki but her teaching career brought her to one of Greece’s smallest islands.

As state-run news agency AMNA reports, she asked to be on this island a year and a half ago, since then she helped to build the island’s only school. Unfortunately, the school’s closure could be imminent due to the lack of children on the island.

The island is inhabited year-round by only 35 people.

Tsialera was recently honored by the Academy of Athens for her dedication and professionalism.

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Tiny Islands of the Dodecanese: A Guide to Arki

Home to one of the best beaches in the Dodecanese and Manolis' taverna which is a destination in its own right.

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Local Voices From The Tiny Islands of the Dodecanese - Greece Is

A look at Halki, Arkoi, Pserimos, Telendos, Lipsi & Marathi in the series on the Dodecanse islands from Greece-Is.

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In pictures: The Greek school with a single student

On the tiny island of Arkoi, the future of a school rests in the hands of an 8-year-old.

If you stand on the eastern shore of the island of Arkoi on a clear day, you can see Turkey in the distance.

At 170 miles — and many worlds — from Athens’ bustling streets and the ups and downs of a seemingly neverending financial crisis, life on Arkoi moves at a slower pace.

The island’s last census was taken in 2011, when Arkoi boasted 44 residents. Today, that number has dwindled to about half, including seven in the Kamposos family, whose youngest — the bright, brown-eyed, eight-year-old Christos — is the sole reason this little village has a school.