seen from Japan
seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Philippines
seen from Singapore
seen from Germany
seen from United States
seen from Mexico
seen from Macao SAR China
seen from Morocco
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from Malaysia
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from China
Old Kalymnian sponge diving suit. Kálymnos island has a sponge diving tradition since antiquity and it has been the main contributor in Greece’s lead in natural sponge production and exportation.
This is a photo of Dimitris Nystazos taken by Elias Pergantis.
Visit somewhere warm this year!
Greek captain Antonis Kampourakis has been diving into the depths of the Aegean sea, scouring the seafloor for precious sponges, for over 50 years.
Sponge diving has been practiced for untold centuries on Kampourakis’ native island of Kalymnos, where the practice makes up a vital part of the economy and local identity.
The captain himself, who continued to plunge into the sea in search of sponges until he was 72, embodies the courageous spirit of the sponge divers of Kalymnos.
Even though there were diving suits and oxygen tanks available to him, Kampourakis always preferred to free dive — relying only on his own strong lungs.
Astoundingly, the diver has reached depths of 30 meters (98.4 feet) all while holding his breath.
It is no surprise that when a statue of a sponge diver was made to honor the island’s history and culture, sculptor Sakellaris Koutouzis chose Kampourakis as his model.
Kalymnos is the 26th largest island in Greece and is very close to Turkey, less than 14 nautical miles. Picture series by Michael Pappas in pculiar.com
The boat to Dodekanisa departs from gate E1 of Pireas port and the trip lasts about 10 hours. It has to cross through the Aegean sea but thankfully the summer weather provides for a quiet and calm sea. I prefer to travel during the day as I enjoy looking at the beauty of the sea and some of the Greek islands that the boat stops to before it reaches its destination.
I always try to bring with me a small power strip. The boat has many electrical outlets but most of the passengers try to sit near a power source to charge their devices. I like to do some work on my laptop while travelling.
As for food and drinks, the boat's restaurants offer everything that I need.
Mid-sea mobile phone signal isn't always very good but thankfully I can buy wifi cards from the gift shop that provide good satellite internet.
Every place has its own customs but Kalymnos has some of the less known, hidden traditions in Greece.
On the 14th of August, I decided to travel to Kyra Psili, a monastery for Holy Mary which lies at the top of a 700m mountain near the village of Vathi.
I arrived by car near the trail just before the sunset. The landscape offers a wild beauty. It's very dry without any vegetation and very rocky. The trail to the monastery is of average difficulty and it requires comfortable shoes. It takes about 30 mins to arrive at my destination with the usual stops for photos.
When it got dark I had to use my phone's flashlight to light my way. At the same time, many locals follow the trail to visit the church for the evening ritual many of them were also carrying sleeping bags so they could spend the night at the monastery.
Climbers’ and Divers’ Paradise: A Guide to Kalymnos.
“Kokkinos S.A., based οn Kalymnos Island, began its operation way back in the late 1800’s, focusing οn the collection of superior quality natural sponges. The brand name “Kalyspongea” was created having in mind the international fame that the Kalymnian sponge divers enjoy.
Therefore we devised a brand name that consists of two parts: the name of Kalymnos Island and the suffix -spongea that is found in many scientific names of sponge species. The tagline of the brand: “Kalymnian Sponge & Sea Shell Experts” highlights the knowledge and experience of Kokkinos S.A. in its field.
The logo design draws inspiration from the old diving suits and encompasses a subtractive depiction of a sponge. The dark blue color was chosen as a reminder of the depths of the sea the sponge divers work at. The package is manufactured by recycled paper in order to highlight the naturalness of the product. The quality seal design, in the shape of old ship steering wheels, carries the message “Kokkinos S.A., Quality Sponges Since 1956” thus further reassuring the consumer regarding the quality of the brand.”
The human urge for personal hygiene has had many improbable side-effects, and I can confidently assert that through the ages, sponge-divers have punched consistently above their weight. Bronze-age tools, 10th-century Islamic glassware, a Byzantine ship whose plunge to the bottom was cushioned by the fourth-century Roman wreck it alighted upon, anchors, amphorae, sculpture: if it’s down there, they’ll bring it up.
And so, around Easter 1900, there they were, waiting out the bad weather in the shelter of Potamós on Antikythera, a small island northwest of Crete.
They decided to use their time profitably, took an exploratory plunge, and one of them, Ilias Lykopantis, discovered a life-size bronze arm, subsequently fetched up by the ship-owner’s brother-in-law Dimitrios Kontos.
The authorities were informed, by optical telegraph (set up three years earlier, to foil the dastardly Turks; plus ça change), that a great treasure had been found; but the authorities declared that it was Eastertime, and so the telegraph operator was clearly drunk.
The months went by. The authorities obstructed. The press fussed and hurled accusations. And bit by bit, the finds grew smaller, until up came a ‘slab’ with hard to read inscriptions, and fragments of an ancient gearwork mechanism.
The more complicated modern life becomes, the more verbose “experts” are at attempting to “explain” its trials and tribulations. And yet, a look back, stripped of suffocating technology and stifling analyses, can offer an insight that has been blinded out by the noise of so-called progress and political correctness.
One such example is the “Dance of the Mihanikos” (also know as the Kalymniotikos or the Diver’s Dance – the word “mihani” refers to the heavy “skafandro suit” they wore) – a cathartic choreography that symbolises sharing, trust, acceptance and hope.
The dance is mostly experienced on the Greek island of Kalymnos, known worldwide for its centuries-old sponge-diving tradition, but also on other Dodecanese isles where sponge harvesting was a trade.
