Thassos Island
Location
During all the summer period – beginning of may since the end of september – our club is on Island Thassos – the bright green island with the dentelated coastline and its rich ancient history – which is the pearl of north Aegean Sea. It is only 12 nautical miles away from the city of Kavala and 6 from the town of Keramoti, with which it is connected daily with ferry boats during summer months. The airport of Kavala “Great Alexander” is 10 minutes by car from Keramoti. During the summer, the dive center is situated in the center of the city, close to the shore and the port of Potos one of the best tourirst resorts with nice little taverns and beach bars next to the sandy beaches and crystal clear blue sea. The club was opened in 2005 due to the changing of the diving law, allowing everybody to dive in almost all the areas around Greece (excepting some places with high archeological interest).
Thassos Island, the northest Greek island, situated in the Aegean Sea, is located very close to the to the Eastern Macedonia coastline, 12 nautical miles from Kavala and approximately 6 nautical miles from Keramoti with whom is connected everyday (in te summer full season) by ferryboats. Its thick vegetation and green forests (that cover approximately 7/10 from the total surface of the island) brought it the name o the “Green Pearl Island”. It is mountainous with sprigs, marvelous beaches and crystal like water clean and swallow ideal for swimming. The mountain that has the maximum peak Ipsarion of 1127m) and sea combine in harmony making it ideal destination for sea and mountain lovers. The vegetation varies from bushes, rods, origanum, wild flowers from he slopes of the mountain to the olive and fruit trees in the valleys. Another characteristic of Thassos Island, apart from other islands of the Aegean Sea, is that, unlike them, has productive land and the strong winds from north that last all the year are not present (fact recorded even by Hippocrates).
The island has rich history!
The island is divided in two parts, northern and southern, giving the impression that you visit two different countries cause the northern is characterized in richer vegetation and thick forests that are reaching the sea, olive trees, gardening plants. The underground of Thassos Island is rich in minerals, fact known from ancient times.
The island has reach history also and the mores are kept by the inhabitants from generation to generation with obstinacy.
From the 14th century and onwards, the coasts of Thassos as the other Aegean islands had many pirate invasions. Pirates plundered flourishing and rich coastal settlings, with the stealing of people and goods. They spread fear and panic to the local people because of slaughtering and many other catastrophes. Until today the surviving toponymy of a place, the name Murderer (Fonias) reminds you of the group slaughtering done by the pirates and by the oral legends of the local people, lives on until today the histories and the facts which are related to this period. Because of these reasons the local people panicked, deserted their homes and left behind their belongings at the coastal areas, to find shelter on the interior part of the island and in the areas with no coastal view. Right after te conquest of Konstatinopolis by the turks in 1453, many greeks from the Polis deserted their Kingdom, wandered through the Aegean Sea searching for shelter and to save themselves from the slaughtering and the slavey. A large group of them found shelter in Thassos and settled in a place of the island namd “Polites” where there were water and land for agriculture (the ruins of churches and houses survive until today.
Until half of the 19th century, the capital of the island was Theologos. On 30 of march 1813, Thassos, by the order of the sultan Machmud the second, was given over to Ahmed Ali Pasa of Egypt. The Egyptians gave Thassos many rights and in this way Thassos obtained a particular autonomy and a very important freedom for that time. Thassos was governed by its president which was some kind of prime minister, “Bas Tsorbatzis” who was based in the capial of Thassos, Theologos. The first “Tsorbatzis” was Hatzigiorgis, the second was Hatzigiannis and the third was Hatzistamatis. Hatzigiorgis called together a conference at his house in 1821 and then he initiated the revolution against the turks. He brought ships from the island Psara and organized the thassians to fight against the turks. To save themselves, in response to the attack, the turks firstly found shelter in the village “Kazaviti” and then to Kavala. The revolution in Thassos however was suppressed after six months and Hatzigiogis was forced to leave Thassos.
Many of the foreigners had high economic power and were very high classed and educated people.
Because of the severe measures taken by the Egyptians, the people revolutionized against them. The revolution broke out in Theologos in 1902 against he Egyptians because they took away the local people rights and privileges. In 1902, in a local revolution, three local people from Theologos were murdered and in result, the organizers asked for interruption of the “Ypsili Pili” who did in fact intentioned and took away Thassos from the Egyptians and annexed by the turks. This annexation took place until 8 o’clock in the morning of the 18th October 1912, when Thassos was liberated completely from the turks and finally returned to the arms of Greece. After the liberation, during second World War, parts of the island were temporarily enslaved by the Bulgarians.
In conclusion. Thassos Island has many things to offer to visitors. The beautiful beaches, the pitoresque villages, the traditions will offer the best and make anybogy spend unforgettable vacation and determine adore it form the very first moment.
And if you will love the island visiting its land, you will be amazed by its underwater reach landscape and the diversity of the sea life.
For further information please do not hesitate to Contact us