Photographing The Greek Island of Meis / Kastellorizo

I don't claim to be a photographer of any description but I do love taking photographs. The Greek island of Meis (Kastellorizo) is a photographer's dream; especially at this time of year when the winter sunlight provides clear, distant scenery and more vibrant colours. 



Neither of us could begin to hazard a guess as to how many times we've chosen Meis as our Greek island visa destination. It's a tiny island but we always manage to while away the hours as we wait for the boat to take us back to Kaş on the Turkish mainland. We explore back streets, climb hills, sit on the harbour, eat pork, drink Greek Mythos beer. Whatever the activity, I take photo after photo after photo.



Today was a beautiful sunny day, the air was clear, the sea was (thankfully) calm. We were given 2 hours to spend on Meis before we had to get back on the boat - just enough time for a few photos, barbecued Greek pork sausage with home made chips and a Mythos, a quick dash into duty free and then homeward bound to Turkey. These are a few of the winter photos I took today: 

Greek Island Visit - Kastellorizo

From the top deck of the Meis Express boat in Kaş harbour, it's possible to see across to Meis

Winter sunlight on Meis means colours are more visible

Back on Turkish soil - the boat glides back into the harbour in Kaş

I've probably taken over a thousand photos of Meis over the last couple of years and they all sit idly in my laptop. I've created a Meis set on my Flickr profile and uploaded around twenty of the best ones if you would like to see more of this lovely Greek island. You don't need to be a Flickr member to view them. 

If you are a Flickr member: Don't forget, we have a Turkey's For Life Flickr group. Why not join the group and you can add photos from anywhere in Turkey? All photos will be displayed on our Turkey Flickr Photos page via a slideshow and your name and photo description will also appear if the viewer clicks the 'info' tab.

The Greek Island of Meis - Top 5 Things To Do

Kastellorizo's Greek name is Megisti. It is known in Turkey as Meis

'You will either love Kastellorizo and stay a week, or crave escape after a day.' (1)

'It takes a certain amount of decisiveness and a sense of adventure to come to tiny, rocky Kastellorizo, a mere speck on the map 118km east of Rhodes.' (2)

If you're a regular visitor to the Turkey's For Life blog, you'll know that we are regular visitors to Kastellorizo; every twelve weeks or so, in fact, and we can stay for a day without craving escape. Does this mean we have 'decisiveness and a sense of adventure'? Hmm, well we may have a bit of that in us I guess, but when this sentence was written I think the author was perhaps thinking about those wanting to visit Kastellorizo from Rhodes, 70 nautical miles away. 

Of course, things have changed a lot of late and Meis now has a healthy supply of foreign visitors from Turkey. Kaş is just 2.5 km across the water and is the departure point for foreigners hopping over to Meis to renew their Turkish visas or just to take a day trip. Recently, there are also more Turkish visitors to the island since the relaxing of their visa requirements.

So, if you find yourself on the beautiful Greek island of Kastellorizo but you feel you are craving escape, here are our top 5 recommendations for survival. (We love the place, by the way.)

1. Get some height! Take yourself off up the winding roads, get your camera out and take countless photos of the fantastic scenery. There's a ridiculously big army barracks up the road going towards the west of the island - put your camera away here! There are signs warning you and I didn't much fancy putting them to the test by continuing in my snap happy ways.

In the bottom right photo, you can see a steep, walled path going up the cliff side. We have yet to venture up here but it leads to a monastery - and amazing views over to Kaş and elsewhere along the Turkish coast.

There are also great views from the castle of the Knights of St. John and the museum (just beneath the castle). The museum is worth a visit if only to see how many buildings used to sit on the hillsides of Meis.

2. Explore the side streets. In the past, Kastellorizo had a significantly larger population - and more villas than it has today. Slowly, slowly, ex-islanders are returning to the island (mainly from Australia) to renovate dilapidated buildings or to build new summer homes from scratch. In the summer months, don't be surprised to hear lots of Australian accents which suddenly flip into Greek conversation. 

Whitewashed and pastel-coloured homes are more numerous with each visit

3. Eat, drink, chill. Kastellorizo is one of those picturesque islands where most of the activity is set around the harbour. Sit at any of the cafes or restaurants with a plate of fresh seafood, an iced coffee or a Mythos beer or three and before you know it, a few hours will have disappeared.

4. Stay overnight. There are a few little pensions and a couple of small hotels on Meis. Stay overnight and you can enjoy the same tavernas as the sun goes down and watch the twinkling lights of Kaş, opposite the harbour. 

If you stay overnight, you can also  go on one of the boat trips to the island of Ro and the Blue Cave (Parasta) where you can swim inside. There are also daily boat trips over to Kaş in Turkey.

5. Concede defeat. If you are here from Turkey, either on a day trip or for visa renewal, your boat will soon be taking you back to Kaş. If you are a party animal, an adrenalin junkie or just in desperate need of a tad more land mass, well, you can take Kastellorizo's only taxi to the airport and take a domestic flight to the island's nearest Greek neighbour, Rhodes. Or, you can wait for the ferry to Rhodes to come and pick you up. Your other alternative is to make the most of Kastellorizo's proximity to Kaş and go off to explore Turkey.(3)



(You can buy the latest editions of Lonely Planet - Greece and The Rough Guide to the Greek Islands direct from our Turkey Books, Music and Film store on Amazon)

(1) Rough Guide to the Greek Islands p.310 (2002)

(2) Lonely Planet - Greece p.493 (2004)

(3) If you needed a visa to enter Greece, please check with the travel agent along the harbour whether it is possible for you to enter Turkey / leave Greece from the island. Also, make sure you have met Turkey's visa requirements for whichever country's passport you carry.