Kalymnos - Dodecanese

Kalymnos. Between the islands of Kos and Leros lies the fourth largest island of the Dodecanese Group: Kalymnos. The capital of the island is the picturesque Pothia, where about 11,000 people live. The port of Kalymnos is located in Pothia.

Kalymnos is a barren mountainous island with some fertile valleys full of citrus groves. For centuries on the island of Kalymnos, sponge diving was the most common profession. Sponge diving brought wealth and prosperity to the inhabitants of the island. It was sponge divers from Kalymnos who brought air compression techniques to the United States and turned the small sponge diving industry in Tarpon Springs, Florida into flourishing industry in the early 1900s. Tarpon Springs is still well known for its sponge diving industry and its Greektown.