The monastery of Agios Mamas
A white monastery with a red dome on a hill above the Libyan Sea, with its feast on 2 September.
Kasos · The inland villages · Πόλι
Poli, the ancient city
Poli, 'the city', stands at about 200 m on a hill above the north coast and is the oldest settlement of Kasos. This was the ancient capital: on the acropolis, the Kastro, are traces from Mycenaean times and the walls of the ancient city, from which a paved road led down to the port at Emporeios. Today about 80 people live here, and the view takes in Fry, Agia Marina, the sea and the islets.
The oldest village, on the acropolis of ancient Kasos, with the whole north coast at its feet
The story of Poli
The Kasians who sent ships to Troy in Homer's Catalogue, paid tribute to Athens in the 5th century BC and later joined the Rhodian state lived up here. Look for the stones of the acropolis walls and for the inscriptions cut into the rock, the Ellinika Grammata, dedications of the 2nd–1st century BC to the Samothracian Gods and the Nymphs.
Within an easy drive
Around Poli
Good to know
Before you go to Poli
Getting there
A short drive from Fry, up through Arvanitochori.
When to go
Late afternoon, when the light is warm on the hill and the view is clear.
More of Kasos
Villages you'll want to see next
Fry & Emporeios
Fry
A tiny capital of white and blue round a little round harbour, where the water is lit from below at night
The inland villages
Panagia
The village of the captains and shipwrights, with the Six Churches and the biggest feast of the island
The inland villages
Agia Marina
The largest village, built inland out of sight of the pirates, with a feast on 17 July
Fall for more of Kasos
Every stay we recommend across Kasos, from village guesthouses to rooms on the sea.
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