What is your news today? (25.08.2019.) Author: Rigopoula Tsambou Talarantas
https://www.tellerreport.com/new...
Sokastro Karpathos- is a small islet that was once a part of the main island of Karpathos.
Sokastro, is known for its magnificent underwater caves that reach the depths of 200 meters.
As a child and still today I swim here but respectfully, these underwater caves in their magnificence are like bottomless cathedrals that fool a swimmer as the winds play sirenic chorals on the chords of the wild rocky formations.
In ancient times due to a massive earthquake it broke off from our main island and today is a small islet on the western side of our island facing Lefkos beach and Potali Bay.
On Sokastro are Byzantine fortifications and Medieval settlements.
Legend has it that Byzantine Emperor Nikiforos Fokas had his castle (Kastro) here and it was from here he battled the pirates that scrounged the shores of our island and the Mediterranean for live booty.
Sokastro during sun up and sundown takes your breath away…
And yesterday the winds once again stilled our breaths as we watched the Greek coast guard pull the bodies of two ( foreign nationals) scuba divers from its depths.
Three scuba divers set out on Sunday to explore the underwater caves, the winds were high which is said to have made the water murky, their visibility was impaired. One of the divers made it to the surface and to the mainland for help but by the time the coast guard was able to reach the other two divers they had drowned trapped 150 metres below the caves.
One of the men (I will not release their names out of respect to their families who have yet to be notified) was a 60 year old from the Czech Republic and the other was a 30 year old who to us locals was playfully nicknamed Xerxis because he was from Persia ( Iranian).