Agios Efstratios
Encyclopedia
Agios Efstratios or Saint Eustratius is a small Greek
island in the northern Aegean Sea
about 30 km southwest of Lemnos
and 80 km northwest of Lesbos. Together with Lemnos and nearby islets it forms the peripheral unit
of Lemnos
, part of the Greek archipelagic periphery
of the North Aegean
.
, who lived on the island in the 9th century as an exile, because he was opposed to the iconoclastic policies of the Byzantine Emperor Leo the Armenian. His grave is still being shown by the inhabitants.
which are fished by local fishermen. There are numerous beaches on the island such as Agios Antonios, Lemonies, Avlakia and others, most of which are reached by caique. Agios Efstratios Island is linked by boat with Limnos, Agios Konstantinos
, Kymi
and Kavala
.
s in internal exile
during the 1930s. On 19 February 1968, an earthquake
(7.1 on the Richter scale) demolished most of the houses, which were replaced by concrete prefabricated buildings laid out in a military-like camp formation. Nonetheless, the island retains a very attractive capital, also called Agios Efstratios, while preserving a rather unspoiled Mediterranean environment with pristine beaches. It is mostly a place for relaxation and meditation. In the 1970s, the island was again used as an offshore prison for political dissidents. One of its most famous prisoners was Mikis Theodorakis
, political activist and musical composer.
for the first time objected to the scheduled NATO military exercise in the North Aegean sea
, on the grounds that the island was a demilitarized zone
. The exercise was organized by the Greek Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC-7) for February, 27, commanded by Greek Air Force General based at Larissa
. The day before, the commander of the Turkish Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC-6) at Eskisehir
notified the American NATO Air Force commander General Lee McFann that the island is considered demilitarized by Turkey and the exercise should be canceled. McFann canceled the exercise without further investigating even without notifying CAOC-7. He justified this by stating that NATO remains neutral when there is a disagreement between two member countries. The Greek Operation Centre also canceled the exercise due to bad weather conditions. After the incident became known, the Greek government formally complained to NATO.
http://www.hri.org/news/greek/ana/last/09-06-04.ana.html#04 reporteded that, on 4 June 2009, at a two-day international conference in Athens on "Climate Change
and Challenges for the Future Generations"http://www.childfamily.gr/en/our_activities/2009_INTERNATIONAL_CONFERENCE.html under the patronage of UNESCO
, Greece's Development Minister Kostis Hatzidakis said that Agios Efstratios would soon become the country's first "green" island, entirely powered by renewable energy
sources (RES), its residents relying on solar and wind generated energy and moving around the island on bicycles and in electric cars. Hatzidakis said a €10 million project would be implemented by 2010. At the same conference Professor Philippos Tsalidis, Development Ministry General Secretary for Research and Technology, said that although Greece's energy needs currently required strategic reliance on natural gas, Aghios Efstratios, could serve as a global model for 100% reliance on RES. Agios Efstratios is included in the European Union's Natura 2000
network of nature protected areas.
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
island in the northern Aegean Sea
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
about 30 km southwest of Lemnos
Lemnos
Lemnos is an island of Greece in the northern part of the Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos peripheral unit, which is part of the North Aegean Periphery. The principal town of the island and seat of the municipality is Myrina...
and 80 km northwest of Lesbos. Together with Lemnos and nearby islets it forms the peripheral unit
Peripheral units of Greece
The 74 regional units are administrative units of Greece. They are subdivisions of the country's 13 regions, further subdivided into municipalities. They were introduced as part of the "Kallikratis" administrative reform on 1 January 2011 and are comparable in size and often coterminous with the...
of Lemnos
Lemnos (peripheral unit)
Lemnos is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of North Aegean. The regional unit covers the islands of Lemnos, Agios Efstratios and a few smaller, uninhabited islands, in the Aegean Sea.-Administration:...
, part of the Greek archipelagic periphery
Peripheries of Greece
The current official regional administrative divisions of Greece were instituted in 1987. Although best translated into English as "regions", the transcription peripheries is sometimes used, perhaps to distinguish them from the traditional regions which they replaced. The English word 'periphery'...
of the North Aegean
North Aegean
The North Aegean is one of the thirteen regions of Greece. It comprises the islands of the north-eastern Aegean Sea, except for Samothrace, which belongs to the region of East Macedonia and Thrace, and Imbros and Tenedos which belong to Turkey....
.
Name
The island was named after Saint EustratiusSaint Eustratius
Saint Eustratius may refer to:*Saint Eustratius , also called Agios Efstratios*Eustratius the Wonderworker*Eustratius of Antioch*Eustratius, companion of Orestes of Cappadocia...
, who lived on the island in the 9th century as an exile, because he was opposed to the iconoclastic policies of the Byzantine Emperor Leo the Armenian. His grave is still being shown by the inhabitants.
Geography
Agios Efstratios is quiet, isolated and dry, with a population of approximately 300 people. The climate is arid, with little rainfall during the winter months and long, hot summers. The landscape is mostly rocky, with scarce and low vegetation. Crops are insignificant; the surrounding sea, however, is rich in fishFish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
which are fished by local fishermen. There are numerous beaches on the island such as Agios Antonios, Lemonies, Avlakia and others, most of which are reached by caique. Agios Efstratios Island is linked by boat with Limnos, Agios Konstantinos
Agios Konstantinos
Agios Konstantinos may refer to several places in Cyprus and Greece:*Agios Konstantinos, East Attica*Agios Konstantinos, Laconia, a village near Sparti, Greece*Agios Konstantinos, Phthiotis*Agios Konstantinos Marmaris, a settlement in Euboea, Greece...
, Kymi
Kymi, Greece
Kymi is a coastal town and a former municipality in the island of Euboea, Greece, named after an ancient Greek place of the same name. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kymi-Aliveri, of which it is a municipal unit...
and Kavala
Kavala
Kavala , is the second largest city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala peripheral unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos...
.
Recent political history
The island was used to house political prisonerPolitical prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
s in internal exile
Internal Exile
Internal Exile was Fish's second solo album after leaving Marillion in 1988. The album, released 28 October 1991, was inspired by the singer's past, his own personal problems and his troubled experiences with his previous record label EMI.The album's music reflects Fish's indulgence in the vast...
during the 1930s. On 19 February 1968, an earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
(7.1 on the Richter scale) demolished most of the houses, which were replaced by concrete prefabricated buildings laid out in a military-like camp formation. Nonetheless, the island retains a very attractive capital, also called Agios Efstratios, while preserving a rather unspoiled Mediterranean environment with pristine beaches. It is mostly a place for relaxation and meditation. In the 1970s, the island was again used as an offshore prison for political dissidents. One of its most famous prisoners was Mikis Theodorakis
Mikis Theodorakis
Mikis Theodorakis is one of the most renowned Greek songwriters and composers. Internationally, he is probably best known for his songs and for his scores for the films Zorba the Greek , Z , and Serpico .Politically, he identified with the left until the late 1980s; in 1989, he ran as an...
, political activist and musical composer.
February 2007 NATO exercise
On February 26, 2007, TurkeyTurkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
for the first time objected to the scheduled NATO military exercise in the North Aegean sea
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
, on the grounds that the island was a demilitarized zone
Demilitarized zone
In military terms, a demilitarized zone is an area, usually the frontier or boundary between two or more military powers , where military activity is not permitted, usually by peace treaty, armistice, or other bilateral or multilateral agreement...
. The exercise was organized by the Greek Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC-7) for February, 27, commanded by Greek Air Force General based at Larissa
Larissa
Larissa is the capital and biggest city of the Thessaly region of Greece and capital of the Larissa regional unit. It is a principal agricultural centre and a national transportation hub, linked by road and rail with the port of Volos, the city of Thessaloniki and Athens...
. The day before, the commander of the Turkish Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC-6) at Eskisehir
Eskisehir
Eskişehir is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. According to the 2009 census, the population of the city is 631,905. The city is located on the banks of the Porsuk River, 792 m above sea level, where it overlooks the fertile Phrygian Valley. In the nearby...
notified the American NATO Air Force commander General Lee McFann that the island is considered demilitarized by Turkey and the exercise should be canceled. McFann canceled the exercise without further investigating even without notifying CAOC-7. He justified this by stating that NATO remains neutral when there is a disagreement between two member countries. The Greek Operation Centre also canceled the exercise due to bad weather conditions. After the incident became known, the Greek government formally complained to NATO.
Greece's first green island
Athens News AgencyAthens News Agency
The Athens News Agency was one of the two major news agencies in Greece, the other being the Macedonian Press Agency, before they merged together into the Athens News Agency-Macedonian Press Agency .-History:...
http://www.hri.org/news/greek/ana/last/09-06-04.ana.html#04 reporteded that, on 4 June 2009, at a two-day international conference in Athens on "Climate Change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
and Challenges for the Future Generations"http://www.childfamily.gr/en/our_activities/2009_INTERNATIONAL_CONFERENCE.html under the patronage of UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
, Greece's Development Minister Kostis Hatzidakis said that Agios Efstratios would soon become the country's first "green" island, entirely powered by renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
sources (RES), its residents relying on solar and wind generated energy and moving around the island on bicycles and in electric cars. Hatzidakis said a €10 million project would be implemented by 2010. At the same conference Professor Philippos Tsalidis, Development Ministry General Secretary for Research and Technology, said that although Greece's energy needs currently required strategic reliance on natural gas, Aghios Efstratios, could serve as a global model for 100% reliance on RES. Agios Efstratios is included in the European Union's Natura 2000
Natura 2000
Natura 2000 is an ecological network of protected areas in the territory of the European Union.-Origins:In May 1992, the governments of the European Communities adopted legislation designed to protect the most seriously threatened habitats and species across Europe. This legislation is called the...
network of nature protected areas.