Saria Island
Encyclopedia
Saria Island is an island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...

 in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

. It is a rocky, volcanic island along the northern edge of Karpathos
Karpathos
Karpathos is the second largest of the Greek Dodecanese islands, in the southeastern Aegean Sea. Together with the neighboring smaller Saria Island it forms the municipality Karpathos, which is part of the Karpathos peripheral unit. From its remote position Karpathos has preserved many...

, separated from it by a strait 100 m (330 ft) wide. Administratively, it is part of the community of Olympos
Olympos, Karpathos
Olympos is a village and a former community on the island of Karpathos, in the Dodecanese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Karpathos, of which it is a municipal unit. It is located in the northern part of the island. Population 761...

. The 2001 census reported a resident population of 22 persons. It has little plant or animal life, and has a number of sharp cliffs. Although only shepherds live on Saria now, the ruins of the ancient city of Nisyros
Nisyros
Nisyros is a volcanic Greek island and municipality located in the Aegean Sea. It is part of the Dodecanese group of islands, situated between the islands of Kos and Tilos. Its shape is approximately round, with a diameter of about , and an area of . Several other islets are found in the direct...

 can be found here. It is also a breeding area for a breed of falcon known as Eleonora's Falcon
Eleonora's Falcon
Eleonora's Falcon is a medium-sized falcon. It belongs to the hobby group, a rather close-knit number of similar falcons often considered a subgenus Hypotriorchis. The Sooty Falcon is sometimes considered its closest relative, but while they certainly belong to the same lineage, they do not seem...

.

Although the name is subject to dispute, scholars link it with the name of an ancient Greek Princess named Katherine from a line of Saria royalty. Greek legends say she was as beautiful as Helen of Troy and so they named an Island after her majesty. On the island of Saria, it is recorded history that a kingdom existed named Mikri Nisyros.

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