Architecture.

The modern villages of Karpathos are situated

either on the shores of the island or on the centre of it. The villages of the mainland are usually built in well-hidden areas, which are not visible from the sea. It seems that most of these settlements were created during the hard and dangerous years of piracy, and originally served as fortresses.

The houses had mostly two floors and very clse to each other, due to the lack of space. They were not very high and the roofing of them was completed by a flat earthen rooftop. The fireplace as well as a small so called "soufas" (wooden raised floor, used for sleeping and also called "kreatsoula" back then) were on the ground floor, while a "soufas" as we know ti today was on the first floor. There was an external staircase which led to the first floor.

The defeat of piracy brought tranquility back to Karpathos and that allowed villagers to start builiding houses outside of the "fortresses". So in that way people started building big one roomed houses with one floor on the slops of the hills and mountains outside the protected areas. These constructions have flat rooftops made of clay and are about 30cm thick. The walls are made of stone, while stone was not the only material for their construction but also wood, which was originally brought from Asia Minor, and later stemmed from the island.

In the interior three steps lead to the so-called "soufas", part of the "soufas" is raised. That part is called "panosoufi". The soufas is used for sleeping by the family memebers. and although the "panosoufi" is usually used for storing clothes and things, sometimes it is also used for sleeping. The space under the "soufas" and the "panosoufi", the so called "apokriatos" serves as a storage space its front is sealed by a wooden construction. Glasses, small plates, huge jars with olive oil, huge bottles with wine, jars with homemade pasta and tomato paste as well as large jars with cheese are kept in there.

On the wall, vertical to the "soufas" there is a firm

wooden seat which is called "pagos" (bench) or "pagali". On the wall across the "soufas" is the fireplace. Some cavities are made in that wall, where the so called "stamnothouka" is situated (place for storing jags of water) as well as the cabinet.

Almost in the center of the room and close to the "soufas", there is a thick, tall wooden pole which is the centre roof holding piece and which metaphorically also symbolizes the "leader" of the family. That pole is decorated with all kinds of embroideries and textiles

The architecture of Karpathos has been infuenced by the neighboring islands

over the time, as well as Crete and Asia Minor. The migration of the Karpathians has also played a very important role in the creation of such infuences. That is how an urban type of house appeared in Karpathos with many traditional elements. Those modern houses have one or two floors, an inclination, tiled roof top, which substituted the flat clay rooftops of the island's houses. The neoclassical elements made their appearance and a new style came out of this new "mixture". The result of that was the creation of new houses with many rooms, one or two floors according to the needs of the modern way of living.

This brief description would not have been complete without mentioning the stables, the vineyard houses and the so called "voskarees". Some of those are still preserved in the fields of the island. The farmers used to live in the stables, the vineyard houses used to be agricultural constructions, which disposed of wine presses for the pressing of the grapes, a grape mill for the collection of the must and storage room with many jars for the preservation and storage of the wine.

The "voskarees" used to be the small huts that belonged to sheperds. Those were built with uncarved stones and they usually had a rooftop room. It was the place of living for the sheperds, but it was also the place where they produced cheese and butter.