Léros

Area of island: 53 sq. km/ 20 sq. mi

Altitude: 327m/1,073ft

Chief town: Ayía Marína

Léros is a hilly and fertile island with an abundance of water and a much indented coast. The inhabitants live by farming and fishing.

In antiquity, Léros was dependent on Miletus in Asia Minor. Although continuously inhabited since then, it has never played a part of any importance in history. In the 14th century the Knights of St John established themselves on the island and held it against the Turks until the 16th century. In recent years it has had a rather mixed fate: For many years a leper colony, it was a German naval base during WWII, a re-education center for the children of Communist partisans from 1947 onwards, a