Dodecanese Islands - Greece

The Dodecanese or Dodecanisos is the name of the island complex in the north eastern Aegean. They are situated between the islands of Crete, the Cyclades, lkarias, Samos and the Asia Minor seaboard.

The twelve main islands are : Rhodes, Astypalia, Kalymnos, Karpathos, Kasos, Kos, Leros, Nysiros, Patmos, Symi, Tilos, Halki or Chalki, but there are also some smaller islands as the islets of Lipsi , Pserimos , Agathonisi , Kastelorizo or Megisti, Levitha , Giali , Kinaros , Kalolymnos , Farmakonissi ,including also other islets, barren islets and rock peaks, all constitute the group of islands known as the Dodecanese.

Sea shells and crustacean fossils which are found on top of mountains indicate that the formation of this island chain, either wholly or partly, occurred under the surface of the sea. During lengthy and complex geological upheavals, dry land emerged only to be, to a great extent, resubmerged some 3-4 million years ago, leaving only the mountain tops of "Aigaiida" above sea level to form today Aegean Islands.

The Dodecanese climate is of a transitional type and ranges from temperate to dry tropical climates which is characterized with lots of sunlight and an extended dry summer period.