Description : The city of Karpathos ( Greek Κάρπαθος) Is the capital of the Greek island of Karpathos and the administrative seat of the municipality of the same name. It has about 3191 inhabitants (2011), the municipality extends over a wide area along the Vrondi Bay in the southeastern part of the island. The current urban area was already settled during the Minoan period and later by Mycenaean Greeks . From Doric immigrants around 1000 BC. The city of Poseidion was founded and named in honor of the sea god Poseidon . The city was abandoned in the Middle Ages due to constant pirate raids , mainly originating from the Saracens , the inhabitants withdrew into the interior and founded new settlements there. A few centuries later, the city was rebuilt and the residents called it Póssi . In 1892 the city was named the capital by the Turkish governor of the island (Karpathos was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire ). However, since the name Póssi was too similar to the Greek word Pótis (dt. "Drunkard"), the city was given the new name "Pigádia", based on the word "Ta Pigádia" (dt. "The Fountain"). Today the city is officially called "Kárpathos".
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