The private waterfront terrace of a guest room at Hotel Mediterraneo Kastellorizo, in Greece.

Water Works

On Kastellorizo, a tiny island at the easternmost edge of Greece, a seven-room hotel opens directly onto the Aegean

By Elena Clavarino

At the far eastern edge of Greece, nearly close enough to touch Turkey, lies Kastellorizo. The tiny Dodecanese island is reached by ferry or propeller plane from Rhodes. From the tarmac, it’s a five-minute drive to the harbor, where rows of brightly painted neoclassical houses curve around water of an almost implausible turquoise.

*Top,* a view of the Kastellorizo harbor from the hills atop the island; *center,* one of the seven rooms at Hotel Mediterraneo; *above,* the hotel’s view of the sparkling sea.

There are only about 500 year-round residents and barely any cars, yet Kastellorizo has long drawn outsiders. Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour named an instrumental “Castellorizon” after visiting the island, while the 1991 film Mediterraneo, which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, was shot here. It is easy to see why: sea and sky cast everything in a dazzling shade of blue—especially in September, when the Aegean winds subside and the port quiets.