The municipality has an area of 74.172 km2 (28.638 sq mi).[3] The municipality includes the
populated offshore island of Farmakonisi (pop. 10), as well as several uninhabited islets, including
Levitha and Kinaros, and had a 2011 census population of 7,917, although this figure swells to over
15,000 during the summer peak. The island has a coastline of 71 kilometres (44 miles). It is known
for its imposing medieval castle of the Knights of Saint John possibly built on a Byzantine fortress.
Nearby islands are Patmos, Lipsi, Kalymnos, and the small islands of Agia Kyriaki and Farmakos.
In ancient times it was considered the island of Parthenos Iokallis and linked to the Hellenistic and
Roman literature on Meleager and the Meleagrides. The administrative centre and largest town is
Agia Marina, with a population of 2,672 inhabitants. Other sizable towns are Lákki (pop. 1,990),
Xirókampos (908), Kamára (573), and Álinda (542).
Transportation
Panteli Beach, Leros
The Leros Municipal Airport at Partheni connects the island multiple times a day with Athens (45
minute flight). There are also ferry connections to and from Piraeus and the other islands of the
Dodecanese, including the HighSpeed Ferry which connects directly to Mykonos during summer (4
hours). The Catamaran Dodekanisos Express connects Leros with most of the Dodecanese islands.
Leros also has a range of connections to other nearby islands with airports, including Kos,
Kalymnos, Rhodes and Samos, which are a short boat ride to Leros (1 – 2 hours).
Traditional music
Many local songs of Leros are among the most famous in the traditional (nisiotika) music of
Greece, the most celebrated being Pote Tha'nixoume Pania, "Pos to Trivun to Piperi", Mes tou
Aegeou ta Nisia and Proutzos. Lerikos is the name of the local dance; also noteworthy is the Issos
dance. The most loved instruments in the island are Tsampouna (τσαμπούνα), lyra (λύρα) and
violin.
Food
Leros is famous for its local food and sweets. Traditionally, this was due to the range of seabound
trade that connected Leros to most other islands of the Eastern Mediterranean, and parts of Asia
Minor and North Africa, guaranteeing fresh produce and a range of recipes and styles that made
Leros cuisine unique. In more modern times, the Italian occupation led to Leros adding an Italian
style to its cuisine, whereby now many restaurants in Leros provide a unique mix of Lerian, Greek
and Italian restaurants, dishes and cooking styles.[citation needed] Some of the more unique
offerings of Leros include gavafes, a unique tropical fruit that grows only in Leros, mizithra, a local
hard, salty cheese often cured in the sediment of red wine, Kolios Pastos, mackerel cured in sea salt,
Lerian Thyme honey, a particularly flavourful honey derived from the thyme-filled hills of Leros,
Pougkakia, a Lerian dessert offered at weddings (but commonly available in the many sweets shops
in Leros), Patsavouropita (a cake with layers of filo and syrup) and Soumada, a sweet drink made of
almonds.[4]
History
Antiquity
Thucydides stressed the special importance of the bays and the harbours of Leros during the
Peloponnesian War (431 BC – 404 BC), where Leros supported the democratic Athenians. After the
end of the war, Leros came under the sovereignty of the Spartans. The island had a famous
sanctuary of the greek goddess Artemis.[5]
It then followed the fate of the rest of the Dodecanese Islands during the years of Alexander the
Great and his successors, the Roman years and the Byzantine period. After the division of the
Roman Empire, Leros was part of the Byzantine Empire. On the island of Farmaco east from Leros,
a few miles from Didyma on the Turkish coast, Julius Caesar was held as a hostage by local pirates
for forty days.