The history of the island of Halki, for geographical reasons, is largely tied to that of Rhodes which was very much at the crossroads between east and west, Europe and the Levant, Christianity and Islam.
From the numerous ruins that are still to be found in Halki (Chalki), it can be concluded that in ancient times, the population was considerable. Until the Second World War the population, all together, was 2000, whereas today there are just three hundred residents.
Invasions
At the end of the 13th century, Halki still followed in the same footsteps as Rhodes and was taken by the Turks in 1522. The island remained under their rule until 1912, when the Italians successfully invaded and annexed the islands of the Dodecanese.
In 1948, Halki was finally re-integrated with the rest of Greece.
Crops
In Ancient times, the water situation was a little better than present day times. The island supported up to 7,000 people, and grew 2 crops of wheat a year, in small stone-enclosed fields. Halki was also a producer of copper, which is supposed to account for its name - from the Greek 'halkos' for 'copper'.
Piracy
During Medieval and even later times, the threat of pirates forced the inhabitants to live far from the sea, up in the mountains at Chorio. The inconvenience of carrying on a fishing industry while living in the mountains can only be imagined, though one expects the goat herds found it more congenial...
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