In the inland villages of Karpathos — Aperi, Othos, Volada, Pyles — there are houses that stand out from the rest in size and structure. These are the archontika — the houses of the notables, built between the 18th and 19th centuries when some Karpathian families had accumulated wealth through maritime trade and land ownership. They have carved stone doorways, tall rooms with vaulted ceilings, inner courtyards with a well.
Many of these houses are abandoned today. The original owners emigrated — to America, to Australia, to Germany — and the later generations never returned. The houses stand empty, with boarded-up windows and cracking façades. Every now and then someone comes back from America to fix one up, but restoration work on an archontiko takes money and time that aren't always there.
Standing in front of an abandoned archontiko in Aperi, I wondered how many stories were inside, and how many had already gone away with those who left.
Some families have restored their archontika and rent them out as holiday homes or bed and breakfasts. They're among the most characterful places to stay in Karpathos — sleeping in an 18th-century mansion with its thick walls and the silence of the village around you has something you can't repeat. But they're few compared with how many would be possible.