Chalki Sights: Chorio Castle, the Clock Tower & Alimnia
The sights of Chalki are the clock tower on Nimborio harbour, the castle above the old capital of Chorio, and the islet of Alimnia. The clock tower is the highest freestanding one in the Dodecanese, Chorio stands almost deserted below its castle, and Alimnia is reached by boat from the harbour.
- Clock tower
- Highest in Dodecanese
- Church
- Agios Nikolaos, 1861
- Old capital
- Chorio
- Islet
- Alimnia
The clock tower of Nimborio
The clock tower on the harbour of Nimborio is the highest freestanding clock tower in the Dodecanese islands. It belongs to the Agios Nikolaos church, which dates from 1861. The tower stands beside the horseshoe bay where the ferries arrive. Nimborio and its harbour are covered in the Chalki villages guide.
Chorio and the castle
Chorio, the former capital of Chalki, is crowned by a castle of the Knights of St John. Several churches stand inside the castle, including a church of Agios Nikolaos with frescoes and mosaics, and a ruined monastery lies nearby. The village was built inland, out of sight of the sea, to guard against pirate raids. About 4,000 people lived here at its height, but Chorio is almost completely deserted today.
The islet of Alimnia
Alimnia is an uninhabited islet between Chalki and Rhodes, covering 6.5 km² and rising to 265 metres. You reach it by boat, traditionally a wooden kaiki, from Nimborio. The islet has beaches, a deserted village and a castle that the Knights of St John built above the remains of an ancient acropolis. Italy used its sheltered bay as a submarine base from 1912, and Germany expanded the base after 1943. The last residents left in the 1970s, and shepherds from Chalki now graze sheep and goats here, while a priest maintains the two churches. The harbour has a church on a pier and a pebble beach.
