Corfu - Korfuo

Corfu (Greek Κέρκυρα, Kerkyra) is a small island and town in the Ionian Islands in the west Greece.

Understand

The island Corfu (Κέρκυρα, Kerkyra) lies in the northern part of the Ionian Sea, not far from its border with the Adriatic, and belongs to the group of Ionian Islands.

It is approx. 70km long and at most 28km wide, with an area of ​​approx. 600km². There are no large plains in Corfu. The interior is full of hills (higher in the northern part); the highest peak is Mount Pantocrator, c. 910m.

The coast is mostly rugged, but between the cliffs are several sandbars. The south is steeper and fairly long sandbars are more common (although there are hills in the south as well). The following images show examples: a vertical shore near Sidari (far north), small sandy hills between hills near Paleokastrica (northwest), a narrow plain with coastal lakes near Lefkimi (south), sandbanks with or without equipment (south, near Lefkimi and near Issos).

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Opposite the east coast, the opposite coast is close: only 3km separates the northeastern St. Stephen from the Albanian coast, and about 10km separates the southeastern village of Kabos from Sybota in the Greek mainland. To the west, the Italian coast is not very far, although farther away than the Albanian and Greek: c. 80km south of Apulia.

Corfu (Κέρκυρα, Kerkyra) is also called the largest city on the island, with approx. 35 thousand inhabitants. The municipality of that city contains the whole island and a few small islets (in total there are a little over 100 thousand inhabitants).

Myths

According to ancient Greek myth, Poseidon, the god of the sea, fell in love with the beautiful nymph Korkyra and kidnapped her, taking her with her to an unnamed island. To be polite to the nymph, Poseidon named the island after the beloved, a name that later changed from Korkyra to the present Kerkyra.

On the other hand, Homer mentions in the Odyssey the Fayaks, a people living on an island called Sharia. Already in antiquity there were several ideas as to where Sharia was located; among them, some claimed that Sherry is another name for Corfu. There was also a myth linking this assumption with the myth of Poseidon and Korkyra: it claimed that the couple gave birth to a son whose name was Phaiax (Faiako), and he was the first ruler of the then-originated people of the Fajaks.

NOTE. The Esperanto name Corfu (and similar names in several European languages: Corfu, Corfu, Corfu, Corfu, Corfu etc.) comes from the Byzantine name Κορυφώ (Korypho, Coryphaeus), meaning "the two peaks".

History

Prehistoric people arrived in Corfu very early, probably at least 700,000 years ago. Their arrival favored, among other factors, the fact that the island was repeatedly connected to the nearby mainland (last time before 8000 BC). There are even some traces of those times (for example, Paleolithic near Agios Matheos, Neolithic near Sidari).

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Climate

The climate of Corfu is a Mediterranean climate, with cool and rainy winters and hot and dry summers.

In winter the temperature is usually between 5 ° C and 15 ° C, although on particularly cold nights it can fall below zero. In summer it is usually between 15 ° C and 32 ° C, but on particularly hot days it can reach and even exceed 40 ° C.

From November to March usually more than 50% of the days are rainy; from June to August, on the contrary, usually only 10-15% of the days are rainy.

Corfu climate
Month	Jan.	Feb.	Mar.	Apr.	Maj	Jun	Jul	Aug.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.		Annual average or sum
Highest temp. (° C, monthly average)	14	16	18	20	25	29	31	31	30	24	20	16		22, 8
Lowest temp. (° C, monthly average)	6	8	11	12	14	16	19	19	17	14	10	6		12, 6
Rainfall (mm)	132	136	98	62	36	14	7	18	75	148	181	180		1087

Enter

Enire avie

There is an airport in Corfu, where approx. 3 million passengers a year.

There are flights to / from several cities throughout Europe, but most of them only take place in summer.

Information is available at the airport website (English and Greek).

There are buses (line 15) between the airport and the city of Corfu. It is also possible to travel by taxi or on foot (approx. 2km from the airport to the city center).

Get on board

There are several shipping lines, with or without car transport, between Corfu and Greece, Albania and Italy.

The shortest links are:

• of the Igumenic (Igoumenitsa) in Greece (c. 1h30-1h45)
• from / to Sarando (Sarandë) in Albania (approx. 1h10-1h30, only 30min by fast ferries)
• from / to Otranto (Otranto) in Italy (approx. 2h45 by fast ferries)
• from / to Toast (Brindisi) in Italy (c. 8h)

There are also maritime connections with other cities in Greece and Italy (Adriatic), north to Ancona (c. 16h) and Venice (c. 24h), and with other Ionian islands.

Get on the train

There are no trains to the towns of the preceding Albanian / Greek coast (Sarando, Igumenico etc.).

However, it is possible to reach by train some other more distant ports (for example Brindisi). From there you will travel by boat. In Toast it takes approx. 20-30min walk from the train station to the berth.

Enter the bus

Yes, there are buses connecting Corfu directly to Greece - although they need ferries to travel overseas, of course!

The most important connection is to Thessaloniki via Igumenico - Ionino. There are also bus connections with Athens, Patras and Larissa.

Website: KTEL - Greenbuses (in Greek and English).

Get in the car

To get to Corfu by car, you need to reach one of the nearby ports (see above) and board the car by ferry.

For many people it is suitable to travel by car during the day and by boat at night.

Ports very used to embark cars are:

• Bari, Brindisi or Otranto in Apulia (motorway A14 to Bari or Taranto) for travelers through the Italian peninsula;
• Igumenico in northwestern Greece for travelers across the Balkan Peninsula.

For travelers from Northern Italy and Western Europe, Ancona may also be suitable (Ancona).

To be transported

To be transported on foot

Public transport

Transport by car

See

In the city of Corfu

The whole old center of the city of Corfu, with the two fortifications, is UNESCO World Heritage Site.[1]

Below are the most important monuments:

10 - Esplanade (,Πιανάδα, Spianada), a huge square surrounded by famous buildings, among which the Liston Palace (1814), la Old Kingdom (until 1913 summer house of the Greek kings), the Museum of Asian Art (in the old kingdom).

11 - Church of Saint Spiridon (Σγίου Σπυρίδωνα, I act Spiridona), built in the 16th century, with a slender tower (1620). It is located in the heart of the old center.

12 - Old Fort (Όαλαιό Φρούριο Palaio Frurio), built by the Byzantines since the 6th century, with many changes and additions made by the Venetians since the 15th century.

13 - New Fort (Φο Φρούριο Neo Frurio), built by the Venetians since c.1577, with later alterations.

Outside the capital

Fari

Learn

Work

Buy

Stores

Eat

Corfu cuisine is mostly normal Greek cuisine (e.g. Greek salad, Greek χωριάτικη σαλάτα, choriatiki salad).

Particular Corfu dishes are:

• pasticada (παστιτσάδα), with pasta, meat, spices (σπετσερικό), cooked with red wine;
• sofrito (σοφρίτο), meat fried and then boiled, with vinegar, garlic and parsley, often with a garnish of fried potatoes or rice;

NOTE: Don't confuse Corfu stir-fry with Spanish sofrito or with Italian fried !

• burdeto (μπουρδέτο), fish (scorpion is considered the most suitable) with a sauce of tomatoes and peppers.

Of course, restaurants also offer non-local dishes for the tourists. Pizza is the most common among them.

Drink

It is famous the alcohol with kumquats (Greek: λικέρ κουμ-κουάτ, liker kumkuat), which became traditional after the cultivation of this Asian plant was introduced to Corfu in 1924.

To live

Esperanto housing

Campsites

There are several campsites on the island.

Among them:

• near Paleokastrica, on the west coast: Camping Paleokastritsa
• near Ypsos, north of Corfu, on the east coast: Karda Beach Camping and Dionysus Camping Village
• near Rhodes, on the north coast: Camping Roda Beach
• near Sidari, also on the north coast: Dolphin Camping

Hostels

Hotels

Security

There are no serious risks to thieves or other criminals, however caution is always advised, as in other places.

However, be careful during the trip, as there are more thieves in some ports.

In summer, fires can occur in the forests, due to the very hot and very dry weather.

Esperanto

Consulates

Several European countries have consulates in Corfu. Among them: Belgium, Great Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland.

Visit further

From Corfu it is easy to get to Sarandon in Albania and visit the ruins of Butrint and the surrounding national park.

It is also possible to travel by boat to the smaller island Pakso (approx. 1h per support wing ship).

Remarks

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