Saria is a rocky and volcanic island that is located north of the island of Karpathos. The island is seperated from Karpathos by a 100 meters wide channel. Once the two islands were connected until an earthquake broke the island into two pieces. Saria has only a small number of residents (during the census of 2011 22 people were counted), and the majority of them are shepherd.
According to legend, the island is named after an ancient princess with the name of Katherina, who descended from the royal house of Saria. She was apparently just as beautiful as Helen of Troy and therefore the island named after her.
On Saria the remains of the ancient city of Nisyros can be seen. It dates from ancient times when the kingdom of Mikri Nisyros was here. Much of the old city, including a temple of Apollo, is now located on the seabed between Saria and Karpathos.
The island is largely surrounded by high cliffs. Although there are some trees on Saria, the biggest part is covered by low shrubs. It is a breeding ground for the Eleonora's falcon.
From Pigadia and Diafani on the island of Karpathos there are excursion boats that sail to the island of Saria. The attraction of the island is the deserted pirate town of Palatia (meaning "Palaces") with some oddly shaped buildings. The city dates from the Byzantine period. Those who want to take a look at the city with its pillars and sculptured pieces of marble, have to climb up the hill for one hour.
