Kos, Greece

Kos or Cos (Greek: Κως) is a Greek island, part of the Dodecanese island chain in the southeastern Aegean Sea. Kos is the third largest island of the Dodecanese by area, after Rhodes and Karpathos; it has a population of 33,388 (2011 census), making it the second most populous of the Dodecanese, after Rhodes. The island measures 40 by 8 kilometres (25 by 5 miles). Administratively, Kos constitutes a municipality within the Kos regional unit, which is part of the South Aegean region. The principal town of the island and seat of the municipality is Kos Town.

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Kos, Grecia

The name Kos (Ancient Greek: Κῶς, genitive Κῶ) is first attested in the Iliad, and has been in continuous use since. Other ancient names include Meropis, Cea, and Nymphaea. In many Romance languages, Kos was formerly known as Stancho, Stanchio, or Stinco, and in Ottoman and modern Turkish it is known as İstanköy, all from the reinterpretation of the Greek expression εις την Κω ‘to Kos’; cf. the similar Istanbul and Stimpoli, Crete. Under the rule of the Knights Hospitaller of Rhodes, it was known as Lango or Langò, presumably because of its length. In The Travels of Sir John Mandeville, the author misunderstands this and treats Lango and Kos as distinct islands. In Italian, the island is known as Coo. A person from Kos is called a “Koan” in English.

Kos, Griechenland

Кос, Греция

Kos, Grèce

İstanköy, Yunanistan

Kos has several promontories, some with names known in antiquity: Cape Skandari, anciently Scandarium or Skandarion in the northeast; Cape Lacter or Lakter in the south; and Cape Drecanum or Drekanon in the west. In addition to the main town and port, also called Kos, the main villages of Kos island are Kardamena, Kefalos, Tingaki, Antimachia, Mastihari, Marmari and Pyli. Smaller ones are Zia, Zipari, Platani, Lagoudi and Asfendiou.

希腊科斯

Kos, Grecja

كوس ، اليونان

The island is part of a chain of mountains from which it became separated after earthquakes and subsidence that occurred in ancient times. The remnants of these mountains include the islands of Kalymnos and Kappari which are separated by an underwater chasm about 70 metres (230 ft; 38 fathoms) deep, as well as the volcano of Nisyros and the surrounding islands.
There is a wide variety of rocks in Kos which is related to its geographical formation. Prominent among these are the Quaternary layers in which the fossil remains of mammals such as horses, hippopotami and elephants have been found. The fossilised molar of an elephant of gigantic proportions was presented to the Paleontology Museum of the University of Athens.