The village has a clear view of Kasos and the mountains of Siteia and it is the least populated village of Karpathos. Its first residents moved to this location in the 17th century because their seaside settlements were no longer safe. The locals have various interesting theories regarding the reason why the village got this particular name. According to one of them, there used to be gates (“piles” in Greek) in the village or the village functioned as a gate connecting the villages of the northern part of Karpathos with the rest of the island. According to another theory, there used to be – and there still is – plenty of clay (“pilos” in Greek) in the area. According to a third one, there used to be caves (“spilies” in Greek) in the area and that is how the name of the village became Piles. The central church of the village is dedicated to the Assumption of Mary. It was built in 1859. In 1917, a gynaeceum was added to the church and in 1945 the church manor and the church olive press were built.
Karpathos Piles
