From that moment on, hoisting the flag at dawn and lowering it at dusk became a daily task for Despina Achladiotou. This was a task of symbolic weight.

The Greek writer Marie Karioti recounts a pleasant visit to Lady Ro in her 1981 book titled 'Kastellorizo'; 'I was told I would find her at home with the flag. And indeed, I did. Every day on the island, four flags were waving from east to west. A large one on the tower, one on the Coast Guard building, one at the hotel, and the other at the house belonging to Lady Ro.' It had been many years since Despina married a shepherd and began living on Ro Island. They had no children. In the solitude of the house, I imagined her suffering from the pain of longing for a child while tending to her goats and cattle for hours, days, and years.

There was a Greek woman living on the islet referred to as Karaada across from Kaş.

This was the story of 'The Flag Woman, Despina Achladiotou.'

There was a Greek woman named Despina Achladiotou who had been living on this islet since 1927. Since those years, Despina Achladiotou lived on this islet with the Greek flag, and the official authorities erected a flagpole on a hill overlooking Kaş, and the Greek flag was hoisted.

The residents of Kaş District and the official authorities say that this islet is right in front of you, well, it stands right in front of you... Did you never think of hoisting a Turkish flag on this islet and other surrounding islets at the time?

On this islet, known as 'Ro' on Greek maps, there was a Greek woman living since 1927. It is even said that Greece has started a ferry service to Karaada, which belongs to Turkey, across from Kaş...

The inscription at the grave of Despina Achladiotou, who passed away in 1986, has been standing in place for 38 years, protected as it should be by representatives of the official authorities, and tourists visit it...

Across is the grand Kaş...

Meanwhile, those who praise Meis Island for its affordability...

The dream of the Greek woman Despina Achladiotou, who lived on the islet known as Karaada, was to raise the Greek flag on this islet. The state did not leave her alone... It hoisted the Greek flag on that islet and organized an official ceremony for this lady. In the year she passed away, 1986, it crowned her grave on Ro Islet with an inscription.

'Ro' is a small islet located across from Kaş District, to the west of Meis Island.

The story of the Greek Flag Woman Despina Achladiotou is told alongside that of Meis Island.

Ro Island (Karaada) is a small islet located to the west of Meis Island. During the years of Italian occupation, it was referred to as Meis-Kastellorizo.

Myrto Katsigera narrates the life story of Lady Ro - Despina Achladiotou in her article titled 'Who was Lady Ro?' (Source: Myrto Katsigera 'Who was Lady Ro', January 15, 2020).

'Despina Achladiotou,' known as Lady Ro, was born in 1890 as an Ottoman citizen on Meis Island.

The story of the legendary Lady Ro, Despina Achladiotou (1890-1982), who waved the Greek flag on the remote islet to the west of Meis Island (Kastellorizo) for decades, is one of the most poignant patriotic tales of contemporary Greece.

'Most people live their lives aimlessly. Despina Achladiotou had a purpose in her life; to convey to the ships passing closely that Ro is part of Greece. As soon as she spotted a ship, she would run to the flagpole on the shore and raise and lower the Greek flag several times. When she was noticed from the ship, they would hoist and lower their own flag according to international maritime courtesy rules. In other words, in layman's terms, they would lower the ship's flag and raise it again.

Despina Achladiotou had already been living on Ro (Karaada) for 30 years; more than half of that time, she was alone. The things that this tiny woman saw as the most ordinary in the world, such as not leaving her island and waving the Greek flag, gradually took on legendary proportions, and she herself became a symbol of heroism and patriotism.

Despina Achladiotou was born in 1890 on Meis-Kızılhisar Island. In 1927, during the Italian administration, she settled on Ro with her husband Kostas. At that time, this islet was a desolate border line between Turkey and the Dodecanese, and the municipality had rented it to animal herders from Kastellorizo. About a year after they settled on the islet, one day, a small team of Turkish soldiers disembarked from a motorboat and raised the Turkish flag on Ro. Despina reported the incident to the authorities in Kastellorizo. The Italian government took up the complaint and claimed that there was a settlement on the island and therefore, like the other islands in the group, Ro islet also belonged to Italy. The Turkish flag was taken down from the pole...

A woman alone on Karaada

As this small woman’s refusal to leave her island and her regular waving of the Greek flag on this islet took on legendary proportions, she also became a symbol of heroism and patriotism. She had married and continued to live with her husband on Ro-Karaada. Those who had the opportunity to meet her and experience her generous hospitality were very excited; Despina and her husband Kostas were very pleased to host their guests.

After making the necessary arrangements for Kostas’s funeral, Despina returned to Ro with her mother. At that time, Greece and Italy were at war. Despina, helpless, left the islet and returned to Kastellorizo.

After Italy's surrender in 1943, the British ordered the evacuation of Kastellorizo and surrounding areas. However, Despina Achladiotou refused to leave her island even after the heavy German bombardment in November 1943. In an interview, she said: 'They were firing, and you could see the rocks exploding. I told myself, ‘This is our end.’

While World War II was still ongoing, Greek Navy sailors serving in the Middle East landed and discovered that a woman and her elderly mother were living on Ro, welcoming them as if they were at home and offering them food. When they returned to their base, they informed their commander, who sent a boatload of supplies. As that boat departed, the Greek flag was waving over Ro.

On the distant islet of Ro, to the west of Meis Island, the Greek flag waves... This islet is one of those left to Italy, as stated in Article 15 of the Treaty of Lausanne, which expresses that 'Turkey renounces all rights and titles over the islands listed below in favor of Italy,' referring to 'the islets attached to them,' such as Meis (Castellorizo), and later annexed by Greece.

Source: SeaNews Türkiye