country_of_citizenship costas valsamis
Ano Symi , also called Ano Simi , Epáno Sími ( Greek : " Upper Symi "), or more commonly Horio or Chorio is the main town of the island of Symi , north - west of the island of Rhodes in ___MASK72___ . It is situated in one of the most picturesque areas of Symi , and was for many years largely abandoned by its people , though in recent years has seen some resurgence . The Dodecanese (" Dodekánisa ", , literally ' twelve islands ') are a group of 15 larger plus 150 smaller Greek islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea , off the coast of Asia Minor ( ___MASK16___ ), of which 26 are inhabited . his island group generally defines the eastern limit of the Sea of Crete . They belong to the wider Southern Sporades island group . They have a rich history , and many of even the smallest inhabited islands boast dozens of Byzantine churches and medieval castles . Crete ("" ; Ancient Greek : , " Krt ") is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands , 88th - largest island in the world and the fifth - largest island in the Mediterranean Sea , after Sicily , Sardinia , ___MASK49___ , and Corsica . Crete and a number of surrounding islands and islets constitute the region of Crete , one of the 13 top - level administrative units of ___MASK72___ . The capital and the largest city is Heraklion . , the region had a population of 623 , 065 . Symi , also transliterated as Syme or Simi , is a Greek island and municipality . It is mountainous and includes the harbor town of Symi and its adjacent upper town Ano Symi , as well as several smaller localities , beaches , and areas of significance in history and mythology . Symi is part of the Rhodes regional unit . Southern Sporades ( Greek " Nóties Sporádes ") are Greek islands situated between the Cyclades and ___MASK16___ . They correspond to the Dodecanese plus a few northern islands ( especially Samos and Ikaria ). Also included by some geographers are the islands of Chios and Lesbos . The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the Greek and Anatolian peninsulas , i . e ., between the mainlands of ___MASK72___ and Turkey . In the north , it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosphorus . The Aegean Islands are within the sea and some bound it on its southern periphery , including Crete and Rhodes . ___MASK16___ , officially the Republic of ___MASK16___ ( Turkish : ), is a transcontinental country in Eurasia , mainly in Anatolia in Western Asia , with a smaller portion on the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe . ___MASK16___ is a democratic , secular , unitary , parliamentary republic with a diverse cultural heritage . ___MASK16___ is bordered by eight countries : ___MASK72___ to the west ; Bulgaria to the northwest ; Georgia to the northeast ; Armenia , the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan and Iran to the east ; and Iraq and Syria to the south . The Aegean Sea is to the west , the Black Sea to the north , and the Mediterranean Sea to the south . The Bosphorus , the Sea of Marmara , and the Dardanelles , which together form the Turkish Straits , divide Thrace and Anatolia ; they also separate Europe and Asia . ___MASK16___ ' s location has given it geopolitical and strategic importance throughout history . Costas Valsamis ( 1908 -- 2003 ) was a Greek Sculptor . He was born on the Greek island of Symi , Dodecanese and died in Athens .