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Leper Colonies
A leper colony, also known by many other names, is an isolated community for the quarantining and treatment of lepers, people suffering from leprosy. '' M. leprae'', the bacterium responsible for leprosy, is believed to have spread from East Africa through the Near East, Europe, and Asia by the 5th century before reaching the rest of the world more recently. Historically, leprosy was believed to be extremely contagious and divinely ordained, leading to enormous stigma against its sufferers. Other severe skin diseases were frequently conflated with leprosy and all such sufferers were kept away from the general public, although some religious orders provided medical care and treatment. Recent research has shown ''M. leprae'' has maintained a similarly virulent genome over at least the last thousand years, leaving it unclear which precise factors led to leprosy's near elimination in Europe by 1700. A growing number of cases following the first wave of European colonization, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spinalonga
Spinalonga () is an island in the Gulf of Elounda, north-eastern Crete, in the municipality of Agios Nikolaos, Crete, Agios Nikolaos, Lasithi, next to the town of Plaka in the area of Kalydon (Elounda), Kalydon. It is near the Spinalonga peninsula ("large Spinalonga") – which often causes confusion as the same name is used for both. The island was maintained as a fortress for centuries under Ionian Islands under Venetian rule, Venetian rule. It later became a refuge for Muslim families fearing persecution, and finally a leper colony in the early 20th century. It has been uninhabited since 1962; though it has undergone some restoration work in the years since. Today it is the second most visited tourist site in Crete, and sixth in Greece overall. Name According to Venetian documents, the name of the island originated in the Greek expression στην Ελούντα ''stin Elounda'' (meaning "to Elounda"). The Venetians could not understand the expression, so they familiarized ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
