Rhodes island
The beautiful Rhodes island offers a territory made up of mountains, valleys, inlets, gulfs, monasteries, enchanted villages, archaeological sites and beaches to be discovered.
Rhodes island is the largest of the Dodecanese archipelago. We find it just above Crete and we can safely define it as one of the places where history has left evident traces and influences that can still be breathed in the air today.
A large, immense island and being able to see it all is almost a feat but it offers a territory made up of mountains, valleys, inlets, gulfs, monasteries, enchanted villages, archaeological sites and beaches that will always be a memorable memory.
It stretches for 1400 square kilometers and offers its visitors many things to see and do from north to south. Throughout the coast there are beaches with a clear, crisp sea with wonderful colors, mountains covered with thick forests, expanses of vineyards and olive groves and a sense of tradition despite its continuous growth that is still deeply felt and rooted.
According to mythology, Rhodes was born from the love of Helios the God of the Sun and the Nymph Rhodos daughter of Aphrodite and Poseidon. Legend has it that when Zeus decided to divide the earth among the Gods of Olympus he forgot about Apollo who, like every day, was bringing the sun to the sky and consequently was not present. Upon his return Apollo became very angry with his father for missing him towards him but at the same time he came up with a beautiful island from the depths of the sea and when he saw it he asked Zeus to grant it to him. Obviously the God of Gods agreed 'giving it to her son who in honor of her beloved the nymph Rhodos called her' with her name.
History of Rhodes
Then there would be pages and pages to write here but it is necessary to make at least a few hints to better understand the soul of Rhodes. It is already inhabited in the Neolithic period and by the Minoan civilization. In the fifteenth century BC the Mycenaeans arrive and after the Bronze Age it begins to have commercial exchanges with the Cyprus island, but Rhodes we can say that only with the arrival of the Dorians in the eighteenth century does it become important and powerful. The cities of Lindos, Ialyssos and Kamiros are built which together with Kos, Alicarnassos and Cnido will become the Doric Esapolis a sacred confederation. During the War in the Peloponnese 478 BC he decided not to participate in the conflict thus becoming independent and began to build his internal villages and the capital which was built in 408 BC by the architect Hippodamus of Miletus ending up under Persian rule in 340 BC and Alexander the Great in 332 BC. In 304 BC after defeating Demetrius I to celebrate the victory, the inhabitants of Rhodes decided to build a gigantic statue in honor of Helios the famous Colossus of Rhodes which then disappeared in 653 at the hands of the Arabs who, when they conquered the island, made many pieces which they sold to a Jew whose traces were immediately lost. Then followed the Romans who Christianized it with San Polo and after the fall of the Western Roman Empire it belonged to the Byzantine Empire for ten centuries. In the Middle Ages it was governed by the Republic of Genoa which controlled traffic on behalf of the Byzantines. After the death of Andrea Moresco last Genoese governor of Rhodes, it was ceded to the Knights Hospitallers also known as the Knights of Rhodes who built impressive monuments such as the Palace of the Grand Master who left it to the Ottoman Empire in 1522 as the army of Suleiman the Magnificent he took possession of the island allowing the knights to retire to Malta. As the history of Greece teaches us, Ottoman supremacy remained for four long and bloody centuries. Then the Italians and the Germans followed one another again during the Second World War and then returned under the Greek flag in 1948.
You choose a holiday in Rhodes for an infinite number of reasons. For its rich and wild nature, for its beaches and its sea, for archeology, for sport, for trekking, for good food and for the relaxed atmosphere that reigns. It is a perfect island for anyone, families with children can combine business with pleasure between the sea and historical notions, for couples, for young people given its lively nightlife in the capital and in the Faliraki area, in short, everyone can be satisfied without neglecting anyone's wishes.
Lose yourself in the capital medieval city and Unesco heritage. With the old part where the streets intersect becoming labyrinths and at every corner you can find shops, clubs, cafes and restaurants, its acropolis just above a hill renamed Monte Smith where the panorama is sublime especially at sunset. And don't we want to go and visit the Grand Master's Palace or the Street of the Knights a catapult into the past with rooms where artifacts such as beautiful mosaics from the Hellenistic period are kept?
Going south you come across Faliraki, a tourist seaside resort that is very popular with young people for the infinite choice of places to stay late in the evening as well as kilometer-long coasts where you can relax and get a tan. Immersed in a bewildering nature just after Falirki the beautiful Anthony Quinn Bay with its emerald green and turquoise sea where some scenes of the cult film "The Cannons of Navarone" were filmed and then arrive in Kolymbia where relaxation and tranquility are the masters. A small settlement where you can spend your days at the beach.
More and more 'down' you reach Lindos a real pearl. A town with a wonderful Acropolis where the temple dedicated to the Goddess Minerva is located with a view of the archipelago. And yet its suggestive Bay of Saint Paul with its particular beach to get to the most extreme tip of Rhodes in Prassonissi where the Aegean Sea joins the Mediterranean Sea and sports lovers in which Aeolus is necessary gather to have fun in acrobatics and jump.
Finally, for the little ones but also the adults always appreciate the valley of the Butterflies west of Rhodes less than thirty kilometers from the capital. One of the most attractive places that, passing between streams, rich vegetation and waterfalls, will make you discover millions of butterflies that concentrate for reproduction.
We could go on for whole days describing what to see and what to do in Rhodes but we could also remove the thrill of surprise, so pack your bags, get a ticket for this multifaceted and mythical island and go to discover it without too many questions and following your instinct.