Rhodes
Rhodes is at the southeast Aegean and consists the biggest island of Dodecanese, the fourth in a row of the whole country and the ninth of the Mediterranean.
In the northeast edge of the island there is its capital, the town of Rhodes, while in its borders of the town of Rhodes , there’s the Medieval town of Rhodes, or PaliaPoli, as it is called by the locals , one of the best preserved medieval towns in the world, that has been identified since 1988 as a Monument of Universal Heritage of UNESCO. In the walls of the Old Town there are remarkable monuments from the Byzantine era, the Turkish occupation and the era of Italian occupation, with the most impressive palace of Big Magistrou.
In the northwest and in a distance almost 12 km from town there’s the State Airport of Rhodes “Diagoras” which constitutes the main gate of the entrance of the visitors to the island. The fact that it is steadily enlisted in the fourth place in arrivals internationally as well as the fact that the visitors reaching the island by a cruise ship are numbered in dozens of thousands per year show that Rhodes is an internationally identified tourist destination with particular importance to the Greek economy.
The “emerald island” is flooded by thousands of tourists every year from all over the world who visit it to enjoy the sea, nature and its sights but learn its rich history too. The special interest of the tourists attracts mainly the Medieval Town of Rhodes whose castle is divided into two distinctive urban shapes, Kollakioin the north and Chora in the south. In Kolliako the very known street of the knights is included the Palace of the Big Magistroor Kastelo, the Hospital that has been turned into a museum, the temples of Battalion and other important buildings. In Chora, there is the Turkish bazaar around Souleiman’smosque the old agora and other buildings of touring interest.
Special trait and environmental interest also show the Valley of the Butterflies in Theologos village, but also the Valley of Salakou in the homonymous settlement, in the northwest coast of the island.
The island of Rhodes has nothing to envy from exotic destinations as it manages to combine in a unique way the natural beauty of the green sceneries with the total blue colour of Aegean Sea. In a distance of 17 km south from the centre of the Medieval town of Rhodes there’s the renowned Beach of Anthony Quinn. The name of the beach is obviously inspired of the American star of the American cinema and became particularly known to the general public from the film “The Canons of Navarone”. The beach hadn’t been chosen for this role by chance since its white rocks that surround it, the fine sand, the pebbles and the crystal blue green waters create a magic image.
Down the beautiful settlement of Lindos there are two beaches with quiet crystal waters, protected from the picturesque bay. The coast provides a golden sand and emerald waters. Something that make it especially loved to the tourists of the island. The dives in this beach can be combined with an evening walk in the narrow paths or the Acropolis of Lindos.
Elli, the most cosmopolitan beach of the town of Rhodes that has been identified as one of the best beaches in the Mediterranean, the beach Afantou ideal for families, Ladiko one of the most picturesque side of the island, the famous sources of Kallithea had a leading role in many old Greek films are some of the countless beaches that can anyone visit in the island of Rhodes.