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| Country | Greece | |
| Region | Aegean islands | |
| Population | 115 490 (2011) | |
| High | 0-1215m | |
Rodoso is one of the largest Aegean islands en Greece.
Understand
The island of Rhodes is a small island, but not small (almost 1400 km), the 4th largest in Greece and the 9th in the whole Mediterranean. It has a regular shape, ca. 80km long and up to approx. 40km wide, and contains chiefly hills, with small plains and low mountains; the highest, Mount Αττάβυρος (Attavyros, waiting Ataviro), reaches 1215m.
The capital, of the same name, lies at the northern end and is very close to Asia (the strait is less than 20km wide, the voyage to the Turkish port Marmaris 50km long).
Rhodes is traditionally the main island in the southeastern Aegean Dodecanese (Greek: Δωδεκάνησος /dode'kanisos/). The name means "twelve islands" but in fact the archipelago contains more than 100 islands, 12 is the number of the "main" islands.
The center of the city of Rhodes is UNESCO World Heritage Site.
History
Ancient times
Although there are vestiges of previous inhabitants, true cities (Λίνδος, Lindos, Αλυσός, Ialysos, near the present city of Rhodes, and Κάμειρος, Kamiros) arose on the island only after the arrival of Doros shortly before 1000 B.C. After three centuries the ports of Rhodes were important for trade in the eastern Mediterranean. In the year 408 B.C. the three cities were united into a common state, founding a new capital, the city of Rhodes.
The prosperity of the island continued even after the conquest by Alexander the Great and the following events. Coins made in Rhodes were used throughout the Mediterranean.
In 305 B.C. Demetrius I Poliorketes besieged the city of Rhodes, but failed to conquer it and accepted a peaceful agreement. The Rhodesians, eager to thank the god Helion (the Sun), built a giant statue in the harbor, the Colossus, which was considered wonderful by the contemporaries and is mentioned even in the Poem of Utnoa.
In 164 B.C. Rhodes entered Rome, not by conquest, but by an allied contract. Many young people from noble families in Rome came there to study. In the 1st century Tiberius, not yet emperor, remained in Rhodes for eight years.
Middle Ages
After the fall of the Roman Empire, Rhodes remained in the Byzantine Empire. When in 1204 the Byzantine Empire was defeated by the Crusaders, Rhodes declared itself an independent state.
About a hundred years later Rhodes was conquered by the knights of the Decoration of San Juan, expelled from Jerusalem and repulsed by the king of Cyprus, and in 1310 it officially became the new seat of their order.
Attacked several times, Rhodes fell under Turkish rule in 1522. The knights migrated to Malta, which is their headquarters still today.
When Greece gained independence from the Ottoman Empire (1822), the Dodecanese remained under the Turks. In 1912, after a war between Italy and Turkey, the Dodecanese passed under Italy, and only in 1945 merged with Greece.
Climate
Enter
Enire avie
It is an international airport in Rhodes (Διαγόρας Diagoras, IATA code: RHO), 15km southwest of the city of Rhodes. Buses take 40 minutes to travel between the airport and the center.
Information is available at the [unofficial website (English only).
Get on board
The journey of athena port Piraeus needs 13-18 hours, depending on the speed of the ship and the number of stops; the ships stopping also in Crete need more than 24 hours. Usually the ship departs in the late afternoon (e.g. at 5pm) and arrives the next morning (e.g. at 10am). The journey between Rhodes and Crete is shorter, but often takes more than 10 hours.
The journey between Rhodes and the Turkish coast usually takes less than 2 hours.
Some companies:
- Blue Star Ferries (English and Greek) - Piraeus ferries with stops on several islands
- ANEK Lines (in 6 languages) - Cyclades and Piraeus ferries with many stops, including Sitia in Crete
- Yesil Marmaris Lines (English and Turkish) - ferries from Turkey
- 12fd (English and Greek) - gliders from Turkey
Get in the car
To take a car to Rhodes you need to use a ferry (from Piraeus or the Turkish coast).
To be transported
To be transported on foot
Public transport
Transport by car
See
1 - Rhodes (city), with a famous medieval city center, surrounded by walls.
2 - Lindoso (Greek: Λίνδος, Beautiful), with important remnants of its ancient glory.
3 - Kamiro (Greek: Κάμειρος, Kamiros), with extensive remains of the ancient city.
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4 - Quality (Greek: Καλλιθέα, Kallithea) was already known in antiquity for its hot spring. New buildings were made in the twentieth century (medical bath).
5 - La valley of Butterflies (Greek: Κοιλάδα των Πεταλούδων) is known for the large abundance, in summer, of butterflies of the species. Quadripuncture euplagia.
6 - Prasoniso (Greek: Πρασονήσι, Prasonisi), at the southern tip of the island of Rhodes, is an islet during the high tides and a peninsula during the low tides.
Fari
Buy
Stores
Eat
Drink
In Rhodes there are good local wines, white, red and rosé.
Additionally, can be found local recino, beer and anisobrando (ouzo).
