Best of Rhodes

The Old City
The old city of Rhodes is a living, vibrant community with many homes and business, and is one of the largest and best preserved medieval settlements of Europe. Today, the old city continues to be separated into the two parts: the northern part covers the Acropolis of the Knights and the Palace of the Grand Master, while the southern part covers Chora, where the Greeks, the Europeans who were not members of the Order and the Jews lived. These two parts of the city were separated by a wall running nearly parallel to the line of Socrates street, the old Bazaar. This street, once patrolled by Crusaders, is now lined with shops and stalls. It's a shopper's paradise with jewellery, pottery, clothes, embroidery, bags, coats and just about everything else you can think of. Countries which have inhabited Rhodes have left their marks in form of Turkish Baths and mosques, Italian architecture, museums and a palace. The number of historical places are almost endless.

• Street of Knights
  

  The most attractive and exciting part of the Old City is the street of Knights, the most major street of the medieval city. The street is totally renovated, and is lined by the structures where the holy warriors spent their time in prayer or military practice though it is hard to imagine this going on simultaneously unless you have ever visited the West Campus residence halls of Dule University. The Street of the Knights extends from the New Hospital-Archaeological Museum to the Grandmaster's Palace where the Lodge of the Battalion of France, one of the most lovely structures on the island, persists. Close to it remains the chapel of the same name with the beautiful statue of Virgin Mary and the holy infant. The nearby church of Agios Dimitrios is erected upon the ruins of the ancient temple of Dionysus.

• Palace of the Prince Grand Master
  

  The Palace of the Grand master is the most extraordinary spot in Rhodes if not all of the Dodecanesos and the interior is no less amazing than the formidable outer walls. Inside the great castle are relics from the medieval period as well as ancient sculptures and attractive 1st century floor mosaics which were brought to Rhodes from the island of Kos. For the people of Kos I would be surprised if this is not their version of the Elgin Marbles and as that island's fortunes fall there may be a movement for their return. A walk through the castle will take about an hour and will bring you through several thousand years of history. There is a medieval snack bar that makes decent coffee and has pastries and sandwiches which is a good meeting site for people who go through museums at different speeds.

The old acropolis of Rhodes is situated on a mountain in the western part of the town, and in the past it comprised of a monumental zone full of sanctuaries, big temples, public structures and underground vaults. The structures were set on stepped terraces interspersed with gardens. The relics of the structures on the Acropolis date back to the 2nd century BC, but all has not yet been excavated at the place. The Stadium, however, has been completely excavated and reestablished. Also still to be seen are the vestiges of the Temple of Athena Polias on the northern edge of the site; the Nymphaia, which is made up of four cave-like constructions cut into the rock, used for recreation and worship; a small restored marble Odeon thought to have been used for musical events or lectures; the Temple of Pythian Apollo; and the relics of the Gymnasium.

The Archaeological site of Lindos is circling the Acropolis and consists of relics of several Hellenistic temples and buildings. After walking through the labyrinth of streets and alleys in Lindos you arrive at the steps leading to the Acropolis. That is when you completely realize that it is a long way up in the hot beating Sun to the top, but the sight is definitely worth the physical effort you will spend. When you are this near you certainly have an appreciation for the amount of work that must have been involved in creating such large stone structures. The most essential ruins existing today are the few columns remaining from the Temple of Athena. It isn't much, but it is something to remind us of the accomplishments of these ancient people. From this point you have some wonderful sights of the island and Mediterranean Sea.

Filerimos hill is located near the village of Trianta to 15 km away from Rhodes City, which stands on the same site as the Doric city of Ialysos, in ancient times. The upper part of Filerimos is a big plateau and most of the constructions are found on the eastern side. They include the foundations of a temple, an Early Christian basilica and a Byzantine church. Filerimos hill, takes its name from a monk who arrived here in the 13th century bearing an icon of Our Lady painted, as tradition goes, by St. Lukeears.

Ancient Kamiros, is located to 30km west of the city of Rhodes. It is constituted as one of three city states on Rhodes and one of the most important archeological spots in whole Greece. It was discovered in 1933 and is often called the Pompeii of Rhodes. Extensive excavation work has been carried out here. The city was developed by the Dorians. Kamiros flourished 600 years before Christ. It was a largely affirming community. You can see the whole layout of the city, which was constructed in the style of an Amphitheatre. It is a place of spectacular remains, giving an excellent idea of the layout of the original city. From the acropolis and the temple at the top down through the posh houses to the poorer areas next to the marketplace and ending up at the bath houses. The ancient water supply system is remarkable still in use today. Sit and watch the sunset whilst gazing across the Aegean from the remains.

The road to Tsambika Peak disables the principal road, some meters before the road to Tsambika beach. The road leads half of the way up on the hill. From this point you will have to walk up the hill, following the 350 steps.

In English that is the seven springs and that is literally all there is to see there except for a short forest walking trail. Seven springs lies on the way to Archipolis Village at a distance of about 3km before the church of Agios Nectarios. It is a cool, magical scenary, a real oasis even in the heat of high summer, swamped in vegetation with great plane and pine trees. Here the visitor can experience the unique beauty of the interior regions of Rhodes

The Archaeological Museum of Rhodes is contained in the Medieval Building of the Hospital of Knights. It's a two floors building ,with an internal Yard ,all four laterals of which are lined with entrances. In its six rooms and the Garden are showed interesting finds ,dating from all Periods of the islands History. Objects which have come on during archaeological excavations. The Most significant of the exhibits are ,the stele of Crito and Timarista 5th century BC ,The head of young athlete 4th century BC ,The funerary stele of a dead warrior 2nd century, The Beautiful statue of Aphrodite bathing 1st century, The marble Head of Ilios 250-160 BC ,Headless status of Nymphs ,terracotta statuettes ,a large Rhodian oinochoe of the 7th century BC. In the garden the tourists can see sculptures and funerary steles of the Hellenic period .The Museum atrium houses also several statues and fragments of funerary monuments. A floor mosaic from Arkasa on Karpathos has been laid in the recess on the south side of the atrium and at the back of the recess stands a reconstruction of a tombstone in the from of a small temple, housing a trophy.

Erected by the Italians following the Arabic style, those hot springs are a pure architectural marvel, surrounded by palm trees and giving to a beautiful sandy beach with crystalline emerald waters. Kallithea is situated a few kilometres south-east from Rhodes City.

The Hydrobiological Station of Rhodes is standing on the northernmost tip of Neohori. The building was erected during the period 1934-36. In 1937, under Italian rule, it worked as the Reale Istituto di Ricerce Biologiche di Rodi, till 1945, when, after the union of the Dodecanese with Greece, it was renamed "Hellenic Hydrobiological Institute" and operated under the supervision of the Academy of Athens. Today, the Hydrobiological Station of Rhodes works as a Museum and Aquarium as well as a research centre, and belongs to the National Centre of Marine Research where one can see rare species of fish and marine fauna.

The Valley of the Butterflies is one of the most beautiful gifts to Rhodes, a natural environment unique in the world, surviving untouched in its own dimension. It is situated to 20 km from the airport of Rhodes, and is close by the Village Kalamonas. Coming here is worth a visit and though their numbers are declining due to the impact of tourism on their habitat, they are still impressive. The site is beautifully arranged, with little wooden Bridges, stone steps, and an uphill path which leads to the Monastery of the Virgin of Kalopetra. The Park is a nice place to walk, under the shade of the trees. The characteristic scent of the pine resin, which fascinates the butterflies ,the cold from the abundantly flowing waters ,make this a small paradise even during the hot days of the summer .