Rhodes , Greece ~ Travel

Palace of the Grand Master in the city of Rhodes

Rhodes (Greek: Ρόδος, Ródos, [ˈroðos]) is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes peripheral unit, which is part of the South Aegean Periphery. The principal town of the island and seat of the municipality is Rhodes. The city of Rhodes had 53,709 inhabitants in 2001. It is located northeast of Crete, southeast of Athens and southwest of the Anatolian coast in Turkey.

A nighttime view from the old town of Rhodes

Historically, Rhodes was famous worldwide for the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The medieval Old Town of the City of Rhodes has been declared a World Heritage Site. Today, it is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe.

Ruins of Kameiros

Transportation

Road network

The road network of the island is mostly modern and paved. There are four major arteries:

l Rhodes-Kamiros Province Avenue: Two lane, runs through the west coast north to south and connects Rhodes City with Diagoras Airport and Kamiros.

l Rhodes-Lindos National Avenue (Greek National Road 95): Four and two lane, runs mainly inland north to south and connects Rhodes City with Lindos.

l Rhodes-Kallithea Province Avenue: Two lane, runs through the east coast north to south and connects Rhodes City with Faliraki Resort.

l Tsairi-Airport National Avenue: Four and two lane, runs inland east to west and connects the east coast with the west and the airport.

Future roads:

l Further widening of E-95 from Faliraki to Lindos. This is to be four lane with jersey barrier in the middle, about 36 km (22 mi) in length, with the first part scheduled to start in August 2007.

l Plans also exist for a new four lane express road connecting Rhodes Town with Diagoras Airport that will reduce congestion on the coastal west avenue.

l The first phase of construction of the Rhodes City ringway was begun a few years ago, but progress has been slow.

The Acropolis of Lindos

Cars and motorbikes

Families in Rhodes often own more than one car, along with a motorbike. Traffic jams are common particularly in the summer months. The island is served by 450 taxis.

Mandraki harbor during night

Bus

Bus services are handled by two operators:

l RODA: Rhodes City company that also services suburban areas (Faliraki, Ialysos, Kremasti, Airport, Pastida, Maritsa, Paradeisi) and the entire west coast (blue-white colored).

l KTEL: State-owned buses that serve villages and resorts in the east coast (yellow-orange colored).

Ruins of Apollo Temple at the Acropolis of Rhodes

Air

The ATC tower and part of the terminal of Diagoras AirportRhodes has three airports but only one is public. Diagoras Airport, one of the biggest in Greece, is the main entrance/exit point for both locals and tourists. The island is well connected with other major Greek cities and islands as well as with major European capitals and cities via charter flights.

l Rhodes International Airport, "Diagoras": public airport, 14 km (9 mi) south west of Rhodes City, third in international passenger volume and fourth in total passenger volume in Greece.

l Rhodes Maritsa Airport: closed to public, near Maritsa village. Built in 1938 by the Italians was the first airport of the island and used to be the public airport until 1977. Nowadays serves the Hellenic Air Force and is sometimes used for car races.

l Kalathos Airfield: inoperative, 7 km (4 mi) north of Lindos. Built by the Italians during World War II, was called Aeroporto di Gadurrà. Today only the runway is visible.

l Kattavia Airstrip, located in the south of the island it was an emergency airstrip built by the Italians during World War II. Today it is abandoned.

Two pilot schools offer aviation services (small plane rental, island hopping).

Mortar of the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem (Knights Hospitaller), Rhodes, 1480–1500, fired 260 lb (118 kg) cannon balls.

Sea

Rhodes has five ports, three of them in Rhodes City, one in the west coast near Kamiros and one in east coast near Lardos.

l Central Port: located in the city of Rhodes serves domestic and international traffic.

l Kolona Port: opposite the central port, serves intra-Dodecanese traffic and large yachts.

l Akandia Port: the new port of the island next to the central port, being built since 1960s, for domestic and international traffic. At the moment serves cruise ships on peak days.

l Kamiros Skala Dock: 30 km (19 mi) south west of the city near Ancient Kamiros ruins serves mainly the island of Halki

l Lardos Dock: formerly servicing local industries, now under development as an alternative port for times when the central port is inaccessible due to weather conditions. It is situated in a rocky shore near the village of Lardos in south east Rhodes.

The castle of Monolithos

Culture

Sports

l Football: AS Rodos and Diagoras F.C., both Rhodes City based teams, compete professionally at the national level. Local football leagues (organized at the prefecture level) contain three divisions with more than 50 teams. Many stadiums are grass covered.

l Basketball: Colossus BC sponsors professional basketball and has joined the Greek A1 League. The local league includes two divisions with 14 teams. Two indoor courts exist in Rhodes City, and one each in Ialysos and Kremasti. Several other are planned for Rhodes City Pales De Sports, Faliraki, Afantou, and South Rhodes.

l Volleyball: local teams only.

l Water Polo: mostly amateur based. There is no single indoor pool on the island.

l Rugby: introduced in 2007. Teams compete at the national level.

l Tennis: tennis has a long history on the island.

l Sailing: widely developed, offers competition at the international level.

l Cycling: for a long period of time Rhodes had the only cycling track in Greece, producing Olympics level competitors.

l Rhodes competes in the bi-annual Island Games, which it hosted in 2007.

Church in Kremasti

In popular culture

l In ancient times there was a Roman saying: "Hic Rhodus, hic salta!"—"Rhodes is here, here perform your jump", an admonition to prove one's idle boasts by deed rather than talk. It comes from an Aesop's fable called "The Boastful Athlete", and was cited by Hegel and Marx.

l Lawrence Durrell's Reflections on a Marine Venus (1953) is the author's semi-autobiographical account of his stay on the Island after World War II.

l Many of the outdoor scenes of The Guns of Navarone (starring Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn) and Escape to Athena (starring Roger Moore and Telly Savalas) were filmed on the island of Rhodes.

l In the PlayStation 2 game God of War II, both Rhodes and the Colossus of Rhodes are featured at the start of the game, offering a mythological theory as to how the Colossus was destroyed. The Colossus of Rhodes is a common feature in many games, for example, it can be built as a "Wonder" in Rise of Nations and the Civilization series of games.

l In one book of the Roman Mysteries series of children's novels by Caroline Lawrence, the main characters visit Rhodes to stop the trading of slave labour.