Rhodes of Municipality © Rhodes of Municipality © Dear Friends, We welcome you to Rhodes, To the azure waters of the Aegean sea, from where Rhodes emerged, as a gift to the god Apollo. As the Mediterranean “Nymph”. Rhodes is myth and history, spirit and matter, creation of gods and men. Its landscapes reflect the eternity through Rhodesits indelible symbols, the sun, the earth, the sea. Its poetic image is moulded through nature’s harmony, art and culture. Its people have never got tiredof of creating and struggling in “the waves of the open sea”. Their land was small, but the sky was vast. “This world, this small world, this great world”, as the great Nobel laureate poet Odysseus Elytis wrote. This land we urge you to come and discover, in a unique experience near nature, near its people, near its history and culture. Have this journey to the light of Rhodes, a journey to the past and present, through which the future emerges. The Mayor of Rhodes Fotis Chatzidiakos Municipality © Rhodes of Municipality © Rhodes the island of the god Sun, of the god Apollo the island of Colossus and of the Knights an island with centuries of history, a crossway between nations and civilizations the homeland of many Olympic champions and philosophers Rhodes the emerald isle of unparalleled natural beauty, of superb light and unique hospitality a luxurious place for vacations, offering whatever you wish...of Municipality © 5 RhodesHistory Culture of Municipality © 6 www.rhodes.gr Tourist Guide Rhodes Rhodes is an island with 5000 years of flourished for centuries in Rhodes. history. During the ancient era, it had been One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient habitated by several people: Telkhines, World was the notorious artifact of Colos- Carians, Phoenicians and Dorians,of the sus of Rhodes, which was constructed in latter having built the three major cities of 282 B.C. by the Lindian sculptor Charis Lindos, Kamiros and Ialyssos, which unit- and was destroyed at 226 B.C. due to a ed to establish the city of Rhodes at 408 huge earthquake which struck Rhodes, Β.C. The three centuries to follow have causing the collapse of Colossus. been the golden age of Rhodes. Rhodes has been a crossroad of people The island was a center of economical and civilizations, a fact indicated in every and cultural exchanges between people aspect of the island’s life and culture, in for many centuries. Its strategic position art, in language and in architecture. Text yielded welth to Rhodes and made the references and excavations prove the glo- city of Rhodes one of the most pre - emi- ry of Rhodes and its Greek identity, which nent cities of Ancient Greece. The marine was reserved during the centuries, de- trade, the navigation know - how and the spite the various invasions by Romans, wisely progressive political and diplomatic Knights of St John, Ottomans and Italians, management helped to conserve the city until its union, in 1948, with its mother- powerful. The science and the arts have land Greece. Municipality © 7 RhodesMedieval Town UNESCO World Heritage Site of Municipality © 8 www.rhodes.gr Tourist Guide Rhodes of One of the most beautiful medieval towns ing of the big knights hospital and its halls of the Mediterranean and, since 1988, bear masterpiece articrafts of Rhodian declared World Cultural Heritage Site by art, findings from ancient Kamiros and UNESCO, is a mosaic from different his- Ialyssos and mosaic floors from the town. torical eras, with these of Knights and of The Knights street, that magnificent the Ottomans being dominant. street leading to the Grand Master’s Pal- The Knights of the Order of St John from ace, hosts the restored lodgings of the Jerusalem arrived in Rhodes at 1310 A.D. Langues (Tongues) of the Order. Since then, the Medieval Town has been enriched with gothic and renaissance ele- Other locations in the Medieval Town ments. The whole set of palaces, towers, worth visiting are the Church of Our Lady churches, arcs and cobble paves fasci- of The Castle, the Clock Tower, the Kahal nates every visitor. MunicipalityKadosh Shalom Synagogue and the Su- leymaniye and Recep Pasha Mosques. The Grand Master’s Palace (Kastello) is a great monument from the Knight era. The Medieval Old Town of Rhodes is one Nowadays, important exhibitions have of the few functioning medieval towns left been hosted© in its halls. The Archaeologi- in the world that is still inhabited and full 9 cal Museum is housed in the gothic build- of life. Monument Attractions Rhodes At any place, the visitor will be among Lindos and the village settlement, ancient monuments that reflect the history of 50 Kamiros, Mt Philerimos with the basilica centuries. church dedicated to the Virgin Mary, built over an ancient temple, and the island’sof Every corner in Rhodes is a visit to the castles at Monolithos, Kritinia, Asklepio, past, to different civilizations and religions Archangelos and Charaki. Also, the nu- that sealed them. merous newer buildings, architectural Some of those monuments worth men- monuments left behind by the Italians, tioning, besides the Medieval Old Town, that include the impressive Kallithea. are: Don’t omit to visit the Butterfly Valley, the The Acropolis of the city of Rhodes, with Seven Springs and Kallithea with its ther- its ancient stadium and theater at the top mal springs and, of course, the beautiful of the Monte Smith Hill. The Acropolis of beaches of the island. Municipality 10 © Religious Monuments Rhodes A tour at the religious sites of the island will give the visitor a chance to discover its universal dimension and see another aspect of its history. Whichever religiousof path you choose, you will see magnifi- © Holy Metropolis of Rhodes cent temples of the early - Christian era, Byzantine churches with elaborate carved wooden altarpieces and religious icons, famous monasteries and many chapels. You can visit Panagia Tsambika, Panagia Church at Kremasti, the Monastery of Pa- nagia Skiadeni (Virgin Mary the “Shade Casting”), Our Lady of The Castle, etc. You can also visit the two Roman Catho- lic churches of Rhodes, San Francisco and Santa Maria, as well as the Muslim mosques and Synagogues at the Old Town. Municipality © 11 RhodesModern town of Municipality © 12 www.rhodes.gr Tourist Guide Rhodes The past and the present, different items such as castles, neoclassical buildings and Italian architecture are uniquely com- bined at the modern city of Rhodes.of Im- posing Italian buildings dominate the seafront of the city of Rhodes, a modern cosmopolitan city. In the historic center, some of the build- ings that stand out are the Rodon Hotel, the buildings of Italian architecture which today house the Town Hall, the Prefecture and the Post Office, the Church of An- nunciation, the National Theater, and of course the small fawn statues, which are trademarks of Rhodes. Enjoy a walk at the Mandraki Marina with the small yachts, as well as the settle- ments and neighborhoods just outside the city center, the so - called Marasia. And when you take the coastal road, it will take you to the Aquarium of Rhodes, the most important scientific center for the Municipalitystudy of marine life in Greece. You can also browse the Municipal Gallery, the second largest gallery in Greece, after the one in Athens, and also the Gallery of © Modern Art “Nestoridion Melathron” at Ga- 13 briel Haritos Square (Ekato Hourmadies). RhodesNature Sites of natural beauty • Interesting routes of Municipality © 14 www.rhodes.gr Tourist Guide Rhodes Rhodes is a place blessed, endowed by the dunes of Apollakia Bay, the torrentsof of nature itself with beautiful coasts, sever- Loutanis and Gadouras and the posidonia al kilometers long, with a rich aquatic en- sea grass (seaweed). vironment and a unique variety of plants This natural environment is home to and animals in its mainland. the famous miniature horse of Rhodes, It has abundance of waters, a diverse Bonelli’s eagle, the Dama Dama dear, the landscape and favorable climatic con- peacock of Rhodes, while rare species of ditions. Throughout the island there are shrubs and plants thriving such as peo- sites of outstanding natural beauty, NAT- nies and orchids, fifty species of which are URA 2000 protected areas, the world fa- endemic only in Rhodes. mous Butterfly Valley, a rare habitat, the In the rivers and streams of the island lives Seven Springs with the centuries old syc- the fish Ladigesocypris ghigii or simply gi- amore trees and the crystal clear waters, zani, while in its clean seas and coasts the forests of Prophetis Elias and Kymisa- lives the Monachus Monachus seal and la, the bushes of Mt Attaviros, Prasonisi, the Caretta Caretta sea turtle. Municipality 15 © Manolis Sarris, Rhodes Nature & Wildlife Photography © © Manolis Sarris, Rhodes Nature & Wildlife Photography RhodesBeaches of Municipality © 16 www.rhodes.gr Tourist Guide Rhodes Rhodes is world famous for its amazing, and Kallithea. vast and award winning beaches. Sandy At the south, the most popular beaches are or with pebbles, organized or free, theyof will the beaches of Kiotari, Glystra, and Pefki offer hours of relaxation underneath the and in the southern part of the island there famous sun of Rhodes. is Prasonisi, a spot beloved by windsurfers. At the east, the ones standing out are the You should also visit the beaches at St Pav- beaches of Tsambika, Charaki and Steg- los in Lindos as well the one in Gennadi with na, the beach of Afantou next to the Golf, its dunes and its bushy wild - cedars. Municipality © 17 Conferences Rhodes, a place connected with summer the island along with its intact and modern tourism, can now connect its name with infrastructure, its conference rooms of high other forms of tourism, for example confer- aesthetics and technology as well as its ential tourism.