From Kos island it is easy and accessible for you to reach Rhodes Island and enjoy it's beauty if you seek more then what Kos has to offer you.

Rhodes Island

   When the gods of Olympus won the legendary Giants, Zeus decided to share the ground. However, at the time of division god Sun was absent. So he remained without his own ground. As fair head, Zeus promised that he would give him the first piece of land that would emerge from the sea. At the moment a gorgeous island, Rhodes peeped out of the waters. The sun fell in love and since then to make her distinguish, blazes down on the island with his beams. According to the mythology, this is the explanation that Rhodes is the island with the biggest sunlight.

Places to see

Rhodes City

The Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes is a palace in the town of Rhodes, on the island of Rhodes in Greece. The palace was built in th 14th century by the Knights of Rhodes (now officially known as the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes, and of Malta), who occupied Rhodes from 1309 to 1522. After the island was captured by the Ottoman Empire, the palace was used as a fortress.

The original palace was largely destroyed by an ammunition explosion in 1856. When the Italians occupied Rhodes in 1911, they rebuilt it in a grandiose pseudo-medieval style as a holiday residence for the King of Italy, and later for Benito Mussolini, whose name can still be seen on a large plaque near the entrance. When Greece reclaimed the island from Italy in 1948, the palace became a museum.

The Street of Knights.The most beautiful and interesting part of the Old City for me is the street of Knights, the most important street of the medieval town. The street is completely restored or preserved beautifully, and is lined by the buildings 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 stretches from the New Hospital-Archaeological Museum to the Grandmaster's Palace where the Lodge of the Battalion of France, one of the most beautiful buildings on the island, stands. Next to it stands the chapel of the same name with the beautiful statue of Virgin Mary and the holy infant. The nearby church of Agios Dimitrios is built upon the ruins of the ancient temple of Dionysus.

Filerimos Hill:

Filerimos is a hill of 267 meters high, thickly planned with cypress, pine and other trees. It is 15,2 kms away from the city of Rhodes and it used to be the citadel of the ancient town of Ialysos which must have been the initial nucleus of the ancient settlement called «Ahaea». The upper part of Filerimos is a large plateam and most of the buildings are found on the eastern side of the mountain. They include the foundations of the temple of Athena Polias, an Early Christian basilica, and a small subterranean Byzantine church. Here the knights built a Monastery that is surrounded by cloisters and have cells. This monastery was restored by Italians. Along the right side of a path called «Calvary» ie Golgothas, there are scenes of the Passions of Jesus. This tiny thickly planned road, leads to the western part of the hill, where an imposing Cross stands in the middle of a small square. A picturesque view is dominated by the Mountain Ataviros (the highest mountain of Rhodes), in the distance.

Kamiros

Thirty kilometers west of the city of Rhodes is Ancient Kamiros one of the three powerful cities in Rhodes, in ancient times. It was rediscovered in 1929 and has been called the Greek Pompeii because nobody knows why and how the city was deserted and buried.

Valley of the Butterflies

The Valley of the Butterflies is worth a visit and though their numbers are declining due to the impact of tourism on their habitat, they are still impressive.

The Valley oh the Butterflies of Rhodos located 20 km from the airport of Rhodes, and is near by the Village Kalamonas.

This is a lush green Valley ,with a small river running through it. 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

At the entrance of the Valley ,there is a small souvenir shop .The Valley of the Butterflies is a unique natural Park, where each Year from June to September ,thousands of moulti- colored butterflies appear.

The Park is a nice place to walk ,under the shade of the trees. The characteristic scent of the pine resin, which attracts the butterflies ,the coolness from the abundantly flowing waters ,make this a small paradise even during the hot days of the summer .

Lindos

Lindos is a town and an archaeological site on the east coast of the island of Rhodes, in the Dodecanese in south-eastern Greece. It is about 55km south of the town of Rhodes and its fine beaches make it a popular tourist and holiday destination. Lindos is situated in a large bay and faces the fishing village and small resort of Haraki. Above the modern town rises the acropolis of Lindos, a natural citadel which was fortified successively by the Greeks, by the Romans, the Byzantines, the Knights of St John and the Ottomans. This makes the site difficult to excavate and interpret archaeologically. The acropolis offers spectacular views of the surrounding harbours and coastline.

On the acropolis of Lindos today parts of the following buildings may still be seen:

The Doric Temple of Athena Lindia, dating from about 300 BC, built on the site of an earlier temple. Inside the temple is the table of offerings and the base of the cult statue of Athena.

The Propylaea of the Sanctuary, also dating from the 4th century BC. A monumental staircase leads to a D-shaped stoa and a wall with five door openings.

The Hellenistic stoa with lateral projecting wings, dating from about 200 BC. The stoa is 87 metres long and consisted of 42 columns.

The well-known relief of a Rhodian trireme (warship) cut into the rock at the foot of the steps leading to the acropolis. On the bow stood a statue of General Hagesander, the work of the sculptor Pythokritos, who also carved the Winged Victory of Samothrace. The relief dates from about 180 BC.

The Hellenistic staircase (2nd century BC) leading to the main archaeological area of the acropolis.

Remains of a Roman temple, possibly dedicated to the Emperor Diocletian and dating from about 300 AD.

The Acropolis is surrounded by a Hellenistic wall contemporary with the Propylaea and the stairway leading to the entrance to the site. A Roman inscription says that the wall and square towers were repaired at the expense of P Aelius Hagetor, the priest of Athena in the 2nd century AD.

The Castle of the Knights of St John, built some time before 1317 on the foundations of older Byzantine fortifications. The walls and towers follow the natural conformation of the cliff. A pentagonal tower on the south side commanded the harbour, the settlement and the road from the south of the island. There was a large round tower on the east facing the sea and two more, one round and the other on a corner, on the northeast side of the enceinte. Today one of the towers at the southwest corner and one to the west survive.

The Greek Orthodox Church of St John, dating from the 13th or 14th century and built on the ruins of a previous church, which may have been built as early as the 6th century.