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By Victor Block
“You want to spend two weeks on Rhodes?” my Greek friend asked. “You’ll go out of your mind.”
Those words made me conclude that I had made a mistake, but it was too late. Airline tickets had been bought, hotels had been booked.
Fast forward two months.
After the trip, I agreed that I had been wrong. I should have stayed in Rhodes much longer.
Hearing the word “Greece” conjures up images of whitewashed villages gleaming in the sun, seas that range from light turquoise to dark blue and archeological sites which trace the roots of much of Western civilization.
Rhodes has it all, conveniently packed into an area about one-third the size of Franklin County. The entire island is an outdoor museum of reminders of peoples who have passed through. That includes the seafaring Phoenicians, Persians, Roman Empire and Ottoman Turks.
The city of Rhodes is perched at the northernmost tip of the island where a settlement rose more than 2,400 years ago. The old walled section is the largest inhabited medieval town in Europe. Ancient buildings and fortifications manifest an authentic atmosphere of the Middle Ages.
The Street of the Knights is lined by former residences and leads to an imposing fortress-like palace. Hippocrates Square, the Old Town’s main shopping area, is lined by stone buildings that today house restaurants and bars.
Despite its population of only about 1,100 people, Lindos vies with Rhodes as a magnet for visitors. It’s a quintessential Greek village of white houses, dazzling in the sunlight, perched on the side of a steep hill. Looming above is an acropolis, a cliff topped by graceful columns that are remnants of the Temple of Athena. An outdoor auditorium carved into a rocky cliff once seated 1,800 spectators.
Located near the middle of Rhodes, Lindos is well situated for day trips to beaches and other attractions. Like many destinations in Europe, Rhodes is lined by beaches that range from soft sand to rounded pebbles. The best are strung along the east coast of the island.
The countryside away from the beaches is criss-crossed by roads that snake over rolling hills and low mountains. Landscapes vary from arid, rocky terrain near the coastline to verdant forests in the interior.
A stroll through the extensive ruins of ancient Kamiros introduces the lifestyle of its original inhabitants during the 6th- and 5th-centuries B.C. The site spills down a hillside overlooking the sea. On the top level stood a temple complex of Athena and a covered reservoir, large enough to supply water to several hundred families through a network of terra cotta pipes.
The main settlement, on a lower terrace, consisted of a grid of streets and houses adorned with mosaic floors and painted wall decorations. The remains of public baths include hot and cold chambers, and an underground system for heating the rooms.
Equally inviting is contemporary life encountered in tiny unspoiled mountain villages where the town folk cling proudly to their traditional ways. Residents of Archangelos are known as master artisans who make pottery and weave carpets and tapestries using the same time-honored methods as their forebears.
Anyone driving into the village of Appolonia need only follow the wonderful aroma to find the little bakery of the same name. It turns out breads and cakes that were mentioned in The Iliad, using recipes handed down by generations of local families.
Kritinia is one of the prettiest villages on Rhodes. Clinging to a hillside, the town of about 550 inhabitants offers panoramic views of the sea in one direction and, in the other, of Mount Attavyros, at 3,985 feet the tallest spot on the island.
For an excellent meal, and opportunities to meet friendly locals, stop at any of the small tavernas that you pass in villages. The owners often are the cooks and wait staff, and if they speak no English, they’re likely to invite you into the kitchen to show you what’s available.
As ubiquitous as tavernas throughout Rhodes are churches, and they come in all sizes. While the major religious edifices attract most visitors, I found equally inviting the tiny white chapels that are scattered around the island. Many of these miniscule structures can accommodate only a handful of worshippers.
Those tiny places of worship stand in contrast to large cathedrals built when Rhodes was a power in the ancient world. The atmosphere in Rhodes and Lindos is very different from that experienced in villages elsewhere on the island. That diversity accounts for much of the appeal of Rhodes, and introduces those who visit there to much of what Greece has to offer.
If you go.
For more information, log onto the Greek National Tourism Organization website at visitgreece.gr.
