John Mary's Studios

Faliraki Rhodes

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The New Town

The New Town is not all that new. When the Greeks who did not leave Rhodes with the Knights in 1522 were kicked out of the old city and its protective walls they created new neighborhoods in the south called Marasia. They were joined by people who came from other islands and countries who settled in the northern coast of the island. This was called Neohori, or New Town. In the New Town you will feel like you are in a real modern city instead of a walled medieval fortress. Much of it was built by the Italians when they took it from the disintigrating Ottoman empire, there are stores, traffic lights,mansions, hotels that look like apartment buildings and plenty of cars and motorbikes. It is also remarkably clean and well-cared for, much more so than other Greek cities.

The New Market near the harbor is a large 7-sided building with an outdoor central courtyard where the old fish market was located in the giant gazebo with the fish decorations. The front of the market has the fancy cafes which all seem to have the same indentical strawberry sweets and pastries and waitors smile at you and try to herd you into the comfortable chairs. There are a variety of shops on the inside and the outside of the building including an excellent gourmet deli next to the fine traditional ouzerie Indigo (see food) along with a dozen or so grill restaurants, all with whole chickens and cuts of lamb and pork turning on rotisseries day and night. Between the New Market and the entrance of the Old City is a shaded park area where street venders sell sponges, shells, beads and jewelry and a line of painters wait to offer their services doing caricatures of the tourists who pass between the two towns.

Municipal theater in Rhodes Saint Nicholas Tower and entrance to Mandraki harbor Town Beach in Rhodes

Across the street from the New Market is the harbor called Mandraki distinguished from the outer harbor by the 3 windmills and the fortifications at the end of the dock. The 15th century Tower of Saint Nicholas at the end of the pier in the Mandraki harbor was the key to the defense of the city and in both the first unsuccessful seige of 1480 and the second and final seige of 1522-23 was pounded into rubble in some of the most ferocious battles in the defense of the city. The harbor of Mandraki was actually the ancient harbor. The three windmills that still stand on the breakwater that leads to the tower are actually all that remain of a line of 14 medieval windmills which were used to ground wheat. The two deer, one male and the other female which stand on pillars at the entrance of the harbor were built by the Italians and symbolize the actual deer they brought to Rhodes to rid the island of snakes. You can see the decendents of these deer in Rodini Park, in the southern part of the city, a ravine with running water, peacocks, trails, and fauna.

Much of the new city was built by Mussolini and there are a large number of Art Decco buildings mixed in with modern apartment buildings and neo-classic architecture. Some of the most impressive buildings are the National Theater, the Courts, the City Hall and the Governers Palace all located in the same area beyond Elefterias Square, on the western side of the Mandraki harbor. Some of the buildings the Italians left are also in the old city as well and it is said that Mussolini laid the foundation for tourism in Rhodes.

The Church of the Annunciation was originally a Catholic Cathedral, built in the same style as the church of the Knights of St John, opposite the Grand Master's Palace in the old city. Across the broad avenue is the Mourad Reis Mosque and in a small Turkish Cemetery which surrounds it is the house where Laurence Durrell lived and wrote from 1945 to 1947. If you are wondering if this was the house where he wrote the Alexandria Quartet while Melissa's child played happily in the sea, I would have to say, probably not, though it was tempting to believe it since I was in fact reading Justine at the time of my visit and until I saw the plaque (pointed out to me by Michalis Axarlis) I did not know that Durrell had ever lived in Rhodes.

If you continue along the coast you come to the popular town beach and the Aquarium where the Aegean meets the Mediterranean that is the only one of its kind in Greece and worth a visit to see the sea turtles, moray eels and many of the fish they serve ion the restaurants, alive and happily swimming. If you go behind the Aquarium and swim at the point you will be swimming in two seas. The Aegean is usually windy and has waves and in fact that area and up the coastal road the air can be several degrees cooler than the air to the east. I did not swim here because I was afraid of being swept by the Aegean into the Mediterannean and all the way to Turkey. Many of the most popular hotels are here on the med side including the Hotel Mediterannean where we stayed. This photo was taken from our balcony. Let me mention that this must be the cleanest town beach and one of the most enjoyable places to swim (and people-watch) anywhere in Greece.

Overlooking the city of Rhodes is the ancient Acropolis, a restored stadium from the second century, a small restored ampitheatre and a temple to Apollo on a mountain named Monte Smith. It's actually the ancient Hellenistic city of Rhodes but the mountain was named for Sir Sydney Smith whose job was to sit on the mountain watching for Napoleon's fleet in 1802. ("Just sit here for a year and we'll name this mountain after you." they told him) You can take the number 5 bus or walk here though we came up with Nick as part of our city tour. The view of the new city and the Aegean coast is spectacular and the line of small houses along the coast were actually built for Turkish (or Muslim Greek) refugees from Crete and is called Kritika.

Staying in the new town is really the most convenient. The old town is a twenty minute walk from just about anywhere and the broad avenues and tree lined streets combined with the breeze from the Aegean keep the area cooler in the summer. In fact some nights the coastal road can be like walking in a wind tunnel which is why many of the restaurants there are enclosed by walls or glass. If you are renting a car to see the island it is easier to get in and out of town and to find a place to park than in the old town. If you are taking a taxi to the port or the airport they are much happier picking you up in the new town too. New Town from Monte Smith

Old Town of Rhodes

The Old City of Rhodes with a population of 6,000 inhabitants is surrounded by medieval walls with seven gates: Gate of the Naval Station, Gate of Agios Ioannis, Gate of Agia Ekaterini, Gate of the Apostle Paul, Gate of Amboise, Gate of Agios Athanassios and the Gate of the port.

To enter any of these gates is to enter another world. Now it happens to be a world of tourist shops, restaurants, cafes and museums, more like a Turkish bazaar than any Greek city, but anyone with imagination can't help but be touched by the history of the place where a handful of Knights were the last Christian holdouts in a part of the world that had become completely dominated by Muslims, in particular the Ottoman Turks. When the city finally did fall after a seige that exhausted both defenders and beseigers the remaining Knights were offered safe passage and on January 1st of 1523 left Rhodes along with 5000 of the Christian inhabitants of the island who chose to leave rather than live under the Sultan. In the defense of the city 2000 Christians had died. The Turks had lost 50,000 trying to take it. This is not, however just an old town filled with ghosts of the past. The old city of Rhodes is a living, vibrant community with many homes and business, not all of them connected to tourism.

Saint George Gate Eleftheria Gate to the Old City

The Medieval City was divided into three parts: the northern part included the Acropolis of the Knights and the Palace of the Grand Master while the southern part include Hora, were the commoners lived. The Jewish Quarter is the third section and the least developed commercially in terms of tourism and is mostly residential, though the Hora is also residential mixed with bars, restaurants, cafes and shops.

As you enter the city either from the commerical harbor through the Gate of Navarhou or from the new town through the gate of Eleftherias you see the remains of the 3rd century temple of Aphrodite , and behind it is the Lodge of the Knights of Aiberne, built in 1507. Today the building houses the governor's office. Next to it is the Lodge of the Battalion of England and the first hospital of the Knights, which was built by the Grandmaster in 1440, which today is the Library of the Archological Society. The 'New' Hospital houses the town's Archaeological Museum which is impressive not only because of the large number of relics but because the building itself is so monumental and has been the Archaeological museum since 1916. Don't miss the beautiful Aphrodite of Rhodes (like I did) which is contained in a small room that I somehow didn't see. The problem with the old city is that after awhile you have seen so many antiquities that your mind goes numb and you wander around like you are in a daze. For that reason I suggest not trying to see it all at once and to plan your trip so you spend a little extra time in Rhodes than you would on an island with less to offer.

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 Grandmaster Palace in the Old City of Rhodes of Dionysus.

The palace of the Grandmaster is the single most impressive site in Rhodes if not all of the Dodecanesos and the interior is no less awe-inspiring than the formidable outer walls. Within the enormous castle are relics from the medieval period as well as ancient sculptures and beautiful 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 place for people who go through museums at different speeds. (I was there for an hour before my wife showed up).

If you want a birdseye view of the city (see top photo) go to the clock tower where for 4 euros you can climb to the top and trade in your ticket for a drink at the bar when you come down. This building, like many of the buildings in the Old Town is owned by a Turk and the Greek who rents it financed the restoration himself. Rhodes, which was not a part of Greece when the exchange of population between Greeks and Turks took place after the Asia Minor Disastor and fall of Smyrna in 1922 (It became part of Greece in 1948 after having been Italian since it's capture in 1912). Because of this there are many Turkish people living in the old city, though they are considered Greeks of the Muslim Faith rather than Turks.

Old City of Rhodes Medieval walls of the old city Orffeos Street is a wide road with tourist shops and restaurants near the Gate of Saint Anthony, the Grand Master Palace and the Suleiman Mosque which connects with Socratous street, another main shopping street of the old town. This becomes Aristotelous street when you get to Ippokratous Square which seems to be the commercial center of the town. Aristolelous leads to the Jewish district and the square of the Hebrew Martyrs, the 15th Century Byzantine church of Agia Triada, and Panagia Horas, the largest church in Rhodes.When Suleiman the Magnificent finally took the city they kicked the Greeks out and only the Turks and Jews could live within the city walls. If I had been able to kick the tourists out of the square I could have taken a photo of the monument.

The Turkish Baths on Platia Arionos alternates days for men and women. If you want to experience the pleasures of a real Turkish Hammam without going to Turkey then this is one of the few places in Greece you can do it. I happened to come on the woman's day and didn't need a bath the following day since I had taken a great shower at the hotel. If you are thinking Saint Marks Baths, as in NYC, they are not like that, nor are they like the mineral baths of Lesvos.

The Old City of Rhodes, which incidentally is a World Herritage Site, is in my opinion after the Acropolis of Athens and the Volcano of Santorini, the most impressive place in Greece. To wander through the medieval city, whether it is with crowds of tourists or in the off-season when they are gone, is one of life's treasures and I can't imagine someone visiting here and not wanting to return. The old city is closed to automobile traffic though the occasional motorbike manages to get through and there are automobiles in some areas, though the narrow streets and cobblestones make the going slow and pedestrians are safe. The main streets and thoroughfares are full of shops and restaurants but the back streets are mostly residences, particlarly in the Jewish Quarter where life goes on as if nothing is going on a few blocks away where giant cruise ships unload their passengers for a day of shopping and sightseeing.

The walls of the city were a work in progress for the 200 years the Knights ruled the island. Severely damaged in the first seige they were rebuilt bigger and stronger by Grande Master d'Aubusson after the seige of 1480. The walls are 12 meters thick and the moat more than 21 meters wide. The length of the walls is about four kilometers and each section was defended by one of the Langues or tongues which corresponded to the languages spoken where the particular group of knights came from. The Langues were England, Germany, France, Auvergne, Provence, Italy, Castille-Aragon. The leader of each tongue reported to the Grande Master. The entire area outside the walls is a green park of shade trees and flowers and the moats now have green grass and paths through them instead of water. A couple times a week there is a tour of the city walls and fortifications. But leaving through any of the gates and walking around the old city will give you an idea of just how impressive and formidable it was to the Turkish soldiers trying to take it.

There are two ways to approach exploring the old city. You can wander around aimlessly and stumble upon its treasures and figure out what you saw later or you can invest in a map. Having done the first I recommend the second. Much of the stuff I saw I had to figure out what it was by finding it on a map and reading about it long after I had left the island. There are a couple hotels in the old city though getting a taxi to take you to the door is difficult because of the narrow streets. There are a number of good restaurants and more than enough fast-food places.

The Collossus of Rhodes

One of the 7 wonders of the world, the bronze statue built by Chares of Lindos called the Collosus to commemorate the Rhodian triumph after the seige of Dimitrious the Beseiger in 305, using the money they made by selling the seige equipment he left behind to pay for the material and labor which took 12 years to complete. Though the most popular image of the 31 meter tall statue is stradled across the entrance of the harbor with the ships passing beneath it, it is more probable that it stood on dry land somewhere close to where the Grande Master Palce is now. Regardless of where it stood, it did not stand there long because 66 years after it was built it fell in the earthquake of 266 BC. Fearing it was cursed they never rebulit it but the statue lay where it fell for eight centures. When the Arabs captured Rhodes in 653 AD they sold it to a Jewish merchant who they say needed 900 camels to take it away.

Nightlife in Rhodes

Rhodes is famous for its nightlife. More than famous. It was notorious. Places like Faliraki were featured on international television for the behavior of the young people there. Now there is good news and bad news. Rhodes is not what it used to be. The good news is that it is probably better than anywhere you have been lately. The bars and clubs are not jammed with people except during high-season. That means you can walk down the street and find a place that plays the kind of music you like and probably be able to have a drink and a conversation and maybe even dance if you are so inspired. There are still a ton of bars in Rhodes and in Faliraki and though I assume some won't survive the loss of the package tourists, hopefully the good ones will hang on til they are discovered again by the next wave of what one hopes will be a more sensible style of tourism.

Try Sticky Fingers at 6 Zervou for live Rock and Roll. The club is owned by Kostas and Manolis Iraklidis who went to my highschool and were so enamoured with Rhodes that they moved here and opened their club which has been going strong for over twenty years. (Say hi for me.) They also promote concerts around the city. The bar 1960's plays great music. It is on a small pedestrian street right off Alex Diakou street a block from Sof. Venizelou Street.

Rhodes is a hip city and there is an ever changing list of popular clubs, concerts and a whole street full of cool bars called Orfanidi Street also known as Bar Street which starts at Psarapoula Square on the west coast at the beginning of 28th of October street, and ends on Nikiforos Mandalara street. The Colorado Entertainment Center features three clubs on three floors. The cultural non-profit company P4P or Progress For People puts on concerts and festivals for example Manchester's Puressence this summer. You can get information on their shows and programs by e-mailing info@progress4people.org

A spectacular place that we happened upon was the Blue Lagoon bar which features a pirate ship in a swimming pool. We did not stay but my daughter bugged us to go back there every night and I feel guilty now that we didn't. For those who want a movie there is the Multi-Cinema Metropol and the 5 Cinema Pallas which show first run movies. You can get movie schedules and club and concert listings at the Manuel Music Center at 25 of March Street #11.

The Sound and Light Show is performed beneath the walls in the garden of the Palace of the Knights and tells the story of the fall of Rhodes in Greek, English, German, Swedish and French. For those who crave a lttle more action the Casino Rodos, which incidentally was Rhodes first hotel Della Rose, offers a James Bond-like atmosphere and the opportunity to win (or lose) a lot of money at roulette, blackjack and the slot machines as long as you are 21 and can prove it. The Casino is still a hotel, has a pool, beautiful gardens and concerts in the summer. The Art Gallery Rodon on the corner of Lambrakis and Amerikis streets displays the works of well known as well as lesser known artists. There are numerous dance, theater and musical performances in the ancient stadium, and the outdoor theater in the old town.

Young people staying in Rhodes town still go to Faliraki for nightlife too and you can arrange a taxi to take you there and bring you back for a few Euro. Going by rental car or motorbike is not recommended if you plan on drinking (why else would you go there).

Around Rhodes: A One-Day Journey

Rhodes is a large island and unless you want to just stay on one beach or in the city for your entire holiday, a car is almost essential for at least for one or two days. A taxi excursion is an even more efficient way to see the island since the drivers know where to go and won't make any wrong turns that end up getting you lost or waste time or miss important sites (like we did). Rhodes is a little big for motorbikes or scooters and some of the roads are like highways, though for some budgets this is the only choice. In 1972 we opted for motorbikes and every night we sat around and talked about who had a wreck that day, like soldiers returning from heavy combat."Did you hear? Pancho wiped out. He hit a garbage truck." Usually the victims would appear at a later hour in bandages and orange mercurochrome. Amazingly nobody ever died. Nowdays I would skip the bikes and go for the cars. They are safer and more comfortable. Bikes are OK on a small Cyclades island like Sifnos or Santorini, but Rhodes is a little bit too big to be buzzing around on a 50cc Honda, though you can't beat that feeling. When we came back in the summer of 2004 we rented a car and drove around the entire island starting from the west coast, going south and coming up the east. It was unusually warm and we were happy to be cruising around the island in an air-conditioned Hundai Getz, which is probably the smallest and cheapest car with ample power to get up and down mountains.

Aegean coast of Rhodes looking towards Ialyssos Valley of the Butterflies The white sandy beaches of the Aegean which begin in Rhodes New Town continue through Ixia and along the coast towards Ialyssos, one of the richest districts in Greece because of the luxury hotels there, though government ineptitude (to put it nicely) seems to have misplaced the funds for the upkeep of the town itself. The newly elected mayor has promised to remedy this situation. In the meantime the area does have some beautiful beaches and an impressive collection of Chinese restaurants are incentive to come for a visit. (There is a Mexican restaurant too) The luxury hotels are like self-contained cities and most people probably get their entertainment in Rhodes town if they are not in the hotel bars, restaurants or in their rooms watching pay-for-view movies on TV. The monastery at Filerimos on the site where Suleiman the Magnificent had his headquarters during the siege of 1522 was originally a small church that had an icon of the Virgin Mary, painted by the Apostle Luke. Later it became a basilica and then the Monastery of Saint John, built by the knights in the 14th century and destroyed by the Turks when they evicted the knights from the island. Rebuilt by the Italians it became a Capuchin monastery until the second world war when they all left, it has been closed ever since. The Acropolis of Ancient Ialyssos, the 3rd Century Temple to Athena, and the Church of Agios Georgios with its wall paintings are here as well.

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. I don't know if they really qualify as butterflies or moths but they are beautiful. Try not to make too much of a commotion. They hate noise and have been known to attack and devour exceptionally loud tourists. Every year, from June to September, swarms of multi-coloured butterflies lay their eggs here. They live, stuck to tree trunks, feeding on their juice. The German entomologist Elger claimed that these butterflies are night butterflies of the rare species Panaxia, which first appeared in the Himalayas. Today, they live in Australia, Brazil, Peru, California and in every place where there are trees that produce resin with a characteristically strong smell. They won't really eat you. That was a joke. The walk through the valley costs 4 euros and follows the stream up the side of the hill. On a hot summer day there is no place better, except maybe the beach. There is also a restaurant and a gift shop where you can choose from thousands of products that have something to do with butterflies. Unfortunately for the butterflies their season happens to coincide with the tourist season, from July to September. But no matter how many butterflies or tourists are there on a summer day the walk by the stream is pleasant. In fact even if you come in the off season and the butterfly population has dwindled to a trickle it is still a beautiful place that reminds me more of New England than a Greek island. I know I could have used a picture of the lush fauna and the bubbling brook but somehow I thought the photo of the butterfly gift shop was more appropriate. Some advice for women from Andrea: Try to use the toilet before you come to the Valley of the Butterflies. She had to wait on line for half an hour. Also if you can be there when the tour buses aren't you will find it a lot more peaceful. If you are here during the 14th and 15th of August there is a panagiri (festival) at the nearby Kalopetra Monastery.

Near the Valley of the Butterflies is the Winefactory Estate of Anastasia Triantafillou where they make high quality, organic wines from the Rhodean white Athiri grape and the red Mandilari grape as well as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Grenage Rouge and Moschatel. They have a limited supply but you can sample and buy when you do their winery tours.

If you feel guilty about drinking wine while your kids look on patiently, you can reward them with a trip to the Rhodes Ostrich Farm and Park where they can visit over 120 ostriches, foxes, a kangaroo, llama, a monkey, antelopes, dwarf goats, deer, wild boar, ponies, rabbits, ducks, parrots, partridges, ferrets, skunks, and more. The farm is about 1500 before the Valley of the Butterflies.

Thirty kilometers west of the city 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 Pompei because nobody knows why and how the city was deserted and buried. These are fairly extensive ruins and certainly worth visiting though if you are traveling with kids they may be a little bored by the ancient city's lack of walls over a couple feet high. But you can buy their patience with a promise of a swim at the beach of Ancient Kamiros or a visit to the harbor at Skala Kamiros where you can catch the morning boat to Halki. The Monastery of the Virgin Mary sits on the ruins of the third century BC temple of Athena, which sits on top of an even older temple. Most of the ruins are from the Hellenistic Era and include the city market and a Doric temple and arches. Many of the findings have been taken to the Louvre and the British Museum but will hopefully be returned one day. (Write your local French and British congressman). There are also many pieces on exhibit in the archeological museum in the city. By the way I have a small confession to make. In the village of Soroni there is the Monastery of Agios Soulas where every July 30th one of the island's most popular festival is held which features, horse and donkey races, dancing and food. I didn't go to Kamiros because we missed the turn-off and wanted to get Katavia by lunch (plus I am one of those guys who never wants to turn around and go back...or ask directions) so I rewrote what I read in Toubi's Guide to Rhodes (recommended).

Beach in southwestern Rhodes Mageriko Taverna in Katavia The best beaches are on the east coast they say, but if you drive down the west coast, the Aegean side, once you get past the resorts there are miles of empty sand beaches and the most turquoise seas you will find anywhere. We were there during peak season and there were not more than a couple dozen people scattered along several miles of coast. There is a seaside fish taverna where the road from Apolakia finally meets the sea. Along the way you pass medieval castles perched on mountain tops, pine forests, villages like the town of Siana, known for their Souma, a strong alcoholic spirit like raki or grappa that is sold in roadside stands. We drank some in a small cantina on top of a mountain overlooking the sea and as a lover of tsipuro I can say this compares favorably and we bought a bottle from the woman who was making sausage sandwiches for the travelers who had stopped to admire the view.

Katavia is the most southern village on the island and also happens to be the birthplace of my wife's great grandfather so we stopped for a lunch in one of the small tavernas which advertised their fresh fish and Greek specialties in endearingly poor English. We chose the restaurant with two old women running it. They took our order and both went inside to cook it for us and returned with one of the most beautiful salads and fresh fish and vegetables, all local. Katavia is known for its potatoes and tomatoes so we could not resist their fried potatoes, fried in local olive oil of course. Katavia has a couple interesting churches, one from the Byzantine period, surrounded by a small graveyard where we searched in vain for Andrea's great grandfather. As we sat in the crossroads in the town which serves as the main square, the sky was covered by a large cloud and it actually seemed like it was going to rain. We asked the ladies if this was normal and they said yes, it actually happens every day. As nice as the two ladies were and as good as their simple meal was, the Mageriko Restaurant, shown in the photo looked very intriguing. Not just because it was such a beautifully painted and decorated old building but because the menu posted on the blackboard looked incredible. Unfortunately the restaurant was closed because of personal matters, a sign on the door said. So I am hoping some adventurous person who reads this website can go and check it out for me. During the second world war the flat plains below Katavia was where luftwaffe planes left secret Nazi airstrips to bomb the allies in the Middle East.

Windsurfers in Prasonissi Ag Pavlos abandoned by the Italians Beyond Katavia is the tip of Rhodes and the tiny island of Prasonissi. It looked remote and sort of uninteresting on the map but when Ana Kamais called me on my cell phone and found out where we were she urged me to go down for a look. "They windsurf there", she said simply, though when we got there we found this to be an understatement because this looked like the windsurfing capital of the universe. We came over the hill to see a stretch of white sand that reached almost to the island and on each side were dozens, maybe hundreds of colorful sails and parachutes. So many that it looked like there should be a collision every minute. But there were none. These people were serious windsurfers going at speeds that would rival the fastest powerboats. Some were using skis and attached to parachutes by a harness and they would race along the sea and suddenly zoom into the air. There were a number of rooms for rent, a few tavernas and some shops for windsurfing gear and a line of campers. We asked Michalis Axarlis about Prasonissi at dinner that night and he told us that people get off the planes and ferries, their only luggage being their windsurfers and go straight to the tip of Rhodes where they stay and surf until it is time to go home. Like the northern tip of the island by the aquarium and our hotel, Prasonissi is where the Aegean meets the Mediterranean.

A couple kilometers east of Katavia is the agricultural settlement of Ag Pavlos, a sort of cooperative set up by Musslini before the war. There is an abandoned monastery there used now by a couple doves, some goats and a farmer for storage, the walls covered by graffiti and the names of people who have stumbled upon it, including ours. The fact that this monastery was abandoned was surprising and may have to do with the problem of ownership since it would make a great cultural center, ashram, school or villa. We assumed the property was owned by Italians and getting the papers for it would be too daunting a task so they just let it fall apart. The whole area is agricultural, with fields of wheat and some abandoned art-deco houses and farms, these too apparently left by the Italians. From here we drove up the east coast of Rhodes towards Lindos, stopping only a couple times to take some photos because as I mentioned, the island was very hot that day, in what turned out to be the last of a mini 2-day heat wave.

The Acropolis of Lindos Epta Piges The town of Lindos is the tourist capital of the island. Often described as a quaint island village, in reality it is a resort with a small village at its center. The beach is excellent but crowded in a summer that seems to last around 8 months. The village itself is cycladic in style and the home to many famous and not so famous artists, musicians and normal people who were lucky enough to be here early. The famous Acropolis of Lindos is the most well known of all ancient sites in the Dodekanese and can be as crowded as the Acropolis of Athens sometimes. Lindos was the original capital of the island, established around 2000BC and has been home to everyone from the ancient Greeks, the Byzantines, the Franks and the Turks, including visits from such luminaries as Saint Paul and the Knights of Saint John who re-fortified the castle and Pink Floyd. The village itself is closed to automobiles and is a labyrinth of tiny streets and alleys that make wandering through the town an adventure. Like much of Rhodes finding a place to stay in the summer is tough so book in advance or just come for the day. If you don't have a car or bike there are frequent buses and you can even take a taxi or an excursion boat or Flying Dolphin from Mandraki Harbor in Rhodes City. There are several large self-contained luxury hotels on the outskirts of town, with more on the way. (See info on the book by Willard Manus if you want to read about what it was like to live here during the good times and the not so good).

Epta Piges has a small lake fed by seven springs (epta piges) and a family of geese, ducks, peacocks and a nice tree-shaded taverna which overlooks the stream. By this time we were pretty exhausted and all I wanted to do was take a couple photos and drive back to the hotel. It did not help that I missed the turn-off to Epta Piges and we went driving off into the mountains. This time Andrea made me turn around and I was a little irritated and even the happy quacking ducks could not cheer me up. I snapped a couple dozen photos of which only one or two came out and then waited impatiently while Andrea and Amarandi followed the stream and wandered in the woods. But Epta Piges is a beautiful place, again looking more like New England or somewhere in the Smokey Mountains, than Greece, except for the souvlakia, mousaka and the ouzo, which would have made me feel better if I still did not have another 40 minutes or so to drive. Anyway, don't miss this place if you drive around the island, or take a taxi and have lunch or dinner here one day in a very unique setting.

Beach in Eastern Rhodes The east coast of Rhodes has a number of beaches, some in coves and bays like Lindos and some long stretches of sand. Obviously the farther you get from the tourist areas, the fewer people will be on the beach. There is nude bathing on the southern end of Faliraki beach but don't come here planning on your own personal, private paradise. Faliraki is also home to Greece's longest water-slide and an amusement park complete with ferris wheel and bungy-jumping and may be used as an incentive to keep your children behaving. You may have read something about the town in your local papers or even seen it on television. A couple years ago the town was really out of control but things have calmed down a lot since then and you and your children are pretty safe. We didn't stop here that day but we came by a couple nights and cruised the town, once with Nick the taxi driver on his off-night and the other with Michalis the taxi driver on his off-night. There is more on Faliraki in the nightlife section.

Kalithea Thermi has an old Italian Health spa and its known for snorkeling and skindiving. Apparently an earthquake cut the hot springs off which is probably about the worst thing that can happen to a spa. Kolymbia and Tsambikas are nice beaches but as most beaches in this area are in the summer, quite crowded. However before you dismiss any beach because it is crowded let me just mention that Rhodes is the favorite destination to some of the world's most lovely women. Lately the mass-tourism that brought the lovely Swedes and their distant cousins the British lager-louts to this beautiful island has largely dried up and places like Faliraki, whose names were synonymous with teenage decadence and debauchery are pretty tame, their clubs serving a fraction of the alcohol they used to. There are still plenty of young people but it is not as insane as it was a few years ago and it won't be long before beer-chugging contests are replaced by several rounds of miniature golf. The tourist season which was once eight months long is now about 90 days. But when the package tourists left they did not take the good weather with them so in my opinion Rhodes is better and if you come in the off-season you can find the privacy you seek.

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johnmary@johnmarystudios.com , Aggeliniou Maria, PB 479, TK 85105, Faliraki Rhodes, Greece, tel +302241085380, winter tel +302241020935, fax +302241087114