GENERAL FEATURES
A Greek island of the Aegean Sea, included in the group of the Southern Sporades, among which it is the largest, it is administered in the nomos, of which it is the capital city. Rodos lies about 20 Kms. off the Turkish coast; it is shaped as a lengthened rhomb, from south-west to north-east, and it is 80 kms long and 38 kms. large. Mostly a mountainous land, its highest peak is Mount Attaviro (1215 m. high). Its main economic resources are: agriculture, ovine breeding, sponge fishing and tourism.The main centre is Rhodes, on the farthest northern end of the island, active trade and tourist port, with food, mechanic and tobacco industries. The western coast of Rodos, constantly scourged by the wind, is a long strip of land -full of hotels, coffee houses and restaurants on gravely beaches- stretching from Rhodes town to Paradisi. But heading southwards, the landscape becomes green and fertile, with vineyards, olive trees, woody slopes and picturesque rural villages. To be seen Moni’ Filerimos, the ancient Kamiros, the wine centre of Embonas, mount Elijah Prophet, with its springs and the charming valley of Petaludes, the place which gives Rodos the nickname of “The island of Butterflies”. Further southwards, we find all kinds of sceneries: ravines surmounted by castles and views on the sea as far as the isles of Halki and Alimia. The eastern part of Rodos, more sheltered, counts kilometres of rocky beaches and little inlets, among which the crowded places of Kalithea, Faliraki, Afandou, Archangelos and Lindos, in a sharp contrast with the desert banks of the south-east. The eastern part of the island is divided into two sections: from the southern tip Prassonissi, so far as Pefkos, and then from Lindos upwards as far as Rhodes town. The landscape of Rodos shows a variegated mosaic, from the oasis Epta’ Piges and the orange grove to the trait of indented coast and the sandy creeks..In the south of the island we find Capo Prassonissi, which becomes the extreme southern end or an independent island, according to the tide. Over the time Capo Prassonissi has gradually become the paradise of windsurfers, owing to the constantly strong wind of the sea, which is calm on one side and wavy on the other one.
See also: the old town of Rhodes - the therme of Kalithea

Traditionally known as “the Island of Roses” and “ the Island of Butterflies” for the great number of flowers and butterflies scattered about on its hills, Rhodes is the place where Zeus did homage to Elio, the god of the sun, and where he fell in love with Poseidon’s daughter, the nymph Roda. It was not by chance that for so many centuries the god Sun was worshipped in Rodos and that the same worship gave rise to one of the seven wonders of the ancient world: the Colossus of Rhodes. It’s the light which makes the wine of this island so rich and gives the hibiscus, the flower symbol of Rodos, its charming colour red. The sun covers with its rays the amazing castle of Rhodes, it accompanies the beats of the new town, swarming with life, gives a sure beauty to the Doric frugality of the acropolis of Lindos, turns the waters of the island into gardens of jade.