Rodos

THE ISLAND

GENERAL FEATURES

MAP

LANDSCAPE

THE SEA

Rhodes, 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. Rhodes 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 Rhodes, 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 Rhodes 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, 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 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.