The greatest island in the Mediterranean, 1,400 square km. it is considered to be the bridge between the east and Mediterranean. Ancient Rhodes was an extremely powerful city; its tight political organisation became the model for the city of Alexandria in Egypt. When Rome took control in 42bc, it was fabled for its beauty, thousands of pilgrims flocked here. Today Rhodes Is an extremely popular holiday island for Europeans who come for the sun and the amazing beaches. I visited Rhodes recently on a cruise holiday.
- Exploring Rhodes, Greeceesther** / Travel Photos / CC BY-NC-SA
Coming ashore: when coming ashore I noticed one thing, how hot the weather was, it might have been because I went in the middle of July, but it was sweltering, so much better than the U.K!
You dock in the commercial port which luckily enough is right outside the city walls. There are hardly any facilities at the port, but there is no need for there to be, it’s like a five to ten minute walk to all the main attractions of the walled citadel. If you wanted to travel to lindos then some taxis wait just outside the port and charge around €35 per trip.
Exploring Rhodes: during my time in Rhodes, I didn’t get to visit many of the places I wanted to, but I was told and made adamant to visit these two places: the archaeological museum, there are so many different little trinkets and cool things to just gasp at. For example the building itself has cannonballs from the 1500s still lying around the place. There are sculptures, artworks and many other things that show the history of this fascinating island, if you want to learn more about the history of Rhodes, then this place is perfect.
Travel into lindos for a bit, this is a good choice as there are a lot more “activity” sort of things to do in lindos, for example they have a huge waterpark here. St Pauls bay beach is absolutely amazing, one of the best beaches in the whole of the Mediterranean. Travelling into lindos is great if you want to visit some awesome beaches. Although Vylicha beach is very nice in Rhodes.
Where to eat in Rhodes: the food in Rhodes in second to none, it’s amazing. There are two places you must go to though, these are Dinoris and Mavrikos.
Dinoris, this restaurant was built way back in 310 ad, but was used as a hospital and then was converted to a stable. They have fish specialities and a spoacious classy setting which make this place appetising for local sheiks to passing celebrities. I started with the variety platter which includes fish balls, mussels, shrimp and excrellent lobster. Make sure you sit outside, the sea breeze cools you down perfectly as you eat this awesome food. For the main try a sea urchin salad or the grilled calamari with cheese.
Mavrikos is the perfect, simple, most elegant restaurant in the whole of Rhodes in my opinion. With straightforward dishes like sea urchin salad and fried monouri cheese with basil and pine nuts to swordfish in a caper sauce with lobster risotto. Only the freshest ingredients, along with classical training are seen coming from this lovely little restaurant.
Overall my time in Rhodes was short and sweet, the food was amazing, the people are incredibly friendly and there is plenty to do, as long as you head into lindos.
