Rhodes

As we prepared for our travel to Rhodes we were extremely exited. We were going to the island of the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the seven wonders of the world. Rhodes is one of the beautiful islands located in the eastern Aegean Sea, it is the largest of the Dodecanese and also the capital of the Dodecanese. We had a straight flight from Bratislava late in the afternoon and we arrived in the evening on the Diagoras International Airport. From there tens of buses were waiting for the turists to transfer them to the hotels. Our bus going to the Kolymbia beach, 24 kilometers to the town of Rhode arrived in front of the Mariana Palace hotel later in the night.

In the morning we started admiring the beautiful surroundings. The hotel is located in the beautiful Kolymbia beach and near to the mount Tsambika.We were able to see the mountain from our hotel window, the first thing in the morning.

As we came out of into the large garden, we saw the two blue swimming pools: one for the adults and a small one for children.

There are palm trees,banana trees, and violet flowers hanging from the windows, the balconies and the pillars.

After breakfast we went directly to the beach. The Kolymbia beach is a very long beach, with perfectly clear and warm water, with almost no waves, and pebbled beach. You might want to wear slippers on the beach because the pebbles might hurt your feet.

You must also buy a very good sunscreen because the sun is very hot and also some cap to put on your head. The view of the the Kolymbia beach is superb. You can see the endless blue sea, the green grass in front of the hotel, the golden sand and the most beautiful the colored umbrellas .On the beautiful beach

you can lie on the sunbeds and stay in the sun, you can listen to the waves, look at the mountain on your right, or you can go swimming in the water. The water is very warm and pleasant.You can borrow a boat or do different water sports.

At lunch you can enjoy the very good restaurants in the hotel. It is all inclusive, you can have steaks, pasta, potatoes, vegetables, gyros, meatballs and also there is a salad bar where you can taste all kind of possible salads: potatoes, tomatoes, pickles, cabbage and carrots, olives and dressings. At the end you can enjoy an ice cream or cookie.

Salad bar at the hotel's restaurant.

After that you can enjoy the hotel bar and have a nice coffee and cocktails.

In the evening you can walk to the Eucalyptus’ street, cover by both sides very tall and green eucalyptus trees. There you can buy souvenirs from the shops or stop of the cafe bars to have a cocktail, a cake or a piece of pizza.From the nice things we bought there were: olives, honey, kataif, olive beauty products, soaps and creams, wooden kitchen utensils, cinnamon bars.

The next day we went directly to the beautiful town of Rhodes. There we were preparing to see two very interesting sites: the site of the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the seven wonders of the world, and the Old Town of the City of Rhodes which was declared World Heritage Site. The first thing you do when you go out of the bus in Rhodes is to go to the Mandraki harbor. Here you will watch the vast perfect blue sea, invaded by the sun and the white boats and ships floating.

You have to walk along the harbor for about 20 minutes before you can reach the place where the Colossus of Rhodes used to be. There where the feet of the colossus used to be now there are two very tall pillars and on top of them bronze deer statues.There is a splendid view from there and you can just picture in your head how the colossus used to be like and how the ships used to pass under his huge legs.

Site of the Colossus of Rhodes.

On the way back from the Colossus site you can stop and admire the Windmills of Rhodes. We stopped, and made pictures and admire the beautiful sea and a very huge ship leaving the port.The whole harbor is flooded with sunlight and you can smell the sea in the breeze.

From there we went directly to the Old Town of Rhodes.When you enter the old city it is like going back in time or entering a another world. There is no greater please than to walk on the cobble stones narrow streets, bordered by old brick buildings. The traffic is restricted in the old town so the streets are flooded with tourists and everything has a medieval and mysterious air.

It is a mixture of pagan, christian and Muslim here.Here and there you can see the ruins of an old Church or temples, there are also new Churches and an mosque.

Suleiman mosque.

Ruins of the Church of the Virgin of the Burgh.

The town is huge, hundreds of streets full of shops where you can walk and get lost for hours. It looks something like a Turkish bazaar. You can find here shops with souvenirs, clothes, t-shirts, postcards, glass objects, hand-made jewelry, hand-made laces,hats and swimming pants.

There are also shops with Greek traditional object and foods: balaclava, kataif, pistachio, honey products, ouzo, metaxa, also restaurants and cafe-bars, terraces where you can hide from the hot sun and drink some cold cocktail.

Watermelon cocktails at the Turkish bar.

One of the most beautiful streets is the Street of Knights were in the past soldiers were spending their time in military training and prayer.

Street of Knights

Hotel in the Old Town.

Main Square in the Old Town.

If you visit the old town you must also walk around it and admire the wall that surrounds it.

After visiting the old town go our on the beach near it. You are not allowed to swim there since it is very close to the port but you can dip your feet in the water, they will hurt you after anyway after running around the narrow streets, and watch the ships floating on the blue water.

After this you can take a stroll in the new town of Rhodes.You will be tired and hungry by now. Sit down at the terraces near the market or Agora and choose one of the most beautiful looking cakes you have ever seen. it is very hard to choose one. We have a white chocolate cake.

The Market Place or Agora or Rhodes.

Restaurants with pizza and fabulous cakes.

White chocolate cake.

Now that we rested we went for the next interesting place: the northern place of Rhodes, the place where the island ends and the two seas meet: Aegean and Mediterranean. On the way we stopped and visited the Orthodox Church of Evangelistria, next to Mandraki port.

We walked slowly on the modern streets of Rhodes until we reached the the beach of the Aegean sea.

The sea is a light blue and the beach beach is very windy, there are big waves and the sight is magnificent. We were there in late afternoon and the sunlight falling on the sand and the blue sea made it magical.

We walked along the beach until we reached the end of the island. There the two seas meat and you can see the light blue of the Aegean colliding with dark blue of the Mediterranean allowed us to make some of the most wonderful pictures. We took off our shoes and walked around the small beach and watched how the waves of the two seas break into each other.

Then we walked along the Mediterranean beach back to the city. The sun was setting and the beach benches were empty, there were late swimmers here and there and an atmosphere of peace and relaxation.

Another trip that we took from Rhodes was to the Turkish town of Marmaris. Very early in the morning we left Rhodes on a large boat and left for Turkey. The trip took live 3 hours and one of the most beautiful in my life. We sailed surrounded by green islands and mountains, beach houses and small cities.

Arrived in Marmaris we took a small sightseeing tour and after that we went to the most important place, the bazaar and i have to be honest that this was the biggest bazaar i ever show in my whole life.

View of Marmaris.

Covered and clean, with nicely arranged shops and sellers that are inviting you to negotiate with them. We bought again cheap perfumes and souvenirs.

Except the classical shops with clothes, souvenirs, postcards, jewelry, there are also very interesting shops with traditional Turkish products: Turkish delight, honey, dried fruits, Turkish apple tea and other flavored tea, condiments, cinnamon bars.

If you are in Turkey be sure to stop and eat an kebab in one of the many restaurants and fast-foods, it is delicious.

Waiting for the kebab.

Savoring the wonderful Turkish kebab.

The chef is happy we liked it.

The last days we spend our time on the most beautiful beach that i ever saw. Just behind the Tsambika mountain, after a 10 minutes bus trip we reach the Tsambika beach. It is a small golf surrounded by mountains, with golden soft sand, with no pebbles at all, the water blue and very transparent.

You can swim for a long time and still touch the bottom, it is peaceful and quiet,flooded by the sunlight with comfortable beach benches, a beautiful, small fast-foods near by, shops with snack and water and one seller walking along the beach and screaming a long: Doooooooooooooooooooooooooooonuts". This was the beach that we most enjoyed, there was the softest sand we ever saw and the most cleaner water, blue, transparent and calm, with absolutely no waves.