Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
especially if you're insured, head for the well-signed
Euromedica clinic in Koskinoú, 6.5km south (24hr; English-
speaking staff;
T
22410 45000 for their ambulances).
Activities
For scuba diving, contact Waterhoppers
(
W
waterhoppers.com) at Mandhráki quay; as well as
running beginners' courses in the bay at Kallithéas beach,
they offer more challenging deep-wall dives at Ladhikó,
just south of Faliraki, and near Líndhos.
GETTING AROUND
By bus
Buses from Rhodes Town to
the west and east
coasts leave from adjacent terminals on Avérof in New
Town, immediately north of the Old Town just outside the
Italian-built New Market. The main local operator is KTEL
(
T
22410 27706,
W
ktelrodou.gr).
By taxi
The main taxi rank is at Platía Rimínis, immediately
north of Rhodes Old Town, across from the bus stops. A taxi
to the airport officially costs €22; the fare to Líndhos is €44.
Taxi drivers won't normally enter Rhodes Old Town; expect
to walk to your hotel from the nearest gate.
By car
Major car rental chains have outlets at the airport.
In Rhodes Town, try Just, Mandhilará 70 (
T
22410 31811,
W
just-rentacar.gr); Etos, Venizelou 33 (
T
22410 22511,
W
etos.gr); or Kosmos, Papaloúka 31 (
T
22410 74374,
W
cosmos-sa.gr). Driving is not permitted in Rhodes Old
Town, while parking outside can be hard to find; the best
bet is along Filellínon on the south side, between the Ayíou
Athanasíou and Koskinoú gates.
By bike and motorcycle
Outlets that rent bikes, scooters
and motorcycles include Kiriakos, Apodhímon Amerikís 16
(
T
22410 36047,
W
motorclubkiriakos.gr), which will
deliver to Rhodes Old Town and shuttle you back once
you've finished; Bicycle Centre, Griva 39 (
T
22410 28315);
and Mike's Motor Club, Ioánni Kazoúli 23(
T
22410 37420).
Rhodes Town
By far the largest town on the island,
Rhodes Town
straddles its northernmost headland,
in full view of Turkey less than 20km north. The ancient city that occupied this site, laid
out during the fifth century BC by Hippodamos of Miletos, was almost twice the size of
its modern counterpart, and at over 100,000 held more than double its population.
While the fortified enclave now known as the
Old Town
is of more recent
construction, created by the Knights Hospitaller in the fourteenth century, it's one of
the finest medieval walled cities you could ever hope to see. Yes, it gets hideously
overcrowded with day-trippers in high season, but at night it's quite magical, and well
worth an extended stay. It makes sense to think of it as an entirely separate destination
to the
New Town
, or
Neohóri
, the mélange of unremarkable suburbs and dreary resort
that sprawls out from it in three directions.
It was the entrance to
Mandhráki
harbour, incidentally, that was supposedly straddled by
the
Colossus
, an ancient statue of Apollo erected to commemorate the 305 BC siege. In
front of the New Town, the harbour is today used largely by yachts and excursion boats.
8
Rhodes Old Town
Rhodes Old Town
is an absolute gem, a superbly preserved medieval ensemble that's
all but unique in retaining the feel of a genuine lived-in village, having neither
grown to become a city nor been overly prettified for visitors. Still entirely enclosed
within a double ring of mighty sandstone walls, it stands utterly aloof from the
modern world.
Although the newly arrived Knights encircled the local population as well as their
own castle within their fourteenth-century walls, they took the precaution of keeping
whatever they needed for survival north of the straight-line street of
Sokrátous
, which
could be sealed of in times of emergency. Broadly speaking that distinction remains,
with the monumental district, now also scattered with Ottoman mosques and
minarets, set somewhat apart.
While it does hold some fascinating sights and museums, however, what makes the
Old Town so special is the sheer vibrancy of the place as a whole. Its busiest commercial
lanes, packed with restaurants, cafés, and souvenir stores selling anything from T-shirts
to fur coats, and gelati to jewellery, can be overpoweringly congested in summer
- Sokrátous itself is the worst culprit - but it's always possible to escape into the
time-forgotten tangle of cobbled alleyways that lie further south, and away from the sea.
