Source: Big Stock Photo
Rocky beach cove on the island of Rhodes in the Aegean Sea, Greece
About the Island of Rhodes
The island of Rhodes is in the eastern Aegean Sea, with a slightly cooler winter and summer than Athens. Of the the Dodecanese islands Rhodes is the largest, with a population of 117,007. The main town on Rhodes is the city of Rhodes, with 53,000 persons, which covers the northeastern tip of the island pointed toward the Turkey mainland. Two other important cities on Rhodes are Lindos and Archangelos.
Rhodes was the location of the 'Colossus of Rhodes', one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, a massive sculpted figure whose legs spanned the opening of the islands harbor.
The Ottoman Empire ruled Rhodes for centuries, and Italy took it in 1912. During the Second World War, Germany anticipated that the Italian troops on Rhodes would defect to the Allies, and occupied the island in 1943. Shortly thereafter they began the abduction of the some 1,800 Jewish inhabitants of the island and sent them to extermination camps in Europe. Only 160 or so survived the war. The Rhodes Jewish community had a history dating back more than 2,000 years.
Rhodes was officially reunited with Greece in 1947.
[Below] Entrance to the harbor at Rhodes today.
Source: Big Stock Photo
Source: Big Stock Photo