About Greece

History

Evidence of life in the Greek Islands goes back to prehistoric times, but the glory days of pre-history were those of the Minoan civilization, which existed on Crete from 2100 to 1100 BC. In the following centuries, several of the Greek Islands played major roles on the stage of history. St Paul visited Rhodes, which was also the headquarters of the famous crusading Knights of St John. In 1934 a disastrous earthquake almost totally annihilated the island of Kos. Zante has a rich historic and cultural legacy from Venetian occupation, and the Italians famously occupied Kefalonia during World War II, an event that inspired the best selling novel and hit movie Captain Corelli's Mandolin.

A strong testament to the islands long and colourful histories, amazing heritage sites are scattered all over, including the awe inspiring acropolis at Lindos on Rhodes, the spectacularly set Chapel of Metamorfosis on Kos, the stunning Knossos Palace on Crete, and Zakynthos Town, known as the 'Venice of the East', not to mention natural wonders, such as the Melissani Cave on Kefalonia, where beautiful rock formations are enhanced by play of light on the cave walls.

Culture

During the summer months in Rhodes there are many cultural festivals. Most are related to the Greek Orthodox religious calendar. Experience an open air concert in the ancient Acropolis where the acoustics are surprisingly good. Archaeological museums, old churches, monasteries and ancient monuments are scattered across the island.

Food

Greek food and wine is famous world wide due to its top quality produce and the resulting amazing tastes. Some dishes are the same everywhere in Greece and the Greek Islands, whereas some others are local culinary specialities or the same dishes cooked in different manners. Here is a list of some of the most famous foods from Greece, all equally delicious and definitely worth a taste.

Dips and starters:

Tzatziki: Greek yoghurt with finely chopped cucumber, garlic and olive oil. Ideal to eat with fresh Greek bread, fried potatoes or fried meatballs.

Hummus: Chickpea and tahini blended with lemon juice, fresh garlic, olive oil and parsley.

Melitzanosalata: An eggplant purée with finely chopped garlic and olive oil. It is succulent with fresh bread.

Taramosalata: Crushed fish's eggs.

Saganaki: A variety of fried cheese.

Dolmades Mezes (Dolmadakia): Grape leaves stuffed with a blend of ground beef, rice, and herbs and topped with lemon sauce.

Kalamarakia: Small pieces of fried squid with lemon juice.

Pita: bread with fresh olives.
 
Fassolada: White bean soup with parsley and sometimes a tomato sauce.

Main Dishes:

Moussaka: This famous Greek dish has a base made of potatoes topped with eggplant, onions, minced beef and béchamel.

Pastitsio: Another well-known Greek dish similar to the Italian Lasagne, it consists of a base made of a kind of noodle topped with minced beef, onions, tomato sauce and béchamel.

Lamb Souvláki: Lamb marinated, skewered and broiled, served with rice and vegetables.

Gyro (Yiro) Pita: Thinly sliced spicy beef wrapped in warm pita bread, topped with spring greens, tomato, onion and tzatzíki.

Greek Salad: Spring greens, tomato, red onion, cucumber, roasted pepper, Kalamata olives and feta, tossed with Greek olive oil.

Deserts:

Galaktoboureko: Semolina custard wrapped in pastry with lemon zest syrup.

Baklava:Layered pastry filled with walnuts, cinnamon and lemon zest syrup.

Drinks:

Ouzo: The most famous Greek alcohol, a trademark of the country. It is a strong alcohol, drinkable straight with ice or mixed with a bit of water, popular as an after dinner drink.

Retsina: Retsina is a Greek white wine with a particular resin taste. This taste is due to the way the wine is produced. The grapes are put into a new cask, which still has the wood resin on, giving the wine its unique taste.

About Rhodes

 

Rhodes is the largest island of the South Aegean Dodecanese Islands of Greece. It is well known for the Colossus, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, which was sadly destroyed. Rhodes has everything from beautiful beaches to a lush, green interior, a bustling capital and one of the best sunshine records in Greece. The rock-rose is so prolific here that it has been named the 'Island of Roses' and while the northern coast is renowned as a lively tourist area the south of Rhodes offers a more tranquil pace of life.

Rhodes attracts many tourists looking for relaxing beach holidays and while many of its beaches are gravel and not sand the island boasts 300+ days of sunshine a year providing a huge attraction for tourists. Consequently, areas of Rhodes can be busy throughout the year with tourists roaming the streets, beaches full of deck chairs and parasols to rent and numerous shops catering solely for the tourists. However, there are still some truly beautiful areas of Rhodes where mass tourism has not occured, Genadi village, Katavia and the wind and kite surfing paradise of Prasonisi. The untouched towns in Rhodes are not places that you do not want to see but places that you will see and want to take home with you. These towns are so beautifully untouched that the local people still live a truly relaxed lifestyle, unaffected by the modern fast way of life in many countries. The local people are chilled out and simply enjoy what they have and do not worry about anything. They are surrounded by numerous huge fields that they farm simply to grow and cook there own food. Depending on what time of year you visit Rhodes you will find these fields either bare after the harvest or blooming with water melons, melons, figs, olives and many other fruits and wild spices.

Famous for its nightlife Rhodes has everything to offer in terms of entertainment and is host to around 600 bars, casinos and huge nightclubs. Most of the nightlife on the island is located in the City of Rhodes and the other popular tourist areas such as Faliraki and Lindos. In the summer, various cultural events are also held in the City of Rhodes with both classical and modern music concerts being held almost daily. In the quieter Southern part of the island where big nightclubs and tourist bars are not present there is a different, fantastic style of nightlife with huge beach parties thrown by the windsurfing schools with fires and music bringing the beaches to life by night. The beach parties are perfect if you hate getting dressed up to party, simply throw your shorts on and barefoot it down to the beach to party through the night in a friendly relaxed way. Through the summer there are also various DJ’s who come to the beaches and hold nightclub style parties on the beach with drinks bars and sectioned off areas of the beach. Partying is done brilliantly on Rhodes no matter where you are.

The capital of Rhodes, also called Rhodes, occupies the northernmost tip of the island and is split into three city areas - modern, ancient and medieval Rhodes.

The Modern City of Rhodes (The New Town)

Mandraki is the most picturesque of the three ports with palm tree lined streets giving the city a tropical feel. Welcoming you into the port at Mandraki are statues of two bronze deer, which have become the modern emblem of the town. Mandraki is surrounded by the impressive walls of the Medieval Town and numerous monumental buildings such as the Archbishops Palace, the Annunciation church and Government House.

The Medieval City of Rhodes (The Old Town)

In the Medieval Town of Rhodes you can enjoy one of the most interesting walks on the island. Do not be misled by the term "medieval", you are not entering a ruined and deserted city. When you approach the walls of the Old Town of Rhodes, you are about to enter the oldest inhabited medieval town in Europe.

The old town has a bustling neighbourhood of around 6000 people, who live and work in the same buildings in which the Knights of St. John lived six centuries ago.

Medieval buildings, mosques, traditional fountains, oriental motifs, Byzantine and Gothic churches, shops and cafeterias are scattered throughout the Old Town of Rhodes, all blending together to create a unique part of the island. There are roughly 200 streets or lanes in the old town that simply have no name. Whenever you feel the need to find your bearings, you can ask around for Sokratous street. Sokratous street is the closest the Medieval City comes to having a main street.