As a short detour from the Turkish coast, I took a ferry to the Greek island of Rhodes (Ρόδος). This also meant for the third time on the trip getting close to s site of one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, after the Artemis Temple (Ephesus), the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus (Bodrum) now the Colossus of Rhodes. However, given that of the first two only foundations remain, and the third one is completely non-existing, I didn’t bother to visit any of them so far.
Rhodes is quite a large island, with the major town of Rhodes city located at the northern tip. Rhodes town has a large and rather well-preserved walled old town, but especially the main roads in the north are extremely touristy, with one shop selling generic souvenir fare or overpriced fast food next to the other. The quiter streets further south, however, are really nice.
I spent five days in Rhodes, so it was more of a breather and time to relax and swim – even more so given that (thanks to hotel bonus points from consultant times) I spent my nights there in a luxury resort with private beach and four pools. The days I used to explore the town or the island on a rented scooter. In Rhodes town itself, I most notably went to the Palace of Grand Masters (free entry for EU students, yay!).
One of the days, I went to the Valley of Butterflies and Lindos. The highly praised Valley of Butterflies was a complete disappointment – there were lots of butterflies around, but even more people. Since there was only one narrow path going through the valley, one was always in a large queue of people shoving each other through the forest – this is not what I imagine a peaceful nature experience to be like. The town of Lindos in the southeast is quite picturesque, with a large acropolis overlooking the white town. However, it is also packed with tourists.
Another day, I went a bit more off the beaten path (if there is anything unbeaten on Rhodes at all) and went down the west coast to Ancient Kamiros and Kritinia Castle. Both of these had the advantage of being much less overrun by tourists (i.e., the tour buses of package and cruise tourists don’t seem to go there, so it’s only individual tourists). Ancient Kamiros was a Greek town, which was completely re-build in ~200 BC after an earthquake, but later abandoned by its inhabitants. It is quite beautifully located on a hillside above the sea shore, and it is quite nice to walk through the ruins of the city. While it is not quite as marbly, big and impressive as Ephesus, it is still quite an interesting sight and was definitely worth the visit. Kritinia Castle is located relatively far down south on the west coast of Rhodes island, and is located on top of a huge rocky cliff overlooking island and sea. The castle itself lies in ruins, but the look from up there is awesome, even more so given that there are hardly any tourists there, and the entrance is free.
Today, I will explore Rhodes town some more and go to the the Kalithea springs, which are located on the east coast close to Rhodes town. After Rhodes, I will go back to Turkey, first to Fetihye, and then continuing further to the east in the direction of Antalya.
Pictures will follow at a later point.