Mykonos 2006

In 2007 we traveled to Rhodes. We chose Lindos for our stay as it is still not so crowded in June and we wanted enough time to explore the "city". Altogether we traveled 550 km by car on the island and took over 900 pictures, 144 of which are here for you to see. Click on the pictures to see a bigger version.

Rhodes slideshow (146 photos)

We chose Lindos not only for its typical white houses and world-famous Acropolis but its excellent golden sandy beaches which are ideal for families with small children. Megali Paralia is definitely one of the best beaches in Rhodes, the scenery is just stunning!

After arriving at Diagoras airport we found our rented car and headed for Lindos right away. We left our baggage in our apartment and went to the beach to enjoy all the pleasures its crystal-clear water and golden sand offer.

The Three Brothers Studios are a very good choice in Lindos as they are close to the main beach, you can drive your car there (which is unusual in Lindos because of the very narrow streets), and it's only a few minutes' walk to the center of the "city". The owner of the studios, Frank Frangeskaki is most helpful, he waited for us and showed us two studios to choose from.

All the studios are with sea-view, they are spacious and air-conditioned. The studios on the ground floor share the courtyard while the studios on the first floor have a communal balcony. Visit www.threebrothers-studios.com for more information.

We were lucky enough to be the only guests on the ground floor for most of our stay so we could use the courtyard as our private balcony. At dawn you can take magnificent pictures of the sunrise from here (see the photo later), while in the evening the setting sun gives the Acropolis a brilliant look.

On our first day we wanted to visit the Acropolis but it was closed just this once for the whole day. We were not so disappointed as the view was wonderful from the way up there too, and we had a good reason to walk the way once more two days later to see it again.

So instead, we decided to start exploring the northern part of the east coast of Rhodes to see some picturesque bays and have a dip in wonderful Tsampika bay on our way back.

Our first stop was Ladiko Bay between Faliraki and Afandou. If you prefer rocky beaches, it is a very nice place to go to.

If you want something even more special, visit Anthony Quinn Bay right next to Ladiko, which is undisputedly one of the most beautiful spots in Rhodes.

When Anthony Quinn visited the island to make the film "The Guns of Navarone" he just fell in love with this bay and even wanted to buy it. He wasn't allowed to but the bay was named after him as a tribute.

There is an imposing rock wall on the east of the bay. The sea bed is full of rocks too, which gives a colorful look to the water. Some of them reach the surface of the water so you can try walking on the sea if you like just like in this picture.

We also had a look at some pebbly beaches near Faliraki and Afandou but our main destination of the day was Tsampika to enjoy its spacious sandy bay and all it has to offer: amazing scenery, crystal-clear sea, golden sand, nice waves.

The beach was named after the monastery standing at the peak of a 287 meter high mountain on the north of the bay. We spent three beautiful afternoons here as it is definitely one of the best beaches we have ever been to.

The view from Tsampika monastery is truly amazing! I will show pictures of it later but I want to keep the chronological order so now I only show some beach pictures.

The wind sometimes can get high in Tsampika, especially from the west, which means you get the wind from the back. So be careful with your children's toys if you don't want them to get lost in the sea.

Our daughter immensely enjoyed playing with the waves, laughing loudly as she lost her balance.

It was even more exciting in the deeper water where she almost laughed her head off. We found it hard to leave this beach even though we were sure to return in the following days.

The next day we decided to visit Rhodes' old town. It was Monday when all museums open at 12:30, so you can take a nice walk in the medieval city enjoying the morning calmness and the special atmosphere, avoiding big crowds. Here is Socrates Street which used to be Rhodes' market place in the old days. In fact, it is still full of shops.

We were searching for Ippoton, the Street of the Knights when Dora caught sight of this knight on the top of a building. She asked us to take a photo of it. Could you say no?

The Ippoton was the main street in the northern part of the town called Collachium, and is probably the best preserved medieval street in Europe, retaining its authentic character by the help of Italian archaeologists.

We took a longer walk in the southern part called Chora or Bourgo, enjoying the special atmosphere of those narrow streets where you are really able to "feel" history.

However, sometimes noisy motorbikes broke the calmness of the streets, disturbing us thinking about the past what life could have been like hundreds of years ago here.

We found a very nice shady tavern called "N Tinos" close to Ippokratous Square for our lunch. When the staff found out that we were Hungarians they congratulated us that we had such a genius as Ferenc Puskas, who in fact used to be the coach of our waiter in the Greek national football team!

After lunch we headed for the opening of The Palace of the Grand Masters. On our way we spent some time on Ippokratous Square with its beautiful Turkish fountain in its center.

The Palace of the Grand Masters was the administrative center and the Knights' "Acropolis". It was completely destroyed by a great explosion in 1865. The Italians rebuilt it on the ruins of the old one, as faithfully as possible, and completed it in 1940.

This was our first sight when we entered the gates of the palace. Have you ever seen a cat sleeping in a position like this, on a tree?

Our Dora was so curious to see everything as soon as possible that we were the first to enter the inner courtyard, having a chance to take some personal pictures here.

She climbed all the stairs with great pleasure to show that she is the quickest of all, smiling back at us. Well, she will have the chance to remember all her life as we took pictures and also captured everything she did on film.

The arrangement of the palace around the central courtyard with the apartments on the first floor and the storerooms on the ground floor show the Byzantine influences at work.

The floors of the palace are decorated with marvelous mosaics of the Hellenistic and Roman period which were brought in from Kos. Marble statues that were found in the ancient Odeion of Kos are placed on the north side of the inner courtyard.

Leaving the palace now two sleeping dogs welcomed us instead of the cat. Of course Dora wanted to be in a picture with them. Why not?

Then came Dora's second pirate adventure. First - on our way to the palace - she was afraid of the pirate and was only willing to come up to him with me to throw some coins into his bin. Now she was brave enough to do it alone, and the pirate really appreciated it giving her a deep bow.

The Knights' Hospital was closed with the Archaeological Museum in it, and we couldn't go to the Aquarium either as we couldn't find a parking lot. Instead, we went around the town and took the seaside road to Kalithea.

Near Kalithea you can find several beautiful quiet little bays as well as hot springs with medicinal waters, with a Turkish bath.

On the road you will see a sign "to three beautiful beaches". If you take the time you won't be disappointed to explore them. Here is enchanting Oasis Beach.

Then comes Tassos Beach with Nicolas Beach in the background. A real paradise for rocky beach lovers!

We could have had a dip in these beautiful parts of the sea but we decided to go to Tsampika instead as sandy beaches are much better for small children and their parents too.

And Tsampika is so wonderful! You can enjoy its beach the way it is: there are no big hotels or big buildings to ruin the scenery, just sun beds with parasols and a few taverns for you if you get hungry during the day. A paradise for all sea lovers!

Dora wanted to have real adventure in the sea, making us spin her around over the water. She expressed the wished intensity by numbers: the bigger number she named the bigger throw she wanted. It was quite tiring after a while!

And she always did something new on the beach too, exhibiting special exercises for us to admire. We never had a dull moment!

Playing with the waves was something she never got bored with. And we were glad to see how happy she was in the sea.

Our regular evening exercise was walking in the romantic streets of Lindos. No matter how tired we were by the evening, it was something that we couldn't miss. You don't even need a map, sooner or later you will find yourself on a familiar spot.

There are main streets with all kinds of shops and lots of people, but you can find several quiet little streets as well to enjoy the special atmosphere on your own.

Dora always looked for flowers and cats in the streets, and of course she wanted us to take pictures of her with her big findings. What a pleasure it was for her when she found her two favorite things at one place!

We spent all our next day in Lindos. In the morning we went to see the Acropolis to avoid the big heat and crowds too. It is something you cannot miss if you go to Rhodes!

Dora immensely enjoyed exploring the Acropolis although she is only 4 years old. But parents must be careful with small children as there are very dangerous spots with no bars at all.

We met three cats up in the Acropolis to Dora's biggest joy. Now she also wanted to take pictures of the cats herself. Everybody laughed who saw her with the camera in the cats' face!

The Acropolis is a nearly triangular rock, 166 meters high, wider and shorter in the north section and four levels higher to the south. On the first level there are two very important monuments carved into the rock, an exedra and a trireme done in relief.

In 170 B.C., the Lindians, in order to pay their respects to Agesandros, carved the prow of his trireme into the rock, using its bronze statue as its base. The exedra (platform) was used by the nobles of Lindos as their headquarters. Next to the relief trireme you find the stairs leading up to the second floor.

After the first room in the castle you turn left and pass through the second room and exit before a row of open-air storerooms. The ancient walls of the Acropolis were much lower and did not hide the buildings that were inside them. Here you can also find the ruins of a Roman temple.

As part of the wall is missing, you can have a magnificent view to the sea. To the right, you will see the first level of the Acropolis mounting over the sea.

To the left, there is the wonderful Megali Paralia bay which looks much bigger from here and is still quiet in the morning. Several boats arrive at its small port during the day.

You get to the third level on another stairway, where you find a large Hellenistic stoa with the ruins of the byzantine church of St John. The stoa - which is just being restored - is dated to the 3rd century B.C. and had 42 Doric columns along its facade in U shape as the shape resembled open hands welcoming pilgrims.

The wide staircase leads from here to the Propylaea. It is sometimes called "stairs to heaven" because it does give you the impression that you are mounting into the sky.

At the top, on the fourth level, is the reconstructed Temple of Lindian Athena which was built in the middle of the 4th century on the ruins of the old one. According to an ancient myth, the first temple to be built on this site was the work of Danaos who fleeing from Egypt with his fifty daughters reached Lindos and was given hospitality by the Lindians.

Dora was especially happy here as she found the third cat of the day, right at the top of the Acropolis. She took several pictures of it.

St. Paul's Bay looks really stunning from here as if it were a lake on the top the rocks. According to tradition the harbor took its name from the Apostle Paul who disembarked there during his visit to Lindos to preach the message of Christianity.

Lindos was built by the Dorians at the same time as Kamiros and Ialyssos in the 12th century B.C. At the time of the Trojan war Lindos was the most powerful town in Rhodes sending 9 ships to the war. The village today has many houses from the 16th to the 18th century known as "Captains' houses" with an architecture and decoration unique in Greece.

The spaciousness of the top level and the view inspired Dora to explore some of the inner walls by herself. She was very excited and confident while we were mostly frightened but fortunately she got back safe and sound.

The Acropolis of Lindos is a unique and unforgettable experience which no one should miss when in Rhodes. But it's advisable to visit it in the morning because later it can get very hot and even crowded too. So get up early if you have it in mind.

The walk up to the Acropolis is not long at all so you don't really need donkeys to take you there. I think it's also more human to take your own body up than having the job done by a poor donkey. The donkeys' path is also longer and you are continuously in the sun while the walking path has shady parts as well. Be healthy and fit!

All the afternoon we enjoyed the wonderful bay of Megali Paralia with all its advantages: leeward, friendly, shallow with golden sand and crystal-clear water which is warmer than anywhere else on the island. There are some stony parts closer to the Acropolis but getting over that it is perfect for children too.

We chose the far end of the bay as there were no stones there so Dora could enjoy the sea freely, letting the sea softly rock her in her favorite doggy toy.

You can take magnificent pictures of the sea and the scenery here but reality is even better than your pictures! No picture can show you the three dimensional beauty of a place, but at least they help you remember the beauty as years pass by.

This picture was taken in the early evening when we went to the other side of Lindos by car to take some pictures before the sun set, so this is how you see the Acropolis from the road outside the town.

St. Paul's Bay is probably one of the most romantic places on Earth because many people come here to get married in its small chapel or just renew their marriage.

This picture is quite dark, still it is beautiful with the imposing rock in the background which gives home to the Acropolis. You just cannot be everywhere when it is the best time to take pictures.

In the evening we took our usual walk in Lindos to find the ancient theatre which was once used to entertain 1800 people. Several parts of its wedge-shaped seats and the orchestra have survived as they were carved into the rock.

Stylishly now you find the cultural center of the town here with a nice square for all kinds of festivals. A few days before our arrival there was the Pink Floyd festival here but we were lucky enough to walk into a children's dance festival just by chance.

When we arrived at the square lovely little girls wearing colorful costumes were running around and there was soft music being played too. We found out that the event would only start an hour later so we went to have dinner to the roof top of a nearby restaurant in the meantime.

When we got back the show had already started and Dora just loved it! There were 13 dance teams waiting to perform their program and our daughter wanted to see them all!

She liked the swan dance the best, she told us she would like to dance in a costume like this someday. The atmosphere was so very friendly and it was such a great sight that we couldn't have wished for a better program for the evening although the wind was quite high.

There were not enough seats in the auditorium so we sat on a stone fence and got a really nice view. Dora gave a big applause to each of the teams. In the end she felt like dancing too but she lost her balance so her performance ended in a hilarious fall!

It was a little late when we got back to our studio and we went to bed immediately as the next day had our longest trip in store, which even took a little longer than we had thought. We went to explore the western coast and the southern tip of the island.

We wanted to see the hidden part of Rhodes too, so we were not afraid of taking non-asphalt roads but most of the road between Lardos and Laerma was non-asphalt too, contrary to what our map said, so in the end we had twice as much slow sections as we had planned. From next year on this road will be asphalt too as it is just being made this summer.

We saw beautiful mountains and valleys on our way so the view was well worth the wait. On the picture above you can see the highest mountain of the island, Mount Attavyros (1215 m), on the left there is the charming temple of Agios Isidoros. We also saw another inner village, Emponas.

Our first destination for the day was Kastello which is a nice castle on top of a mountain near Kritinia. There are stairs leading up to the castle so it is quite easy to conquer it. It is definitely a sight you shouldn't miss.

The view is just wonderful, you can see a few small islands opposite Rhodes: Makri on the right, with Alimia and Halki behind it, Strongyli on the left, with Tragoussa in the background. Looking down from the castle the rocky coast is marvelous!

Kastello was built by the Knights of Rhodes at the beginning of the 16th century to protect the west coast of the island. The castle is of a Byzantine and medieval design and inside are the ruins of the Catholic church of St. Paul.

The castle is just being restored but it doesn't really disturb the visitors, and the remains of the main wall are really imposing.

Then we turned south and took the road to Monolithos through the village of Sianna. We could have gone to see Kamiros too (17 km) but it would have been too tiring for our daughter as we had also planned to go to the south tip of the island for the day.

The view is amazing again as the deep blue sea meets the rocky coast, with the 825 meter high Akramytis in the background. There are stairs to the castle again so it's easy to go up. If you are fond of great sunsets, choose the right time to visit this castle.

There is a lovely little church at the peak called Agios Panteleimonas, probably built in the 15th century. Mind your head as the door is very low.

We explored every corner of the castle, admired the view from all sides and were really happy that took the time to come here.

Dora wanted to be completely independent on our way down, we could hardly persuade her to hold our hands. Is every child so wayward?

We took the road leading to the south, slowly descending to the plains neighboring the bay of Apolakkia where we saw nice wheat fields. We stopped to see the pebbly beach here and tasted the almost constant wind on the west coast of Rhodes.

You can see thousands of pictures of Prassonissi still you won't know what it is really like. You just must see it for yourself as the Mediterranean and the Aegean almost meet here while the high wind is making a new hairdo for you. Unbelievable!

Usually the Mediterranean is calmer but as the wind blows just the same, it is a paradise for surfers. There is also a beach for bathers so your family won't be bored while you go surfing the sea here.

The Aegean reaches Prassonissi in combing waves which is just perfect for special ways of surfing. But we also saw a daddy running into the white waves with his two-year-old girl in his lap. It seems you can't start early enough!

On our way back to Lindos we saw the beautiful places of the infinite Gennadi Bay, Kiotari, Lardos Bay and Pefki, but it was most special to arrive in Lindos as we really felt it our home! We still had time to have a dip in its spectacular bay and, of course, we couldn't miss our evening walk either.

The next day we decided to climb the way to Tsampika monastery. What a great decision! The view from the 287 meter high mountain is just breathtaking, everything looked so much different from what we had seen so far!

There were only few people on the beach and they were just tiny dots from up there. We also took pictures with a higher zoom, that's how we were able to find our parasol on the beach, which is shown by a white arrow.

The Tsampika monastery was built in the 16th century. Its feast day is on September 8 and there is a traditional festival.

Behind the monastery you get an unforgettable view to Kolymbia and Afandou Bay. Don't miss it!

You can also see Archangelos Bay and the 512 m high Profitis Ilias to the south. Towards the inner parts of the island you will see Mount Attavyros too.

Be prepared to climb 300 steps from the car park if you want to see this miracle. It is not so tiring though, even our 4-year-old girl could easily make it!

I was lucky enough to see a Greek pope walking up to the monastery. He was one of my best models as he knew exactly when to stop and where to look. Very nice of him!

After visiting the monastery we took the road to Tsampika beach and spent the rest of the day there.

Can you see the monastery on the top of the mountain? It's just a white point and we were really there!

Dora was not really fond of her doggy belt anymore, she mostly wanted to jump around, with our help...

She was the boss too when she invited her father to build the day's sand castle.

She knew exactly what she wanted.

That's when we could swim too.

Playing with the waves was still among her favorite activities.

She was always waiting something new to happen.

She almost forgot to collect pebbles, but remembered just in time.

In fact I decided to help her and I realized that it was a really interesting activity, especially if done in the sea.

When Dora realized that it was our last day at Tsampika, she started to cry and actually couldn't stop it for half an hour and only because she fell asleep in the car.

Then came our last day in Lindos. We got up early with Dora and went for a long walk on the beach to take some pictures when everything was so calm in Lindos.

There was nobody else on the beach at 7 am.

The morning sunlight drew a golden bridge between some boats and us.

Seeing this incredible calmness I was so sorry that I didn't come here to have a swim every day!

It was so incredibly calm and romantic!

The beach was as if it was ours.

And the Acropolis too!

We decided to take a walk in the morning "city" too.

We saw Palace Beach with the small port too.

Just like this small church too!

And this is the festival square in the morning.

And St. Paul's Bay viewed from Lindos.

A picture of calmness.