Rhodes Town is by no means a small town and should be regarded as a city as it has 41,000 inhabitants, many of whom work in the tourist industry. There are hundreds of hotels, restaurants, shops, nightclubs and tavernas to cater for the hundreds of thousands of visitors it welcomes each year.

The old city of Rodos officially began life in 408 B.C. and brought together the three states of Lindos, Kamiros and Ialissos. It soon had a population of about 80,000. In ancient times a city with such a vast population was regarded as a very important and powerful force within the area. In fear of Rhodes growing strength, Syria attempted a siege on the city to ultimatelly prevent an alliance between Rhodes and Egypt. The attack failed and to celebrate their victory, the Colossus of Rhodes was built. Rhodes went from strength to strength and their maritime activities reached unprecidented peaks, excelling any other state at the time. To press their dominance, the Rhodians introduced the 'International Maritime Law of the Rhodians' which is the basis of today's laws of the sea. It was adopted by Caesar Tiberius as "Codex Rhodiensis". Over the next millenuim, Rhodes was influenced by many nations of the Mediteranian and this has created many of the architectural designs that can still be seen in the city. However, noone had more influence on the city's structure than the Knights of St John.

The Knights ruled Rhodes for 213 years, up to 1522 and built magnificent fortifications, palaces, inns, hospitals and other such grand buildings. Much of these buildings survive and are in full use. A visitor must not mistake the fact that the 'old' town is medieval and thus in ruin, far from it. The city has the air of grandure and must be respected for it. There are wonderful parks and shaded areas that are often missing in other Greek towns. The Palace of the Grand Masters is such an imposing structure that Benito Mussolini (amongst others) felt it worthy enough to make it a main residence. Most of the invasions by foreign countries over the last couple of centuries have added to the interest, rather than taken it away. Roman, Arab, Greek, Turkish, Italian influences can be seen throughout the city.

Legend has it that the Colossus straddled the harbour entrance to Mandraki harbour. This is probably not true, but the small harbour is pretty, with its fortifications and windmills. Go in the evening to take your photographs, as the suns rays mellow on the buff stone walls. Statues of a male and female deer, symbols of the island, adorne the entrance. The two newer harbours are the ports used by the ferries and container ships.

Rhodes beach runs off the entrance to Mandraki harbour, sweeps around the headland and back in front of the hotels. These beaches can suffer from some of the strong northerly winds that blow in the area. Shopping is a major pass time for the tourists and this is the place to pick up any amount of leather and gold artifacts. The quality of some of the goods is excellent, but shop arround. Spend your day trying the many snack bars, rather than going for meals and have your portrait sketched at Odos Orpheos, near the main gate.

Rhodes town is packed with things to do and see and can be recommended for the less mobile. It is situated on the tip of the island and has full access to the rest of the island by taxi, bus or waterbus. Ferries regularly arrive from all major destinations and the Rhodes International Airport is half an hour away.