Greeks Call Rhodes ‘Island of Roses’

Hundreds of thousands of visitors arrive here every year. The attraction is a large, lush and fertile island, blessed with year-round sunshine and beautiful beaches, although midwinter temperatures hardly allow for lazy days on the sands.

Rhodes is known throughout Greece as the “Island of Roses.” There are also brilliant red and purple hibiscus, great waterfalls of bougainvillea and countless other flowers that lend color and bouquet to the island.

Whether the bronze, 106-foot Colossus of Rhodes actually stood astride the entrance to Rhodes’ Mandraki Harbor in the 4th Century BC still is a matter of conjecture.

Legend holds that the Colossus sank slowly into the sea after an earthquake. Some locals claim that one more high-rise hotel could seal a similar fate for the entire island.

Getting here: Fly TWA, Pan Am or KLM to Athens, all with stops. Olympic Airways will fly you nonstop from New York, and also Athens to Rhodes. The advance-purchase, round-trip fare between Los Angeles and Athens is between $1,010 and $1,110, depending on month and day of week flown. Olympic’s Athens-Rhodes leg takes 50 minutes and costs $84.

How long/how much? Give the town of Rhodes a couple of days and allow another two for forays about the island and for beach time. Athens was recently named the least expensive of major European cities, and this value spills over into other parts of Greece, so hotels are moderate in cost. The food is great and the wine is inexpensive.

A few fast facts: Greek drachmas recently sold at 161 to the dollar, making them worth about .006 cents each. The best time to visit the Greek Isles is from early spring to late fall.

Getting settled in: In general, the high season runs from July 1 until the end of October, with medium season from mid-May until July. Many hotels require half-pension during high season.

Plaza Hotel (mid-town; $51 B&B; double, medium season; $76 half-pension, high season), a large and modern place, is within easy walking distance of the walled Old Town, shops, the harbor and beach. It has the usual pool, sauna, fitness room, bar, restaurant and other such resort necessities.

Bedrooms are contemporary in style, most with balconies facing the sea, city or pool and terrace gardens. The Plaza is very convenient for those wishing to stay afoot during their visit.

Oceanis (Ixia Beach; $71 B&B; double, high season; $90 half-pension) is three miles from town and has recently undergone a major renovation. It, too, is very contemporary, having all of the amenities of the Plaza, including a pool-side bar serving snacks and drinks throughout the day and evening.

Most bedrooms have balconies facing the beach and sea just across the road.

Rodos Bay Hotel (Ixia Beach; $89 double, half-pension, high season; $45 B&B; double, medium season) gets our nod as Rhodes’ best value, a large but warm hotel that in two decades has established a steady clientele of loyal Europeans and Americans.

There’s a huge outdoor pool, plus another enclosed on the 11th floor. All bedrooms have spacious balconies for sunning. The 10th-floor main dining room overlooks the Bay of Rhodes, and an open-air taverna in the garden has marvelous Greek food and evening music for dancing.

Regional food and drink: Greek meals always begin with mezes , a surprising array of appetizers usually taken with a splash of ouzo (an anise-flavored liquor). Your waiter will surely bring you a plate of tzatziki , a heavenly dip of cucumber, garlic and yogurt. Taramosalata , another spread made with red carp roe, bread, garlic and lemon juice, is another favorite. Heartiest of the lot is skorda lia , yet another dip made of almost pure garlic, potatoes and olive oil. This one makes a marvelous topping for fried fish.

Staple main courses include every seafood imaginable, souvlakia (lamb, beef, veal or fish grilled on a skewer) and the world-acclaimed moussaka, a casserole of ground meat and eggplant topped with a bechamel sauce. From these few basics, branch out into the happy adventure of other Greek dishes.

Greece’s retsina wine (flavored with resin) is an acquired taste. It’s the perfect white wine for most Greek food, but numerous aretsina (without the resin) and red wines are available everywhere.

Good local dining: Alexis (26 Socrates St.) must certainly be the town’s best restaurant. Dine inside or beneath a 110-year-old plane tree in the patio, on tender swordfish souvlaki grilled to perfection, Lindos Bay lobster, baked fangri (sea bass) or a variety of wondrous meat souvlakia.

Inside decor at Taverna Fotis (8 Menekleous St.) would do little credit to a bicycle repair shop, but outside beneath another gigantic tree you’ll find tables to enjoy some of the island’s best seafood. Once the almost exclusive venue of locals, Fotis has caught on with visitors for its fine food and moderate prices.

Try the calamari, fangri or perhaps the tastiest of all, barbounia , a red mullet with zillions of small bones but glorious flavor.

Taverna Hippocrates (10 Evripidou St.) seems to be the town meeting place, and waiters serving terrace tables on Hippocrates Square can become a bit manic at times. But the garden is open May to October, and you’ll find a lengthy menu of seafood and other Greek specialties.

On your own: When the religious-military order of the Knights of St. John were driven from Jerusalem by the Turks in the late 13th Century, they went first to Cyprus and then to Rhodes, where they remained until the Turkish invasion of 1522.

Much of the walled Old Town and its buildings bear the architectural stamp of the Knights’ seven “tongues,” or nations, particularly the Provencal Gothic style. Be sure to visit the 14th-Century Palace of the Grand Masters, its interior given rather fanciful theatrical interiors by 20th-Century Italian occupiers, and the 15th-Century Knights Hospital, which now houses a fine archeological museum containing relics and statuary dating from the 6th Century BC.

A visit to the village of Lindos (28 miles south) is a must for its lovely beach, hilltop acropolis and massive fortress. Lindos dates from prehistoric times, and it was a major stronghold of the Knights of St. John in defending the island.

Back in Rhodes, stop at a cafe under the arcades fronting Mandraki Harbor for an afternoon or evening drink. The scene can become as animated as Venice’s St. Marks Square at midsummer, so plan on a table wait.

For more information: Call the Greek National Tourist Office at (213) 626-6696, or write (611 West 6th St., Suite 2198, Los Angeles 90017) for a brochure on Rhodes with city map and hotel listing, another on Athens, a map of Greece and general brochure on travel within the country. Ask for the Rhodes package.