Greece, Rhodes

Rhodes is the principal city of the Greek island of Rhodes, in southeastern Aegean Sea and the capital of the Dodecanese prefecture. Its has a population of approximately 80,000. Rhodes has been famous since antiquity as the site of Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Geography

The city of Rhodes is situated in the north-east tip of the island and forms a triangle from north to south. It is the smallest municipality of the island in terms of land area and the largest in population. It borders with the Aegean Sea in the north, the east and the west and with the municipalities of Ialysos and Kallithea in the south.

History

The island of Rhodes is at a crossroads between Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. This has given the city and the island many different identities, cultures, architectures, and languages over it long history. Its position in major sea routes has given Rhodes a very rich history.

The city of Rhodes was formed in 408 BC, by the cities of Ialyssos, Kamiros and Lindos.Following its founding the city prospered for three centuries during its Golden Age.

In 164 BC, Rhodes became a province of the Roman Empire. It was able to keep its beauty and develop into a leading center of learning for arts and science.

In 1912 Italian troops took the island over with the rest of the Dodecanese Islands, and established an Italian colony known as Isole Italiane del Egeo in 1923.

Demographics

Both city and island population continue to grow contrary to national levels; the city has an official population of 54,000, but the actual population is estimated between 75 and 80,000. This is caused by many permanent residents of the city registering in their place of birth during the census.

Sports

The city after a long dark period of almost 15 years is reviving in many team sports. Football and basketball are the most famous but a wide variety is also in development during the last years with the most noticeable in rugby.

Transportation

Air Service
Diagoras International Airport of Rhodes serves both city and the island. It is situated 14km south west of the city. It is connected to all major Greek airports and Cyprus throughout the year and during tourism season accepts heavy charter traffic.
Bus Service
Bus service within the city is currently inefficient as the local municipal transport company is almost in bankruptcy. Its fleet is old and small, the routes are inconvenient and without specific timetables and finally, lack of serious management over the years undermine a probable future return in reliability and profits.