DOESN'T HAVE TENSIONS OF CYPRUS
By Bob Van Leer

  (RHODES, Greece, May 29, 1996) - Rhodes is the largest of the Dodecanese islands, in the Aegean Sea, and only about six miles from Turkey, but without the tensions that mar Cyprus. The population of 78,000 on the island is more than 90% Greek and no one disputes this island is part of Greece. It is considerably smaller than Cyprus and time has passed it by as being any influence in the area.

  One of the history pamphlets I have said Rhodes golden era lasted from the 5th to the 3rd century B. C. Today it is a tourist destination, and doing very well at that. Rhodes, at the extreme northern tip of the island, has a population of about 38,000. We took a cab ride about half way down the island (about 50 kilometers) to the city of Lindos, which is strictly for tourists. There are a lot of olive groves, but our cab driver said the olive business is not as good as it used to be. There were a number of orange groves also.

  Along the way old men tend bands of sheep and goats. Rhodes was famed in antiquity for the Colossus of Rhodes, a great bronze statue that was one of the wonders of the ancient world. The statue was reputed to be 33 meters high, and stood astride the entrance to the harbor with boats passing under the spread legs. The statue also held a torch above its head to guide boats to the harbor at night. The statue was reported to have toppled in an earthquake and stayed on the bottom for nine centuries before being sold to the Arabs for scrap.

  The Maltese Ritters settled on the island in the 12th century and built an impressive medieval city dominated by a fortress. I was impressed by the remarkably preserved condition of the fortress until I found it was rebuilt in 1939. Italians took over the island in 1912 but the island was united with Greece in 1948. At 5:30 p.m. we sailed for the Greek island of Kythera, 258 nautical miles away.