The modern city In the east of the modern city there is a significant portion of ancient Rhodes. This is the ancient harbor - its modern name is Mandraki - with the statue of the deer and the fawn at its entrance. Tradition tells us that this was where the famous Colossus of Rhodes, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, stood. A long mole which protects the harbor has in its middle three old windmills and at its northern end the Fortress of St. Nicholas with the lighthouse. It is from Mandraki that the small vessels which go on daily cruises to Symi, Kalymnos, Pserimos, Patmos and Nissiros set out. Very near the entrance to the ancient harbor is he church of the Annunciation, the Orthodox cathedral, in the Gothic style, with wall-paintings by Fotis Kontoglou. In the whole of this area in front of Mandraki, as elsewhere, the Italians put up various buildings with large spaces between them. Among them is the Governor’s Residence, a building with Gothic arches all round, which stands a little to the north of the Church of the Annunciation. Today it houses the headquarters of the Prefecture. The other building include the Town Hall, the National Theater (opposite the Governor’s Residence), and the law courts, south of the church of the Annunciation. Very close to the Governor’s Residence, in an old Turkish cemetery with the graves of Turkish notables, is the Mosque of Murat Reis. If you follow from here the main road which goes to the west coast, you pass the casino, which is housed in the Grand Hotel. On the northern outskirts of the city is the famous aquarium. A sandy beach to the west of the Yacht Club is one of the most popular on Rhodes. If you follow the Mandraki pier in the direction of the old town, you come to Nea Agora (New Market), a large, polygonal building with a series of arches on its facade and a large open space in the middle. Near hear in a beautiful garden and below the imposing walls and Palace of the Grand Master, are the installations for ‘sons et lumiere’ performances .
© 1996-97