{Title}
 | upgrade services to archaeological sites, monuments and museums announced by the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Pavlos Geroulanos. |
Dodecanese is the name of a group of Greek islands that is located in the southeast of the Aegean Sea just off the Turkish coast. It warrants more than its name of ‘Twelve Islands’, as it contains more than 19 inhabited and around 50 small uninhabited islands. Kos is the green pearl of the Aegean, a historic oasis beneath the Greek sun. Not the largest of the Dodecanese Islands but certainly one of its most fascinating. The capital of the island is Chora Kos. Following their arrival from Jerusalem in the 14th century, the Order of the Knights of Malta built a huge fortified complex in the town. The city’s spacious square is surrounded by numerous buildings plus a museum. There are stone busts and statues of the Roman and Hellenistic eras that offer a good insight into the imaginative culture of a golden age. In the square, a number of steps lead up to the city’s cathedral, the Agia Paraskevi. Not a large structure but extremely modern and well located in the centre of the town. Only four kilometres from the city, high in the Dikeos Mountains is one of the island’s most important sights, the asklepieion, an ancient hospital and sanctuary. It was here that the Greeks worshipped the god of medicine who was later named Askulap by the Romans. Rhodes was one of the most important cities in antiquity and fended off attack due to its impressively tall defensive walls. The mighty-looking fortification was in reality a deception, as it was far from sturdy but its many defensive …