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DODECANESE
Dodecanese in Greek is pronounced as Dodekanisa, which means twelve islands. These clusters of Greek islands are situated in the southwest coast of Turkey in the Aegean Sea. All these islands have a rich cultural past. In fact, the tiniest inhabited island possesses dozens of Byzantine Churches, medieval castles and houses.
At present the Greek administrative region of the Dodecanese comprise of 163 islands among which 26 are populated. Twelve among these are major Islands and hence justifies its name. Historically the most significant island is Rhodes, which for centuries remained the place from where this region is controlled. The remaining 11 islands are Kos, Astipalea, Kalimnos, Karpathos, Kassos, Kastellorizo, Leros, Nisyros, Patmos, Simi, and Tilos.
Lindos Castle in Rhodes
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Dodecanese is one of those rare groups of island, whose history dates back to prehistoric times. But it was only during the Dorian period that they started to flourish and was able to create an independent entity. During the Archaic Period Rhodes and Kos came up as the key islands in the group. The Persian War of 499 BC interrupted their development as for a brief period of time they came under Persian rule. But in 478 BC, the islands joined the Athenian-dominated Delian League, after the Athenians defeated the Persians.
After the Peloponnesian War ended in 404 BC, these islands thrived and became key economic and cultural hubs of that time. In fact Kos provided accommodation to the most famous school of medicine of that time, which was established by Hippocrates.
These clusters of islands have seen it all. It has undergone changes as one civilization after another reigned over it. Today, it provides tourists enough documents to enrich them about the history of mankind. Actually, tourists from all over the world visit these islands staying in hotels, bed and breakfasts and cheap hostels to go through their treasures at least once in their lifetime. Few apartments for rent are also available.
St. Paul's Bay in Rhodes
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Kos Town on Kos Island
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