On Old Italian Buildings and Stuff

This is not so much a regular post as - in response to a few requests - an attempt to provide some info about a few places which the visitor to Rhodes may like to go and see...

I've made reference a number of times to the beautiful drive from Kolymbia on the East coast, up past Epta Piges and over to Fanes on the West, following the road up through the forests, mountains and plains which winds through such villages as Arhipoli, Eleoussa and Dimylia, before hitting the East coast road just South East of Soroni. Taking a left here brings you immediately to Fanes and then heads down towards Ancient Kamiros and Kamiros Skala, from where the smaller ferries go regularly to Halki.

Both Arhipoli and Eleoussa have their own peculiar charms. Arhipoli has a tiny but very appealing centre, where a bar and a taverna sit beside each-other just as the road turns ever so slightly and heads downhill, out of the village and on towards Eleoussa.

At Eleoussa there's actually a one-way system through the village, owing to the narrowness of the road in places, plus the tightness of some of the corners, which makes it difficult for some vehicles to get around them. Much of the village is actually in a pine wood and at certain times of the year the local authority sends men to gather up the pine needles that all but bury the road which passes between the trees. It's due to the huge trees that this village can still be a pleasant place to stroll around during the oppressive heat of the high season in July and August.

What's really interesting here is the old Italian buildings, still at present largely derelict, but boasting some superb architectural features. Built between the two world wars originally as a sanatorium, they now stand eerily vacant, except for one which, oddly enough for such a small village up in the mountains, contains a modest gymnasium, the running machines of which can be seen through the windows as one passes. I should say that opinions do vary as to the purpose of these buildings. One authority gives evidence that they were in fact intended as an agricultural colony. Either way, they're worth inspecting.

Some good web pages which give a modest amount of information, but some excellent photos of Eleoussa are:

http://www.greeka.com/dodecanese/rhodes/rhodes-villages/rhodes-eleoussa.htm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8518461@N07/3582513946/
http://www.magicphotoworld.com/foto/photos/85/357/eleoussa
http://www.rhodesguide.com/travelguide/rhodes_villages_resorts.php?ssp=23

Italian aqueduct photo:
The Aqueduct referred to above is a very interesting and cooling place to be, as it's connected to a circular pool, with a modest fountain in the middle, which offers a little respite on a hot day. There are fish in the water, called Gizani, a freshwater species endemic to Rhodes and nowadays endangered. This web site is quite interesting if you want to know more:
http://www.life-gizani.gr/pages/en/ken/ken_ageleousa.htm

A not particularly professional-looking web site, which nevertheless offers some useful info and photos of Eleoussa is:
http://www.rhodos-travel.com/eleousae.htm
The old (14th century) Agios Nikolaos Foundouki church is name after hazel nuts (foundouki) since the hillside was once said to have been covered in hazelnut trees.

Of course, the most famous old Italian building isn't one of the imposing civic edifices which grace Mandraki in Rhodes Town, but rather the so-called "Mussolini's House" at Profitis Ilias. A really good video of a look round this most fascinating place, plus some info about it, is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92AQw6LSkaE

 

A view across to Turkey from the upstairs inside the house It's hard, though, to make out the Turkish coast in this one, as it was a heat-hazy day. There are also some fascinating hidden stairways easily explored here, which were built to enable servants to get from the kitchen downstairs (which is huge) up to the stately lounge where this picture was taken, plus to the bedrooms so that residents could be served in luxury. The balustrade is rotting and very unsafe. Don't let your kids run around this place without supervision.

It's found by walking steeply up through the pines from the amazing Elafos (Deer, well stag to be precise, as the other building right next to it is the Elafina - doe) Hotel, which looks like it's been airlifted from Bavaria and dropped on to a Rhodean mountainside among the trees. Not only has it a wonderfully quirky Alpine feel to the architecture, but the views across the sea from the hotel's bar and restaurant towards Symi and Turkey are spectacular. Check it out here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wMynUvVG1Y&feature=related

 

Here's me and the beloved at the Elafos Hotel a couple of Octobers ago

Hope you find some of that lot of interest and perhaps useful for your next visit.

Some more info and photos at Eloussa can be found in this post too.