AEGEAN ISLANDS

DODECANESE Islands

	Their name means the "12 islands of the Aegean sea". They are next to the Turkish coast line and from most of them there is access to Turkey on private ferry boats.

PATMOS

	PATMOS is well known because of the monastery where St. John while in exile wrote the "book of revelation".

RODOS

The town of RHODES is divided into the Old and the New Town. Begin your exploration from the Old Town, which is truly a magical trip to the past. It is a Venetian walled city complete with a Palace of the Knights. It's amazing because it is large and well preserved.The city was founded in 408BC. caprured and destroyed by Cassius in 42BC. After the breakup of the Roman Empire it became part of the Byzantine Empire and the island's commercial success grew as it became a major link between the East and the West. It was attacked and sacked a number of times by different penetrators including the Persians in 620 A.D., the Saracens in 651, the fleet of Caliph Haroun-El-Raschid in 807 and the pirates in the 12th century. The Venetians setup a commercial station in the harbour in 1082. The town was later sold by the Venetian admirals to the order of the knights of Saint John of Jerusalem in 1309. During this period (213 years) the Rhodes Town acquired its aura of massive walls, impregnable gates and deep moats.

The Palace of teh Knights has the perfect feel of a massive gothic castle. This palace was completely destroyed by an explosion in 1865