Travelogue Greece - Cos and Rhodos ( 1 / 2)
I knew Greece and the classical archaeological sites from former trips already. When I decided to go to Greece once again in 2005, I was curious about the Dodecanes and booked a trip to Cos.The island is a very good destination for people who wish to get away from it all, and even today, there are still some beaches on this island where tourists are quite undisturbed provided they do not take offence at the numerous military facilities. A very attractive possibility to learn more about this island and its very attractive landscape consists in renting a bike from one of the numerous bike rentals. The compulsory helmet-wearing is a mere theoretical requirement and it is recommended not to underestimate the smaller vehicles which are mostly heavily tuned. For my part, however, I found an even more attractive lift-share and met a Protestant pastor, who had a rented car and was friendly enough to give me a lift. At a mountain village – unfortunately I do not remember its name – however, she experienced a little cultural shock. In a very beautiful Byzantine church, the Pope who was happy about our interest in icons, showed us around. He spoke perfect English and finally my companion proudly mentioned that they were colleagues in some way. The Pope looked at her in a terrified way and answered: "Women can never be priests because they are impure once a month".
I smiled inwardly when I looked at my companion's face and diplomatically turned the conversation to the presentation of Christ in iconology. On our way back, of course, I had to listen to her comments on the local church.
Cos City somehow appears like an enormous open-air museum. In the ancient world, the city played an important role. The most famous inhabitant of the island was certainly Hippocrates whose oath is even today sworn by physicians all over the world. Hippocrates founded a medical school on Cos, and the Sanctuary of Aesculap, the Asklepios, which is located some kilometres outside the city, is the oldest hospital in Europe.
In Cos City there still is a plane, which is about 1,800 years old, where – according to ancient legend – Hippocrates is said to have taught. This is, of course, very improbable, even though it is a nice story. In the city, you can see ancient remains from the first century A.D., among which there is a very well-preserved Roman villa with a thermal bath. Under the Romans, Cos enjoyed important privileges such as tax reductions. These privileges were granted thanks to another famous physician who came from Cos: Q. Stertinius Xenophon. The latter was very successful even in terms of finance. When the Emperor Claudius offered him a post as his personal physician with an annual salary of 300,000 sesterces, Xenophon refused the post; and he only accepted it when Claudius granted special privileges to Cos.
The middle part of the island is the most scenic part of the island. The Cardamena beach is, however, largely dominated by package tourists. The tourists are quite densely packed on the narrow sand beach and pubs, cafés and taverns are lined up behind. The coastal area in the west, the Cap Helona, is a lot more attractive. There you can find sand or gravel beaches that get more solitary the farther you go west.
The most beautiful beach of the entire island is at Cefalos bay. Maybe it is due to its great distance from Cos City that this beach is not so over-crowded. This is most astonishing, however, because here you can find the best sand beach of the island.
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