Largest of the DODECANESE islands (1399 km2. 540 sq miles) in the eastern Aegean and the most developed of the Greek island tourist centres. Rhodes was settled in about 1400 BC and became a successful maritime trading nation, forming the first rules of the sea, the Rhodian Laws, in about 900 B&7. In 305 BC, after beating off an attack by Macedonians, the islanders erected one of the seven wonders of the world, a 32 m (105 ft) high statue of the sun god Helios at Rhodes harbor. The Colossus of Rhodes, as it was called, crumbled in an earthquake in 224 BC.
The Knights of St. John, a multinational European military society who had their headquarters in Rhodes from the 13th to the 16th century, made the island a place of pilgrimage before moving to Malta. The Italianate Grand Master's Palace and the Gothic Governor's Palace still stand near the Street of the Knights. Today Rhodes has many modern hotels. It produces wine, and a festival takes place at Rodini between July and September.
Locals hypothesize that the legacy of Italian blood and culture in Cologne, colonized by the Romans more than 1500 years ago, makes the people more jovial and lighthearted. Cologne is the largest city on the Rhine.
Kolsch is not only the dialect spoken here but, also the name of their own top-fermented beer. There are more than 4,000 pubs, restaurant's and brewery taverns in Cologne.
Unlike many of the world's large cities, Cologne, with a population of over a million, gets better every day, there are more things to do and see, more new and innovative buildings... more
Travel is an opportunity to learn, whether geography, languages, history or other subjects.
Cologne is situated on the beautiful Rhine River.