Guidebook for Rodos

It is a park which is identified as one of the oldest in the whole world. It is not just an idyllic landscape that gives a vivid life to the island of Rhodes and a source of oxygen within the city, but also a place of great historical importance with a long history in the culture of the island. Rodini Park consists of a vast garden of wild and majestic natural beauty with running water reaching lakes and waterfalls, bridges, pavilions and the beautiful presence of peacocks, deer, ducks and other graceful small sized animals. The appearance of the park dates back to around the 3rd-4th century, i.e. at the same time with the founding of the city of Rhodes, where parts of the ancient necropolis just above the park testify and confirm its existence. In the ancient necropolis, there are several tombs carved in rock and a part of a family tomb dedicated to Ptolemy the 1st. Moreover at Rodini, one encounters the Holy Nymphaea, cavernous places of worship and ancient underground water supply tunnels built or carved in the rocks which were used for the water distribution of the ancient city ofRhodes. A historic reference of great importance about the Rodini Park is the tradition that says that around 330 BC a school of rhetoric was founded there by Aeschines, and important figures passed by such as Cicero and Julius Caesar and later Apollonius of Rhodes founded his own school of rhetoric. Furthermore, the park is a model of Hellenistic architecture in its current form which has been maintained. In addition to the current park, there is a water tower, whose construction date is not known, but was used to supply water to the city of Rhodes until the Turkish occupation. During the Italian and Turkish occupation, the park of Rodini was preserved as a recreational park and during the Italian occupation the villa of the Great Magister was housed there. The RodiniParkis rich in flora, with perennial plane trees, oleanders, high-sky pines, springs with water gushing through the rocks. It offers recreation areas, playgrounds, park benches for relaxation and provides its guests the unique feeling of peace, tranquility and relaxation, giving them the impression that they are in an earthly paradise. Definitely worth a visit by everyone, Rhodians and not, to remember why our place holds one of the leading positions in the global map of beauty!