KOS ISLAND
The city
of Kos, the capital and the chief port of the island, is on the north- east
coast, very near to the shores of Turkey. It is a most attractive city, rebuilt
after the 1933 earthquake. South of the Venetian castle of the Knights of St
John a bridge, crossing over the beautiful Avenue of Palms, links the castle
with the famous plane tree of Hippocrates.
It is said that
this vast plane tree was planted by Hippocrates and that he taught medicine
in its shade.
Kos island of Hippocrates. Whitewashed houses, roads full with hibiscus flowers,
the third largest in the Dodecanese after Rhodes and Karpathos, lying close
to the Asia Minor coast, between Nisyros and Kalymnos. It is mostly a low-lying
island, with a single mountain range on its eastern side. Its population is
in excess of 20.000, most of whom are engaged in the tourist trade, stockbroking,
farming.
The climate is mild most of the year. This fact , together with the long
hours of sunshine and the marvelous beaches have raised the island to the level
of an international tourist center. Kos can be reached direct by air from many
of the capitals of Europe, as well as from Athens and Rhodes.
There are ferries to Kos from the rest of Dodecanese, Piraeus, the Cyclades,
Crete the islands of the northern and eastern Aegean and Kavala.In 460 BC Hippocrates
was born on Kos. After his death the people of Kos built the famous Asklepeion,
in honor of the god Asclepios, which operated as a hospital applying the methods
of therapy taught by Hippocrates.
Asklepeion stands
at a distance of 4 km south-west of Kos town. Because of the slope of the ground
the buildings were put up on a number of levels, with steps between them. On
the first level are the remains of a small temple and a fountain. In the center
of the second level there are remains of the altar of Asklepios and those of
a temple to Asklepios in the lonic order.
To the east are ruins of the temple of Apollo. On the highest level are the
foundations and columns of a Doric temple to Asklepios. This temple was the
most sacred in the Asklepeion.
The island boasts villages well known for their beauty, e.g. Asfendiou (14 km.
from the city), Kardamaina (by the sea) and Pyli. From Pyli the road leads to
Palio Pyli, with remnants of an old castle, and to the fishing village Marmari
and Mastichari. At the southwestern end of the island lies Kefalos, a village
endowed with wonderful sandy beaches and little tavernas. In Kefalos, at the
Palatia site, we can see the ruins of Astypalaia, capital city of the island
in Antiquity. There is a beautiful beach near the town. There are others - marvelous
and often quiet places - all over the island, some of them accessible by bicycle
- a means of transport much used in Kos.
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