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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