Rhodes (Island) Local Customs

The Colossus of Rhodes was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, however, it did not bestride the harbour entrance as is commonly pictured. It's 20 tons of bronze would have sunk immediately into the sea bed. The statue of Rhodes' protector, sun-god, Helios, 32 metres (105 ft.) high, probably stood near the Palace of the Grand Masters, site of an ancient sanctuary.
Sculptor Charles of Lindos took 12 years to cast the Colossus. Extracting bronze from battle machines and tools left after Demetrius's abortive siege, he finished the work around 290BC. He commited suicide after discovering a mistake in his calculations. An assistant tried to correct it but to no avail. During an earthquake around 225BC, the Colossus cracked at the knees and crashed to the ground.
The Delphic oracle warned Rhodians not to restore the statue, and the crumpled bronze lay where it had fallen for nearly 900 years. Arab pirates shipped it to the Lebanon, selling it as scrap to Jewish merchants, who needed 90 Camels to carry it away.

A Stifado is a meaty stew with beef and baby shallot onions. The best part is the thick sauce which is made slightly sweet by the onions.
serves 4-6)

You will need

1Kg lean beef - cubed.
500g baby shallot onions - peeled.
1 large onions chopped.
1 large juicy tomatoes - chopped.
2 table-spoons of tomato paste.
1/2 nutmeg crushed (put it into a bag and hit it with a rolling pin!)
1 cinnamon stick and 3 cloves.
4 garlic cloves - finely chopped.
1 vegetable stock cube (optional)
Rosemary sprig or two.
1 small wineglass of extra-virgin olive oil.
1 glass of red or white wine.
2 table-spoons of vinegar.
Fresh coarsely ground black pepper and salt.

1. Add the beef to large frying pan or casserole dish. Place on a high heat, stirring occasionally until meat is sealed.

2. Add the olive oil, chopped onions and garlic. Continue cooking on a high heat, until the onions have turned soft. (About 5mins)

3. Add wine and vinegar, leave on heat but covered for another 5 mins.

4. Next nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves, rosemary, stock cube and a good pinch of black pepper. Keep stirring while the ingredients blend, on a moderate heat. Add salt to taste.

5. Keep heating while adding the chopped tomatoes and tomato paste.

6. Turn out into a casserole dish (Terracota), with lid. Add 1 litre of hot water so as to cover the meat. Cook in oven until the meat is nearly cooked - about one hour.

7. While waiting, peel the baby shallot onions, wash them and shallow fry them in a little olive oil, until soft, not letting them burn.

8. Add the shallots (but not the oil) to the simmering meat and leave in the oven until the meat is thoroughly cooked (soft and tender) - at least another hour - add water if needed (don't let it dry out), so that you end up with a rich thick sauce.

Good food and drink certainly contribute to Your enjoyment of a holiday on Rhodes, Rhodian food is a combination of Greek imagination and European and Middle Eastern taste.
restaurants serve international as well as Greek cuisine, There are also many Indian and Chinese restaraunts.

Mythos beer was launched in Greece in 1997 and has gone from strength to strength. Mythos is produced from specially selected varieties of barley and hops, it is a lager with a rich head, blonde colour and a pleasant refreshing taste.

2 more images

Will you be able to celebrate Greek Orthodox Easter in Greece on your trip?

If you're lucky enough to be traveling in Greece during the Greek Orthodox Easter weekend, you'll have an opportunity to experience all of the rich pageantry and deep religious devotion expressed by the Greeks at Eastertime

Here are enough Greek Easter dates to keep the most avid advance planner happy, from 2008 to 2023.
Every few years, "Western" (Catholic and Protestant) Easter and Greek Orthodox Easter coincide; these years are indicated by (same) following the date.

2008 - Easter Sunday - April 27th
2009 - Easter Sunday - April 19th
2010 - Easter Sunday - April 4th (same)
2011 - Easter Sunday - April 24th (same)
2012 - Easter Sunday - April 15th
2013 - Easter Sunday - May 5th
2014 - Easter Sunday - April 20th (same)
2015 - Easter Sunday - April 12th
2016 - Easter Sunday - May 1st
2017 - Easter Sunday - April 16th (same)
2018 - Easter Sunday - April 8th
2019 - Easter Sunday - April 28th
2020 - Easter Sunday - April 19th
2021 - Easter Sunday - May 2nd
2022 - Easter Sunday - April 24th
2023 - Easter Sunday - April 16th

In all the following, "e" is read as in "egg" and "th" is read as in "this". The emphasis in pronunciation falls on the syllable which is in underlined script

ena = one

thio = two

tria = three

tessera = four

pente = five

eksi = six

epta or efta = seven

okto = eight

ennia = nine

theka = ten

entheka = eleven

thotheka = twelve

theka-tria = thirteen

theka-tessera = 14

theka-pente = 15

theka-eksi = 16

theka-epta = 17

theka-okto = 18

theka-ennia = 19

eikossi = 20

eikossi-ena = 21
trianta = 30

ssaranta = 40

peninta = 50

eksinta = 60

evthominta = 70

ogthonta = 80

eneninta = 90

ekato = 100

ekaton theka pente = 115

ekaton peninta tria = 153

thiakossia = 200

triakossia = 300

tetrakossia = 400

pentakossia = 500

eksakossia = 600

eptakossia = 700

oktakossia = 800

eniakossia = 900

hilia = 1000

ena ekatomirio = one million

ena thisekatomirio = one billion


Learn the colours in Greek


Greek Colours

aspro, lefko = white

mavro = black

kokkino = red

mple = blue

kitrino = yellow

prassino = green

kafe = brown

mov = purple

galazio = light blue


Countries

Alvania = Albania

Ameriki = USA

Anglia = England

Finlanthia = Finland

Gallia = France

Iaponia = Japan

Ispania = Spain

Italia = Italy

Kanathas = Canada

Kina = China

Norviyia = Norway

Ollanthia = Holland

Polonia = Polland

Rossia = Russia

Souithia = Sweden

Thania = Denmark

Tourkia = Turkey

Velyio = Belgium

Voulgaria = Bulgaria

Yermania = Germany

Greeks are known as champion gesture users in the Mediterranean. Their hands, bodies and faces are rarely still and it sometimes seems possible to get the gist of a conversation by watching it from 50 meters away.

Instead of shaking heads from side to side as we do, they have another indescribable way of saying "No". This is done by raising the entire head in a backwards movement and clicking the tongue. Sometimes these movements are too subtle and quick, and you can't be too sure that he/she's answered at all. You can repeat the question again and again, and find he/she's been saying "No" from the very beginning.

"Yes"
A slow down movement of the head to one side, slightly closing the eyes as the head is lowered.

"Come here"
This gesture is indicated by the wawing of the hand, a kind of pawing of the air with the fingers and the palm downwards, that looks to the non-Greek as though he/she is either waving good-bye, or telling you to move back a few steps.
This can be confusing, because the further you move back, the more frantic the gesture becomes.

"I want to tell you something"
This gesture is done by touching or patting the lower lip with the index finger, and can easily be misunderstood, as it looks as if you are being told to be quiet. This gesture is often performed immediately after the "Come here" gesture - and put together they simply mean "Come here, I want to tell you something".

"What do you want / what do you mean?"
With a quizzical expression in his/her eyes, the Greek will shake his/her head from side to side a few times. This normally means that he/she either hasn't understood what you've asked, and is asking you to repeat it, or he/she is asking you what you want.

"Thank you very much my friend"
The "Yes" gesture is followed by putting the right hand to the heart. Standing in front of the person, the gesture is of course followed by a verbal statement. But the gesture can also be performed at some distance.

There was a time when it seemed like the only beer you could drink in Greece was the Dutch Amstel - so much so that on one memorable holiday a friend of ours would leave a trail of Amstel empies all round our apartment complex and we would be able to find him by following the trails...!

So it was great to be able to try a genuine Greek (with British help!) beer that has now muscled its way into 2nd place in the Greek market behind - you guessed it - Amstel!

It's a nice drop, being light and easy to drink with a refreshing and sharp, almost Pilsner-like taste. 5% abv too! :-)

Check it out, it's only been around since 1997 - but it looks like it's here to stay!