The lovely village of Lindos is one of the most attractive and most beautiful villages of Rhodes, located south of the capital. It is dominated by a magnificent and imposing ancient acropolis, overlooking the picturesque bay, which can be reached by donkey ride or walking up the beautiful hill slopes.
The village is built amphitheatrically and consists of whitewashed houses with pebble paved courtyards, narrow alleys and buildings influenced by Byzantine, medieval, Arab and Rhodian architecture.
Apart from the beautiful acropolis, one of the main attractions of Lindos is the old theatre of the town, carved on a rock, as well as the Doric sanctuary of Athena Lindia which are also worth seeing. Various accommodations of all categories, as well as taverns, cafes and romantic bars, can be found in the enchanting Lindos.
The archaeological site of Lindos is one of the most important and most visited site in Rhodes. it includes:
Theatre: Located on the southwest side of the hill, below the Temple of Athena, the circular orchestra and the auditorium for the spectators were hollowed out of the side of the hill. The proedries, officials’ honorary seats around the orchestra, still stand proud. The auditorium has19 rows of seats below the diazoma and 7 above it. The first three rows were also intended for officials and the low walls at on their sides, separated them from the auditorium staircases. Only five of the nine cunei have survived. The theatre held 1.800 spectators.
Four-portico building: There are remains of a four-sided building in the extension of the skene of the Theatre. On the inside columns, on all four sides, supported a pitched roof and surrounded an open-air courtyard. The entrance on the northwest side had a porch (row of columns), which carried an architrave. The building held 1.500-1.700 spectators and was intended for religious ceremonies. At a later period the place was occupied successively by three Christian churches.
Boukopion: At Vigli, northeast of the Acropolis, was the Boukopion, a sacrificial place, as the name implies. 38 inscriptions on the rocks around, identify the site. A naiskos built of small field stones with a temple, pronaos and kind of vestibule, contained the votive offerings (clay and bronze figurines chiefly of oxen) to a deity, at present unidentified (10th-9thc. BC).
The ancient Lindos cemeteries where spread over the surrounding district, with the most two important, funerary monuments being: “The Tomb of Kleoboulos”: This has no connection with the tyrant of Lindos, but was the tomb of a wealthy family. It is a circular structure with carefully built masonry and a vaulted roof. The doorway has a cornice, decorated with palmettes. On the inside, a bed, hewn out of the rock, was a kind of sarcophagus and had a cover, which has not survived (2nd-1stc. BC). Traces of wall-painting and the name “Ayios Aimilianos” testify to its conversion into a Christian church, at a later period.
The Archokrateion: In the locality of Kampana at Krana, on the west hill of the Acropolis, there is a rock-cut tomb. The exterior facade has two stories; half-columns on the ground floor, supporting an architrave with metopes and triglyphs, and on the upper floor pillars alternate with blind openings. On the first floor façade, funerary altars were erected with the names of the dead inscribed on their bases. On the inside, a passage led to a place for burial rituals. A total of 19 graves are cut into this chamber walls. On the sides of the hall, pillars alternate with plaster panels. Its modern name of “Frangokklesia” suggests that it was used as a church during the Knights’ period.
The Naiskos of the Taxiarch Michael: Stratelates below the village square; there is a shallow niche with a post-Byzantine representation of the Archangel Michael Psychopompos. The traces of earlier frescos date it to the Byzantine period.
One of the best possible way to visit Lindos is by organized tour. You will meet new friends, fellow tourists from different countries but you will also have possibility to hear stories from guide that will accompany on the tour. One of the best tour agencies in Greece is Kariba Travel, that is offering numerous tours around Rhodes. One of their best selling tours is Lindos tour where you will be able to see this gem of Greece. Kariba travel is one of the longest established Travel agencies in Rhodes and it is operating from 1993, offering a great varriety of tours and services wheter you travel as a group or individual,
