Kos
About Kos
A pastoral island with lovely beaches and rows of white houses, Kos is smaller than its Dodecanese neighbor, Rhodes, and in some ways more appealing in its simplicity. Bicycles are a common sight. The ancient temple of Aslepios (the god of healing) was constructed to honor Kos's famous son Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine who lived and taught on Kos in the 6th century.
Kos lies in the South Eastern of the Aegean Sea. It is the third largest of the Dodecanese islands (290,29 km2 ) after Rhodes and Karpathos. With a population of about 30.000 inhabitants according to the last sensus, it is a verdant and fertile island and this justifies the ancient saying "If Kos couldn't provide, neither could Egypt".
Main sights
Castle of the Knights of St. John, The Ancient Agora, Altar of Dionysios, Town Museum, Mosque of the Loggia, Roman Odeon.
Its richness in historic finds, its luxuriant vegetation and clear water, its endless sandy beaches, its picturesque mountain communities and its hospitable citizens astonish every visitor. Struck by the island and its people, the poet Irondas (3rd Century B.C.) wrote "Kos the sweet, Kos the serene and well-watered". So returning to his country, a today's visitor cannot stop repeating Dante's verse "I am coming from the place where I want to return".
Kos is a combination of the traditional and the modern. Today's visitors are not interested only in the past, of course. They also care about the present, which can assure them of all the amenities they need and offers them the natural beauty to enjoy ; the sun, the clean sea, the lovely sandy beaches, the panorama.
One can join the colourful, carefree and noisy throng of visitors from all over the world or retire to secluded spots in the mountains or by the sea, at crowded beaches or empty ones. One can live the simple and traditional life of the island, in the company of warm and hospitable locals or follow the modern style of entertainment that Kos can very richly offer.
Charters from almost all European countries land in Kos every week of the summer period.
Olympic Airlines has three every days flights from / to Athens. These flights become four in the summer season.
Big ferryboat liners assure the daily connection of Kos with Piraeus and other Dodecanese Islands (Rhodes, Kalymnos, Leros and Patmos). In the summer season Kos has a connection with Samos, Chios, Lesbos and Thessaloniki by ferryboat once a week.
Daily excursions to the islands Rhodes, Nissyros, Kalymnos - Pserimos, Leros, Patmos, are programmed every day and to Alicarnassos (Bodrum) of the Turkish coast as well.
The New Marina of Kos (2001) welcomes to Kos the yachts and other boats sailing in the waters of Dodecanese and Turkey.