Monolithos, Greece

"Monólithos" redirects here. For the poetry book of Jack Gilbert, see Monolithos.
Monolithos
Μονόλιθος
Village

The castle of Monolithos

Monolithos (yellow dot) within Attavyros (red) and the Regional Unit of Rhodes
Monolithos

Monolithos (yellow dot) within Attavyros (red) and the Regional Unit of Rhodes

Coordinates: 36°07′53.15″N 27°44′23.5″E / 36.1314306°N 27.739861°ECoordinates: 36°07′53.15″N 27°44′23.5″E / 36.1314306°N 27.739861°E
Country  Greece
Region South Aegean
Regional unit Rhodes
Municipality Rhodes
Municipal unit Attavyros
Population (2001)
 • Total 334
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)

Monolithos (Greek: Μονόλιθος) is a Greek village on the island of Rhodes, South Aegean region, belonging to the municipal unit of Attavyros. It is located 10 km south-east of Apolakkia and 30 km from Prasonisi.

Overview

Outside the village is the Venetian Castle, built on top of a 100m rock. This castle was built in 1480 by the Knights of Saint John to protect the island from attacks. In fact, this castle was never conquered. The Castle of Monolithos is widely ruined today but it offers great views of the sea and the two islets opposite to it. Inside the Castle, there is a small working chapel dedicated to Agios Panteleimon (Saint Pantaleon). Access to the castle is by a staircase cut into the rock. The steps, whilst not particularly steep, are quite slippery simply due to the numbers of visitors wearing them away. On the climb up to the top, you are likely to see hundreds, if not thousands, of small piles of rocks from 3-10 in number. The significance of these little piles is not known.

References

    External links

    Media related to Monolithos at Wikimedia Commons