travel . a holiday on ancient Rhodes . by Gordon Cooper . Rhodes , as far as I am concerned , is the perfect holiday island : it has wonderful beaches and scenery , lush vegetation , a number of archaeological and historic remains and good hotels . it is full of that usually rather overvaunted quality character . recently , I flew out by B.E.A comet 4B , now operating on a direct London-Athens service via Geneva . this route over the Alps , Florence , Brindisi , the Adriatic , Corfu and the Gulf of Corinth is rich in its rewards , and the service was , as usual , impeccable on this swift , smooth airliner . the tourist return fare is &amp;pound;100 16 s ( day ) , &amp;pound;84 12 s ( night ) , and the five-hour day flight links up at Athens with an Olympic airways &apos; schedule , taking just over an hour to Rhodes ( through fare from London , &amp;pound;94 10 s to &amp;pound;108 ) . an alternative route is by sea from Piraeus , taking twenty-two hours . the approach to Rhodes by day is perfect . it is , according to legend , the island which rose in beauty from the foam , promised to Apollo by Zeus after he had divided the world amongst the gods , and overlooked the sun lord . Apollo named the island bride of the sun . certainly the sun has blessed it . the seven springs , which feed Rhodes from the central mountains , have made it a garden of olive , lemon and orange groves , mulberry , oleander , pine and the slim pure cypress . hibiscus and wistaria glow against white walls ; the grassland is carpeted with wild flowers of every description and poppies drip blood red where Rhodians once met by ancient temple or market place . after the original settlers came the Phoenicians , followed at varying intervals and amongst others by the Dorians , the Romans , the Byzantines , the crusaders , the Turks , and the Italians . Rhodes , capital of the Dodecanese , was finally reunited with Greece fourteen years ago , but the marks of 3,500 years of passing civilisations remain to enchant the visitor . the city of Rhodes itself is a gem . huge medieval ramparts rise from the edge of one of her two harbours to enclose the old town , including the Castello , the magnificent palace of the Grand Masters of the knights of St John - later the knights of Malta - who ruled the island for 216 years . here , for the first time , Son et Lumi&amp;egrave;re performances are being held this year . the Street of the Knights , rising steeply up to the Castello , is a medieval painting brought to life . nearby , the Museum of Rhodes is housed in a lovely fifteenth-century building . you should walk round the ramparts of the old city , too , with superb views at each turn , and allow time to wander in the old commercial quarter , with its oriental influence , its minarets and clutter of wares , and the buzz of activity which increases proportionately as the day ends . outside the ramparts the spacious modern city , largely in Venetian-Gothic style , owes much to Italian occupation . above Rhodes , with glorious views in every direction , you should visit the Acropolis , with remains of the Temple of Apollo and the stadium and the completely restored theatre at its feet . though Rhodes was founded in 408 B.C , three other cities had been thriving already 1,000 years , reaching their peak from 660 B.C . of these , Lindos , about 35 miles south of Rhodes , was the most important , with a population of some 100,000 . to-day , it is a stark white village of 750 inhabitants , clustered at the southern end of a beautiful bay and overlooked by the medieval fortress built by the knights of St John , in turn enclosing the remains of the Doric temple of Athena Lindia , on the Acropolis . this is reached on foot or by donkey , and from the top there are breath-taking views over this dramatic coastline , including the tiny natural harbour where St Paul is said to have landed . the village itself is fascinating to explore and has an early Byzantine church , its interior lavishly covered with later frescoes . on the opposite coast , about 20 miles south-west of Rhodes , the reconstructed ruins of Kamiros have one of the most perfect situations of any archaeological remains I know . here , on a steep hillside , amongst pines and clumps of wild rose , you can walk up the main street of ancient Kamiros between the low ruins of shops and villas to the high plateau topped by six columns , all that remain of the ancient Stoa . behind you , the coastal hills plunge to the incredibly blue sea , backed by the Turkish mountains . of the third ancient city , Ialyssos , about 10 miles south-west of Rhodes , little that is visible remains . but its former Acropolis , 800-ft Mount Philerimos , whose summit is reached by an Alpine-like series of hairpin bends , is topped by the restored medieval church built , partially over Byzantine remains , by the knights of St John . before the church entrance are the ruins of the Temple of Athena . once again the views on all sides , framed between cypress trees , are lovely beyond description . then there is the valley of the butterflies , about 15 miles south of Rhodes , so-called because of the clouds of butterflies which populate its wild scenery during the summer . organised excursions are arranged to all these centres , or if you prefer to wander alone , you can hire a car , motor scooter or use local bus services . a weekly steamer service will also take you over to Turkey , returning the same day . Rhodes itself offers a good and growing selection of hotel accommodation - including the Hotel des Roses ( luxury ) , the Belvedere ( 1st class B ) , both with private beaches , and the Pindos ( 2nd class ) . a new 1st-class hotel , the Hibiscus , with private beach , opens this summer . most interesting of the hotel developments , however , is the Miramare-Beach hotel , recently taken over by Swiss management . about three miles out of town , it is a private paradise situated on the curve of a broad bay , looking out to the Turkish coast , 18 miles away . accommodation is in self-contained bungalow units with private toilet and shower or bath , each with its own sun terrace from some of which you can step straight down on to the extensive private beach . full pension rates range from &amp;pound;3 a day , including the hotel &apos;s many facilities , such as swimming-pool , miniature golf , dancing , tennis and transport into town . the perfect time to visit the island is in spring or autumn . summer can be very hot , and intermittent rainy spells usually occur any time between November and late February . Sabena Caravelles to Greece . early in April , Sabena Belgian world airlines brought their Caravelle 6&apos;s into service on the Brussels-Athens run , via Vienna or Frankfurt . this links with the company &apos;s Caravelle schedules London-Brussels and onwards from Athens to various points in the middle east . as usual , I found the Caravelle extremely comfortable and the flight virtually noiseless . the triangular windows offer a particularly fine view . good hotels in Athens are the Grande Bretagne ( de luxe ) , on the main square , the Ambassadeurs ( A ) , and the Alice ( B ) . the King George 2 ( de luxe ) , next door to the Grande Bretagne , should also be mentioned for its fine art gallery - a private collection covering Greek art of the nineteenth century and including some delightful works . travel . Minorca . by Gordon Cooper . Minorca , second largest of the Balearic Islands , is also their Cinderella . while this white and blue Island - so called because of the remarkable blue of the Mediterranean sea and sky broken by the brilliant white of the houses - may not offer much in the way of organised entertainments , it has considerable appeal for those prepared to make their own discoveries . not least , it still retains an unspoilt atmosphere . the island is not difficult to reach , for there are air links between it and Barcelona and Palma , while there are thrice weekly sailings during the summer months between Barcelona and Port Mahon , as well as sea communications with Palma and Ibiza . it is even possible to make a long day-excursion to Minorca from Palma , travelling both ways by the night steamer . in Mahon there is the first-class Hotel Mahon , and there is simple hotel accommodation available at Alcaufer Creek ( Hotel Xuroy ) , Fornells ( Fonda Burdo ) and near Ciudadela ( Hotel Bahia ) . internal communications are by bus and taxi . there is a tourist information office in Mahon , and Horizon holidays ( 17 , Hanover Street , W.1 ) offer inclusive travel arrangements . as every schoolboy knows , Minorca was a British possession during most of the eighteenth century , for it was vital to our naval operations in the Mediterranean . it was the scene , too , of that scandalous episode in our history : the events which led to the shooting of Admiral Byng . you can still visit the golden Farm , close to Mahon , which was the temporary home of Nelson and Lady Hamilton in 1798 . our occupation , however , is not marked as in some other lands by a passion for cricket , but in reminders of our habits , such as the sash windows to be seen in many houses and the names given to various articles in constant use which indicate a survival of the English language . among table accessories the following indicate their origin : kitil ( kettle ) ; botil ( bottle ) ; mok ( mug ) ; saydbord ( sideboard ) ; and tibord ( tea-tray ) . barracks are still called beriks , a haversack is aversack , and a naval guard is midzamen ( midshipman ) . the inquiring visitor will discover many more of these curious survivals in language . at Villa Carlos , known in the eighteenth century as Georgetown , the architecture and planning all belong to Portsmouth , with even , to-day , a George Street , a Stuart Street , and even a Victory Street . one of the many forts we built at the entrance to the harbour preserves the name of Marlborough , while in the large square , once used for ceremonial parades , I watched Spanish soldiers playing football and called up a vision of serried lines of redcoats , resplendent in their pipe-clayed accoutrements and thickly-powdered pigtails , of Highlanders in their curious blend of barbaric and formal uniforms , and of the tall Hessians in blue and gold braid ( Eric Whelpton ) . incidentally , on public holidays the girls dance a local version of the highland fling and wear on these occasions a kind of kilt with a tartan pattern . in addition to this historical appeal , there is also considerable archaeological interest , for the island is dotted with the work of prehistoric man , even though much of this record in stone is hard to read . the most interesting are the megalithic monuments called talayots ; tower-like structures of unmortared blocks of stone which bear a certain resemblance to the nuraghe of Sardinia , but are not actually linked in any way . there are also the altar-like taulas and the boat-shaped navetas , all offering appeal to those with historical imagination . why should these relics be unique of their kind ? they certainly provide a mystery for us to-day . Ciudadela , the only other town of size , is some 30 miles distant from Mahon , and lies on the north-western portion of Minorca . prior to the British occupation , it was the capital of the island , and it still retains some interesting buildings , including a number of palaces . generally rather sleepy , it comes to life on St John &apos;s day ( June 24 ) , when there is a parade of mounted men in period dress , jousting , and , most exciting of all , the horsemen urging their steeds up staircases into the living-rooms of the people , who pelt them with nuts and lighted fireworks . the hinterland of Minorca is flat , except for Monte Toro ( 1,150 ft ) , a conical mountain on whose summit there is a pilgrimage church . the view over the countryside is rewarding , for it shows the number of mortarless stone walls which separate every patch of ground . there are even walls around individual trees . the land , by the way , is extremely stony , and high winds often prevail . but the most striking impression one gets is the dazzling white of the houses , and every building looks as though it had just been whitewashed , while the interior of even the humblest home is spotlessly clean . ( were the English of the nineteenth century non-litter-bugs ? ) the people on this Spanish island are most hospitable , and you can still see occasionally in their homes family heirlooms of Georgian furniture . 