About Kos Island

Kos is the third largest island in the Dodecanese and the second most populous after Rhodes. It measures about 42 km end to end and no more than 11.5 km across, covers roughly 290 square kilometres and has a population of just over 37,000. It lies in the southeastern Aegean within sight of the Anatolian coast, and it is known above all as the birthplace of Hippocrates.

Overview

The shape of the island explains much of how people use it. There are 112 km of coast wrapped around a landmass barely eleven kilometres wide, so beaches, ruins and mountain villages are all within a short drive of one another and no part of the island is far from the water. Distances between anchorages are correspondingly short, which is why so many visitors explore Kos by private gulet charter rather than working through the coast road. Kos town, on the northeastern tip, holds the harbour, the castle, the airport road and most of the archaeology.

• History: the ancient city, the Roman odeon, the Castle of Nerantzia built by the Knights of St John, and the sanctuary of Asklepios outside town. The Plane Tree of Hippocrates in the main square carries the island's oldest tradition, though the tree itself is only about 500 years old.
• Coast: long sand beaches at Marmari, Tigaki and Kardamena, and the wilder western end around Kefalos. The thermal spring at Therma runs hot water straight into the sea on the south coast.
• Infrastructure: an international airport, a large marina and a developed tourist centre, which makes Kos an easy island to reach and to leave by sea.

Historical Highlights

The Birthplace of Hippocrates

Hippocrates was born on Kos around 460 BC and is remembered as the founder of Western medicine. The Hippocratic Oath, the ethical text attached to his name, is still adapted in medical schools today. Two sites carry his memory on the island. The sanctuary of Asklepios, 4 km southwest of town, was built after his death and functioned as a healing centre for centuries. The plane tree in Platia Platanou is tied to him by tradition rather than by evidence, since it dates to roughly the 16th century, but it may descend from an older tree on the same ground.

Ancient Monuments and Ruins

The Roman odeon in Kos town, of the imperial period and usually dated to the 2nd century AD, kept its semi-circular tiers of seating and is still used for occasional performances. The Castle of Nerantzia at the harbour mouth was built in its present form between 1436 and 1514 by the Knights of St John, who held Kos from 1314; its outer ring of bastions and gun ports belongs to the last phase of that work.

Much of what visitors see today was uncovered by accident. The earthquake of 23 April 1933 destroyed a large part of the old town, and the clearance and excavation that followed exposed the Casa Romana, a substantial Roman villa with mosaic floors, along with the remains of the Temple of Aphrodite and the Temple of Herakles. The modern street plan of central Kos was laid out around those excavations rather than over them.

Beaches, Springs and the Old Town

The north coast beaches at Tigaki and Marmari are long, shallow and exposed to the meltemi, which makes them the windsurfing side of the island. Kardamena on the south coast is the busiest resort, and Kefalos at the western end has the most open water and the least building. The Alyki salt lake near Tigaki holds water in spring and draws flamingos. At Therma, southeast of Kos town, a hot spring feeds a walled pool on the shoreline where the water mixes with the sea.

In Kos town much of the old centre is closed to traffic, and the excavated ancient streets sit directly among the cafes and shops rather than behind a fence at the edge of town. The archaeological museum, the agora and the odeon are all within a short walk of the harbour.

Layers of Settlement

Each period left something still standing:

• Ancient Greeks: the agora, the temples and the sanctuary of Asklepios.
• Romans: the odeon, the baths and the Casa Romana.
• Byzantines: churches and the basilica remains, including the chapel built into the Doric temple at the Asklepieion.
• Knights of St John: the harbour castle and the inland fortress at Antimachia.
• Ottomans: the Gazi Hassan Mosque of 1776 on Platia Platanou and the fountains around it.

What There Is to Do

• Archaeology within walking distance of the harbour, and the Asklepieion a short drive inland.
• Windsurfing and diving on the north coast, where the meltemi is reliable through the summer.
• Cycling: Kos is flat along the north shore and has a network of dedicated bike paths, unusual for a Greek island.
• Mountain villages on the slopes of Dikeos, notably Zia, for cooler air and tavernas away from the resorts.