Maritsa ( el, Μαριτσά) is a village situated on west coast of the island of

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

, about 17 km far from the capital, between

Kremasti Kremasti ( el, Κρεμαστή) is a town on the Greek island of Rhodes (', ''Ródhos''). Located on the west coast of the island, Kremasti is 12 kilometers from the capital of Rhodes, on the road to the airport. It has a population of 5,363 ...

and Psinthos. It is a part of the

Municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

Petaloudes Petaloudes ( el, Πεταλούδες) is a former municipality on the island of Rhodes, in the Dodecanese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Rhodes, of which it is a municipal unit. Its population was 1 ...

. This village is renowned for its traditional taverns and active nightlife all year round. Near the village at the old international airport, car and motorbike races are held as well as model airplane shows. Outside the village, there are two churches: the Agios Georgios church, built in the 15th century and the Agios Nikolaos church, with wall paintings from the 15th century. Maritsa is also home to Iraklis AKS, a sports club with senior and junior teams competing at regional level. Iraklis football club also has experience playing for a year in the late 1990s in the then 4th National division. Maritsa is renowned for its hospitable inhabitants and traditional character, it is the only village in Rhodes without a seasonal hotel, though studio apartments are available upon request. Every December all the young people organise a celebration for welcoming the new year at the centre square of the village. The money needed for the celebration is an offer from the villagers and the owners of the restaurants and bars. The ceremony takes place at about 19:00 of 31 December and 3 hrs later the party is "fired up" by a group playing local songs and dances performed by instruments like lyra and bouzouki. At the same period α live crib is opened where represents the birth of Christ with genuine animals, horses and goats. The crib is found in the top of Mt. Koymoyli, next to the holily abbey of transformation of Savior Christ. At the crib is offered hot tea from locally herbs as well as traditional rusk while the small children can come out photographs with Santa Claus. The crib functions from 24 Dec until 6 Jan. The village has taken his name from an Italian officer called "Maritza" that had the responsibility for the control of the village at the duration of Italian possession. Today it numbers about 1800 residents.

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Populated places in Rhodes {{SAegean-geo-stub