Mount Profitis Ilias is a mountain on the Greek island of

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

. It is named for the biblical

Elijah Elijah ( ) or Elias was a prophet and miracle worker who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Ahab (9th century BC), according to the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible. In 1 Kings 18, Elijah defended the worsh ...

Geology

Profitis Ilias is formed of uplifted fault blocks themselves a product of the Hellenide orogeny which produced a stack of Alpine

nappe In geology, a nappe or thrust sheet is a large sheetlike body of rock that has been moved more than or above a thrust fault from its original position. Nappes form in compressional tectonic settings like continental collision zones or on the ...

s of

Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era is the Era (geology), era of Earth's Geologic time scale, geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Period (geology), Periods. It is characterized by the dominance of archosaurian r ...

age. These are part of the Pindos-Olonos series of low-grade metamorphic limestone sediments. The mountain overlooks Middle

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

sedimentary basins. Sudden topographic variations and land instabilities are due to a multitude of

thrust fault A thrust fault is a break in the Earth's crust, across which older rocks are pushed above younger rocks. Thrust geometry and nomenclature Reverse faults A thrust fault is a type of reverse fault that has a dip of 45 degrees or less. I ...

Ophiolite An ophiolite is a section of Earth's oceanic crust and the underlying upper mantle (Earth), upper mantle that has been uplifted and exposed, and often emplaced onto continental crustal rocks. The Greek word ὄφις, ''ophis'' (''snake'') is ...

s, usually

gabbro Gabbro ( ) is a phaneritic (coarse-grained and magnesium- and iron-rich), mafic intrusive igneous rock formed from the slow cooling magma into a holocrystalline mass deep beneath the Earth's surface. Slow-cooling, coarse-grained gabbro is ch ...

occur. File:ProfitasIliasSensuLato.JPG, Fault-line cliff on Profitis Ilias. In the foreground are friable rocks of Middle Miocene-Pleistocene age. File:ProfitisIliasLimestone.JPG, Fractured tectonic limestone by the path to Salakos. Middle Miocene-Pleistocene sediments on the plain below. File:NatureMuseumPetaloudesGeology (4).JPG, Tectonic limestone on display at Nature Museum

Petaloudes Petaloudes () 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 15,086 in 2021. It include ...

Botany

Profitis Ilias is covered with forests of pines (''

Pinus brutia ''Pinus brutia'', commonly known as the Turkish pine and Calabrian pine, is a species of pine native to the eastern Mediterranean region. The bulk of its range is in Turkey, but certain varieties are naturalized as far east as Afghanistan. It is ...

'') and cypress (''

Cupressus sempervirens ''Cupressus sempervirens'', the Mediterranean cypress (also known as Italian cypress, Tuscan cypress, Persian cypress, or pencil pine), is a species of cypress native to the eastern Mediterranean region and Iran. While some studies show it ha ...

'') and

maquis shrubland 220px, Low maquis in Corsica 220px, High ''macchia'' in Sardinia ( , , ) or ( , ; often in Italian; , ; ; ; ) is a savanna-like shrubland biome in the Mediterranean region, typically consisting of densely growing evergreen shrubs. Maquis ...

. Notable are the Rhodes Paeony '' Paonia rhodia'' and '' Cyclamen rhodium''. The large parasitic orchid ''

Limodorum abortivum ''Limodorum abortivum'', also known as violet limodore or violet bird's-nest orchid, is a species of myco-heterotrophic, achlorophyllous orchid and is native to mainland Europe, western Asia and the Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ...

'' grows in the pinewoods. Also notable are '' Ophrys ferrum-equinum'', the Profitis Ilias Bee Orchid ''

Ophrys fuciflora ''Ophrys holosericea'', the late spider orchid, is a species of flowering plant in the family Orchidaceae, native to western and central Europe and the Mediterranean region. There has been considerable confusion about the identity of this species ...

'' ssp. ''oreas'' (found only here), '' Ophrys arachnites'' ssp. ''attica'', '' Ophrys lutea'', '' Ophrys oestrifera'' ssp. dodekanensis, ''

Orchis italica ''Orchis italica'', the naked man orchid or the Italian orchid, is a species of orchid native to the Mediterranean Basin. It gets its common name from the lobed lip (labellum) of each flower which resembles the general shape of a naked man. In ...

'', ''

Cephalanthera longifolia ''Cephalanthera longifolia'', the narrow-leaved helleborine, sword-leaved helleborine or long-leaved helleborine, is a rhizome, rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant in the family Orchidaceae. It is native to light woodland, and widespread acr ...

'', ''

Orchis provincialis ''Orchis provincialis'', the Provence orchid, is a species of orchid in the genus ''Orchis''. Description ''Orchis provincialis'' is a herbaceous plant high. The 4-5 basal leaves are oblong-lanceolate, with a length of about 8 cm and ar ...

'' (high altitudes moist woodland Prophitas Ilias only) File:Comperia comperiana.jpg, ''Himantoglossum comperianum''

Zoology

In Spring and Autumn many passage migrants occur. Rare snakes include leopard snake and Dahl's whip snake. The

Mediterranean house gecko The Mediterranean house gecko (''Hemidactylus turcicus'') is a species of house gecko native to the Mediterranean region, from which it has spread to many parts of the world including parts of East Africa, South America, the Caribbean, and the ...

is more common.

History

Near the summit and 8 km from Eleousa are Hotel "Elaphos and Elaphina" and the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

monastery named "Prophetes Elias". There are two hotel buildings, a three-storeyed one, "Elaphos" (now restored and functional) and a two-storeyed one, the "Elaphina. The "Elaphos" hotel was built by the

Italian colonists in the Dodecanese Italian colonists were settled in the Dodecanese Islands of the Aegean Sea in the 1930s by the Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italian government of Benito Mussolini, Italy having been in occupation of the Islands since the Italian-Turkish Wa ...

in 1929 as Albergo del Cervo (Deer Hotel) In 1930, a ground floor restaurant, a large veranda, a tennis court and a dancing floor were added. Later, the second floor was constructed (replacing the veranda). In 1932 the building was extended with a new wing, called "Elaphina". The hotel was named after the deer ''

Dama dama The European fallow deer (''Dama dama''), also known as the common fallow deer or simply fallow deer, is a species of deer native to Eurasia. It is one of two living species of fallow deer alongside the Persian fallow deer (''Dama mesopotamica'' ...

'' ''platoni'' that lives in the adjacent woods.

De Vecchi's House

This villa was the summer residence of General

Cesare Maria De Vecchi Cesare Maria De Vecchi, 1st Conte di Val Cismon (14 November 1884 – 23 June 1959) was an Italian soldier, colonial administrator and fascist politician. Biography De Vecchi was born in Casale Monferrato on 14 November 1884. After graduatin ...

, Italian Governor of Rhodes between 1936–1940. It is opposite to and overlooks the Hotel "Elaphos and Elaphina", amongst trees on the hill behind the taverna. File:MussoliniHouseRodos.JPG, Mussolini's House File:MussoliniHouseRodos (6).JPG, Rhodos Eleousa R01

Eleousa

8 km from the hotel Elaphos is the village of Eleousa founded as Profitis Ilias-Campochiaro. During their occupation of Rhodes the Italians built four agricultural villages that were to be populated by Italian settlers. Three of them stood not far from the coast: San Benedetto (Kolymbia), San Marco (near Kattavia) and Peveragno (Kato Kalamata). Profitis Ilias-Campochiaro lay more inland. The settlers each received a house and a plot of land. Those at the montane Profitis Ilias-Campochiaro came from the Trentino-Alto Adige /Südtirol. Profitis Ilias-Campochiaro (Eleousa) dates back to 1935–1936. The village was constructed with a Roman Catholic church (now Greek Orthodox) a school, shops, a Casa del Fascio (formerly with a tower), municipal services, medical facilities and a cinema. All these buildings were (and are) grouped around a rectangular town square. Hydraulic works were also carried out, to allow irrigation and hydroelectric power generation. The round pond with fountain just outside the village is a part of this system. Rhodos Agios Nikolaos Foundoukli R02

Agios Nikolaos Foundoukli

Agios Nikolaos Foundoukli late

church dedicated to

St Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...

containing 15th century

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

es. It is 2 km. from Eleousa. Around the church are very old

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

and

Oriental plane ''Platanus orientalis'', the Oriental plane, is a large, deciduous tree in the family Platanaceae, growing to or more, and known for its longevity and spreading crown. In autumn its deep green leaves may change to blood red, amber, and yellow. ...

trees.

References

External links

Mediterranean Black Sea Flyway
{{coord, 36.2724, 27.9331, display=title Rhodes Mountains of Greece Landforms of Rhodes (regional unit) Mountains of the South Aegean