Mandraki Harbour
On Gingerguide's self-guided Rhodes audio tour, Mandraki Harbour is a stop worth about ~45 min. Stand in front of it, press play for a short narrated story, and put any follow-up question to the built-in AI guide.
- Type landmark
- Suggested visit ~45 min
- Rhodes Rhodes guide
About Mandraki Harbour
The town's smaller northern harbour, where bronze deer, restored medieval windmills and a famous legend about a straddling bronze giant crowd one short stretch of glittering, boat-filled water.
Mandraki is the smaller, northern harbour of Rhodes Town, sheltering yachts, fishing boats and excursion craft while the larger ferries use the adjacent commercial harbour. Two stone columns at its entrance carry bronze statues of a stag and a doe, the fallow deer that form the heraldic emblem of the island. Popular tradition links this harbour mouth, and the deer columns, to the Colossus of Rhodes, though the ancient statue's true location is unknown and the famous image of it straddling the entrance has no ancient basis.
Along the eastern breakwater stands a line of medieval stone windmills built by the Knights of St John to grind grain unloaded from merchant ships; three restored mills survive from a row that historical maps record as far longer. The 15th-century Fort of St Nicholas guards the harbour mouth, its lighthouse still marking the entrance. Mandraki forms the seafront of the Medieval City of Rhodes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 1988.
Did you know? The bronze deer on the harbour columns are twentieth-century statues, not ancient relics, and despite the popular story they are not proof that the Colossus of Rhodes ever stood on this spot.
How much time do you need at Mandraki Harbour?
Around ~45 min works well for Mandraki Harbour — time to look properly and listen to its story on the spot. Linger if you like; nothing on a self-guided walk is on a clock.
Should you stop at Mandraki Harbour?
Yes — Mandraki Harbour made the cut as one of 18 places the Gingerguide team researched and narrated across Rhodes. The story tells you why it is worth the stop, and the AI guide fills in anything you still wonder.
Nearby stops in Rhodes
Day 1 of the Rhodes in 2 days itinerary →
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Hear the story of Mandraki Harbour
Preview the Rhodes tour free in the Gingerguide app.