DJ5MN will be active as SV5/DJ5MN and SV5/DJ5MN/P from Rhodes Island, IOTA EU - 001, 30 August - 6 September 2025.
He will be active on 160 - 6 m, CW, SSB, FT8.
Recent DX Spots SV5/DJ5MN
QSL via home call.
The island of Rhodes: history at every turn
The Greek island of Rhodes seems to have been created for all kinds of people. Spacious beaches and the sea, impressive landscapes, a mild climate, ancient architecture, picturesque ruins, monasteries, and nightlife. It is not surprising that Rhodes welcomes about a million tourists every year — ten times more than the number of people who live here permanently. Guests arrive by sea and by plane. By the way, do you know what is unusual about the local airport?
At the gates of paradise
The main city on the island is also called Rhodes. The facade of its airport is decorated with a golden inscription: “Diagoras Airport.” Busy tourists don't pay much attention to it. But they should! The island is home to the world's only airport named after an Olympic champion. True, he lived quite a long time ago, two and a half thousand years ago.
Diagoras was born on the island of Rhodes and became an athlete — a boxer. At the age of 18, as an Olympic champion, he was crowned with a wreath of sacred olive branches. Victories in those days were not easy to come by — there were no boxing gloves to soften the blows, so the palms were tied with leather straps, leaving the fingers free.
Diagoras traveled to all the major competitions in Hellas and won everywhere, multiplying the glory of his native island. The fighter became a coach to his three sons, who repeated his success. When the veteran turned sixty, he was present at Olympia, where two of his grandsons also won championship fights! The boys lifted their still-strong grandfather onto their shoulders and carried him in front of the cheering stands.
Unable to contain her emotions, Diagoras' daughter ran out onto the arena. The sudden rush caused her chiton to slip off, and the spectators gasped: “Gyneka (woman)!” According to the laws of Hellas, women were strictly forbidden to enter the stadium during competitions, and athletes competed naked. But the judges, carried away by the general jubilation, did not punish the mother of the two new champions.
The Diagoras sporting dynasty has eight Olympic victories to its credit. Nothing like this has ever happened before or since in the history of the Olympic Games. Diagoras became a celebrity for centuries, immortalized by bronze monuments on the Rhodes waterfront and at the sports academy in Olympia.
A colossal wonder
Rhodes has long been a crossroads of sea routes between Europe, Asia, and Africa. This made it a tempting target for its warlike neighbors. The Persians, Athenians, Alexander the Great, pirates, knights, Egyptians, Turks... The fortress walls and army of brave defenders greeted uninvited guests on Rhodes. Today, you can still see the longest fortress in Europe (four kilometers!) and walk through its 11 gates, one after another.
Three hundred years before the beginning of our era, the city of Rhodes withstood a year-long siege by yet another conqueror. He sailed away with his army in search of easier prey, leaving behind his military equipment—huge battering rams, siege towers, and so on. The practical Rhodians sold the abandoned military equipment and decided to use the proceeds to erect a worthy monument to the patron of the island, Helios, the god of the Sun.
The architect had to solve a task of unprecedented complexity: to erect a structure almost forty meters high. And he had to do it without any of the technological wonders that came later (such as reinforced concrete, rolled steel, and electric welding). Stone pillars with cross beams and rims were dug into the ground. This frame was covered with thick, pre-made bronze sheets with embossing. The statue's legs were designed to give it stability: they were filled with stones and covered with clay.
After completing one tier of construction, tons of earth were piled around it, and standing on this hill, they continued to build the figure of Helios. Construction continued from the bottom up for ten years. But then the mountain of earth was torn down and... The statue, as tall as a 12-story (!) building, amazed everyone.
The Greeks used the word “kolossos” (pillar) to refer to any full-length sculpture of a human being, even small ones. Naturally, the statue of Helios was christened the Colossus of Rhodes. It was after its construction that something huge and gigantic began to be called “colossal.” Perhaps the tourist boom in Rhodes began at that very moment: people came here specifically to see the bronze giant. Rhodes became the only island to host one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Alas, it did not stand for long—only fifty years. During the first serious earthquake, the statue's knees buckled and it collapsed. But even its ruins remained a tourist attraction for almost a thousand years. Visitors' favorite pastime was trying to wrap their arms around Helios's big toe, which few managed to do. The island's inhabitants even discussed rebuilding the structure, but an authoritative soothsayer advised against it, saying that it would bring new misfortune to Rhodes. Later, what was once a wonder of the world disappeared in Arab smelters. Only the winged expression “a colossus with feet of clay” remained over the centuries.
... The island of Rhodes enjoys over three hundred days of sunshine a year. The islanders are friendly and cheerful. Local wine sparkles in their glasses. So, although there is no trace of the majestic statue on the island, it seems that the sun god has not abandoned this land.
