Mount Profitis Ilias is a mountain on the Greek island of Rhodes. It is named for the biblical Elijah.
Geology
Profitis Ilias is formed of uplifted fault blocks themselves a product of the Hellenide orogeny which produced a stack of Alpine nappes of Mesozoic age. These are part of the Pindos-Olonos series of low-grade metamorphic limestone sediments. The mountain overlooks Middle Miocene-Pleistocene sedimentary basins. Sudden topographic variations and land instabilities are due to a multitude of thrust faults. Ophiolites, usually gabbro occur.
Botany
Profitis Ilias is covered with forests of pines and cypress and maquis shrubland. Notable are the Rhodes Paeony Paonia rhodia and Cyclamen persicum. The large parasitic orchid Limodorum abortivum grows in the pinewoods. Also notable are Ophrys ferrum-equinum, the Profitis Ilias Bee OrchidOphrys fuciflora ssp. oreas, Ophrys arachnites ssp. attica, Ophrys lutea, Ophrys oestrifera ssp. dodekanensis, Orchis italica, Cephalanthera longifolia, Orchis provincialis
Near the summit and 8 km from Eleousa are Hotel "Elaphos and Elaphina" and the Byzantine monastery named "Prophetes Elias". There are two hotel buildings, a three-storeyed one, "Elaphos" and a two-storeyed one, the "Elaphina. The "Elaphos" hotel was built by the Italian colonists in the Dodecanese in 1929 as Albergo del Cervo In 1930, a ground floor restaurant, a large veranda, a tennis court and a dancing floor were added. Later, the second floor was constructed. In 1932 the building was extended with a new wing, called "Elaphina". The hotel was named after the deer Dama damaplatoni that lives in the adjacent woods.
Mussolini's House
This villa was the summer residence of General Cesare Maria De Vecchi, 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. It was intended as a retirement home for Benito Mussolini.
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, San Marco and Peveragno. 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 dates back to 1935-1936. The village was constructed with a Roman Catholic church a school, shops, a Casa del Fascio , municipal services, medical facilities and a cinema. All these buildings were 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.
