Kos Island - one of the most famous and popular Greek Islands. Beautiful beaches, a rich history and a lot of interesting attractions each year attract thousands of tourists from all over the world.

On the island of Kos is inextricably linked, and the name of such legendary figures as Hippocrates. Kos It is considered the birthplace of the great ancient Greek physician, went down in history as the "father of medicine". Famous as "Hippocratic Oath", formulating the basic ethical principles of conduct of the doctor, is not only an old tradition, but also a kind of "code of honor" of each medical worker.

Not surprisingly, one of the main attractions and a symbol of the island of Kos is the so-called Plane tree of Hippocrates. A huge centuries-old plane tree can be seen in the heart of the island's capital, in the area of ​​the plane trees, next to the entrance to the famous Castle of the Knights, the Knights and the Turkish mosque, which was built in 1776 by order of the Ottoman Pasha Gazi Hasan. According to legend, the tree is planted by Hippocrates, and under its spreading crown a great doctor he worked and taught his disciples. However, the tree that you see today, just a descendant of the legendary plane tree planted by the famous physician since Hippocrates still lived in 5-4 centuries BC, and the age of "modern tree" only about 500 years.

The diameter of the spreading crown of the famous plane tree is about 12 meters and is the largest plane tree in Europe. Given the advanced age of the tree and thoroughly damaged trunk to support heavy branches were equipped with special metal constructions.

Seeds and cuttings of this legendary tree were distributed worldwide. His "descendants" today can be seen next to the US National Library of Medicine (Bethesda, Maryland), in the Scottish Glasgow University, Yale University, the University of Sydney, etc.