Rhodes scholars

TWENTY YEARS AGO, Faliraki cleaned up its act. The notorious Rhodian equivalent of Shagaluff had had enough of the familiar story of boozed-up Brits whose antics had transformed a once-idyllic fishing village into an all-inclusive anarchy of “vomit-covered streets, couples having sex in alleyways, late-night punch-ups”. One-euro shots, “Faliraki Fishbowls” and Eurovision Thong Contests were banned and profits fell by 90 per cent until slowly the resort reinvented itself as a budget-conscious family destination. But Faliraki’s beer-gutted shadow still wobbles over Rhodes; fantastic news for anyone interested in exploring the rest of the island, which remains, discreetly, rather chic. Lawrence Durrell would probably have been cancelled by now if anyone still bothered reading him, but whatever one thinks of his private life the joyful, haunting lyricism of his writing on…