Rhodes, Greece

The Old Walled City

We sailed the next length of the journey – 274 nautical miles, into the wind and waves. A bit rougher than it had been but we have our sea legs now so didn’t find it bad at all. Forming the central part of Rhodes City the old walled city is one of the best preserved medieval towns in Europe and was designated as a UNESCO world heritage site in 1988. A number of sites are worth looking at. Upon entering the harbour there is a tower that looked really neat the way the rising sun was hitting it at 7 this morning. 

Tower Protecting the Rhodes Harbour

Upon entering through the walls we were greeted by the method we are getting accustomed to – a small feral kitten came running over looking for attention. We toured the Grand Master’s Palace which was built in the 14th century by the Knights of Rhodes, who occupied Rhodes from 1309 to 1522.It is now a museum. Minimal furnishings but amazing mosaic floors and marble staircases. They didn’t have much labelled as they wanted you to hire one of the many guides sitting around throughout the building. The signs consisted of “don’t step on these stairs” and “Don’t walk on the mosaic floor”.  

Palace Entrance

Artifact in Palace

We also walked by the Mosque of Suleiman the Magnificent who kicked the above Knights out in 1522. Like many places we have seen in this part of the world they have been razed, conquered and raised again many times. And in between there probably was an earthquake to boot. Wanna building permit in these parts? Chances are you will be digging up history and will need to get a clearance from the Archaeological Service. Contractors are constantly covering up ruins to prevent lengthy construction delays. There are many visible archeological digs evident throughout the city, including the temple of Aphrodite. You would walk up a street in the most unlikely area only to find a fenced offed area smack dab in the middle of the street, wrought iron fenced in and old digging evident.

Roadside Dig

We visited a Jewish Synagogue and overheard a young gentleman translating for the rabbi about his family’s WW II trials in Auschwitz. The synagogue was beautiful and to honour their beliefs we were not allowed to take any photos. Even though a part of the old town is lined with tourist shops it is possible to escape into one of the narrow back streets and experience Rhodes as Rhodians live it. The narrow streets are made from cobblestones so are bumpy. 

Narrow, Cobblestoned Street

We had some fun wandering and even found ourselves in someone’s back yard. Rhodes is neat. Norma did manage to find a charm for her new bracelet: a genuine gold and silver motif of Greece. Tonight they are treating us to an authentic Greek buffet so we are looking forward to seeing what that will entail. We are also busy trying to collect our “O” points so will play trivia and take part in a name that tune special trivia tonight.

Perhaps you have read about one of the seven wonders of ancient world: the Colossus of Rhodes, a bronze statue of Helios which stood over 30 meters high. The statue stood for 56 years until 226 BC when an earthquake snapped it at the knees. The Rhodians, afraid that they had offended Helios declined to rebuild it although there are plans afoot now to replace it.

The Colossus of Rhodes