Vacation Part 9 - Rhodes

The next leg of our trip took us south to the Greek island of Rhodes. 45 by 24 miles in size, this remarkable stack of rocks is one of the larger islands in the Greek archipelago. Tradition says the island was born of Helios, the sun god, and the nymph Rhodos, thus its name. Well known for another of the “Seven Wonders of the Ancient World,” the Colossus of Rhodes, the island has its share of history, starting with the Minoan Era, some 3,600 years ago. The Persians had a short run on Rhodes in the 5th Century BC. Alexander the Great folded it into his empire in 332 BC and then after his death it became a football that was passed and fumbled among Alexander’s former Generals until Rhodes figured out how to manage their own affairs. The island did okay for while, but were unable to maintain security against competing kingdoms, so Rhodes turned to the Roman Republic for help. By 164 BC, the island was fully under Roman influence. It even became an exile destination for Romans who were not quite welcome in the homeland. And lest we forget, Saint Paul is credited with establishing the Christian Church on the island sometime in the mid-first century. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, Rhodes became a leader among the Greek Isles. They invented maritime laws, built ships, and were a hub for trade. The island changed hands a few more times between Arabs, Turks and Byzantines until the Crusaders showed up around 1310. The Knights Hospitaller made the island a fortified base for battling the Muslim invaders of the Holy Land. The Knights left a very visible mark on the island, but lost out to Suleiman the Magnificent in 1522. Impressively, the Ottomans lasted until 1912, when Italy defeated them. Rhodes finally returned to Greece with the surrender of Italian and German forces at the end of WWII.

The Fort of Saint Nicholas guards the entrance to the old harbor at Rhodes.

Our dawn arrival in the port of Rhodes revealed the massive fortifications left by the Crusaders. The tour for the day would eventually include the the fortified city of Rhodes, but first we went to the much smaller and older town of Lindos.

Looking out over Lindos and the Mediterranean Sea.

Lindos is all the things a traveler expects from a Greek town, including white-washed houses built on tiny streets, randomly laid out in order to confuse visitors. It also has shops and cafes, a beach on a beautiful inlet, and antiquities on the top of a towering acropolis. Reaching the town is mostly a pedestrian affair. There is a large parking lot at the side of the highway, and small service road that descends to the level of the main square. Going to the beach is a long walk down and back. A visit to the Acropolis is a significant hill climb on foot or can be made by donkey.

The town has been around for 3,000 years, mostly existing on fishing and trade. The temple to Athena on the Acropolis dates to before 300 BC and saw its peak during Roman times. The acropolis was fortified by successive occupiers all the way up to the Ottomans. The current castle structure was mostly constructed by the Crusader Knights of St. John.

Climbing the steps to the acropolis.

The town of Lindos as seen from the fortifications atop the acropolis.

The view from the top is quite stunning.

After a morning trying to find our way in Lindos, we returned to what the locals call Rhodes-Town. The municipality is half the population of the island, and a bunch of those folks are stuffed into a small city surrounded by walls and a dry moat. Situated at the maritime cross-roads between Europe, Middle East and North Africa, as well as the intersection of antiquity and modernity, it is a stunning mix of culture and style. Our afternoon wandering was fantastic and opened up a whole new period of historical interest - The Crusades. Rhodes is one of those places that needs a full exploration.

The moat and exterior wall of the city.

The well fortified bridge across the moat and Gate D’Amboise.

Inside the gate. Everything in the city is designed to make attacking the fortress hard. Small passageways and corners channelize the attacker.

Making it through the gate puts the attacker in an alley where the defender can rain down lots of pointy weapons.

Make it this far and the attacker has to cross another defended bridge and dry moat.

Inside all the defenses is the Grand Master’s Palace, where the head of the Knights Hospitallers resided. This building was rebuilt by the Italians as a residence for the King of Italy.

The Street of the Knights, where the various orders of knights maintained their residential inns.

The “upper” city was where the knights kept the watch, the “lower” city was commerce. The town has all the charm a traveler might expect in Greece.

The Gate of the Virgin looks out on the harbor. It was created in 1955 to allow larger vehicles to service the city. It is named for the adjacent ruins of the Church of the Virgin of the Burgh.

One more look back at the city walls from the harbor. What a great day of exploring!