Rhodes – November 4th

The Island of Rhodes was our next stop.  Rhodes has a colorful history – starting with a Neolithic settlement.  The Dorians moved in in the 11^th century BC and built the cities of Lindos, Kamiros, and

Rhodes today - note the remaining wall.

Ialyssos, and their ruins are still visible.  The Rhodian civilization really reached its peak in the 5^th century BC when it became a great commercial and cultural center.  Then came the Romans; and Rhodes, along with Athens, became a center of the academic world with Julius Caesar among its notable students.  When Rome fell, Rhodes became a part of the Byzantine Empire.  Her glory days were over, and she was constantly beset by Saracen Pirates.  Then in 1291, the Knights Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem were ousted from the Holy Land and, after searching for a new home, moved into Rhodes.  These knights preyed on Turkish shipping successfully enough to get the attention of the Turks.  In 1522 Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent arrived with

Anna inside the fort.

200,000 men to besiege the 600 knights assisted by 5,000 locals.  They held out for six months until they were betrayed and had to surrender.  The Turks stayed until 1912, then the Italians, Germans, and British, moved in, in turn.  In 1948 Rhodes was united with Greece.  (For those of you keeping track of these things, another of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World was here:  The Colossus of Rhodes.)

We had been scheduled for a guided tour, but that was unfortunately cancelled because a Greek

Remains of Temple of Apollonas

Holiday resulted in the closure of the archeological sites we were scheduled to visit.  The ship was docked within an easy walk to Old Town Rhodes and so we enjoyed a short, sunny stroll into town.  We did take a narrated bus tour in area surrounding the old walled city.  Among other sites, we visited the remains of an ancient stadium, the Temples of Apollonas, and, of course, the impressive remains of the walls and fortification. 

Old and New Rhodes together.

Following that, we walked around inside the walls, stopping for leisurely lunch in a café overlooking a small square in the town.  After lunch we made a few purchases in the little shops along the narrow streets and then headed back to the ship.