Rhodos Greece: Sept.8 - 12
Rhodos, Greece: Thursday September 8, 2005
Well I am finally in Greece. I have wanted to visit here for as long as I can remember. I don’t know what caused my initial fascination with this country but it was at the top of my list of “must sees”.
Rhodos is the largest island in the Dodecanese group. It is very close to Turkey and is south and east of Athens. Through the centuries the island of Rhodes has taken advantage of its geographical position in the sea route between the major centres of the times. This helped it become a strong naval power and to develop a flourishing economy. It was already a major Mycenaean centre up to the 12 th century BC. By the mid 8 th century the island had three city-states, Ialysos, Kamiros and Lindos, that co-existed peacefully for four centuries. At this point they merged and formed the city of Rhodes. It was designed in 480 BC by the architect Hippodamos, often called the father of town planning.
It was once home to one of the seven ancient wonders of the world, The Colossus of Rhodes. The Rhodians built it from the weapons of fallen enemies to commemorate a victory and as a sacrifice to the god Helios. It is still a matter of debate as to where on the island it actually stood. It was believed to be 31m tall and the figure of a warrior. An earthquake in 266BC knocked it down. The locals never fixed it because they thought it was cursed. Much later in 653AD, it was sold as broken pieces to a Jewish merchant. He needed 900 camels to carry away all the debris. Recycling, even 1400 years ago was a very common practice. Most of today’s ancient buildings have parts from previous structures.
During the Crusades, Rhodes was home and base to the Knights of St. John after they bought the island from the Genoans in 1306. The knights were responsible for building the walled town. They divided the city into three parts. The northern part contained the Acropolis of the Knights and the Palace of the Grandmaster. The southern part was the Hora, where the commoners lived. As well there was a Jewish quarter which is now mostly residential. It was the last Christian holdout against the Ottoman Turks. The knights and Christian townspeople were granted safe passage from the besieged city on January 1, 1523. Two thousand Christians died defending the city and 50,000 Turks died trying to take it.
The city was surrounded by an incredible defense system; in all a total of 4km of walls with seven gates. The walls at some points were 42m thick, made up of outer and inner walls with a dry moat between them. At other parts of the fortress, there were three or four fortified walls before the city was reached. The walls were defended by the “Langues” or tongues, which meant that each section was home to language from a particular region: Castille-Argon, England, Germany, France, Auvergne, Provence and Italy. Most of these structures still exist and are in very good condition. The city is not just a historical site; it is a thriving, living city. People do business and live in the old town of Rhodes.
An interesting footnote in the Greek and Turkish relationship is that when the repatriation occurred during 1924, Rhodes was not a Greek island. It was part of Italy. So Turks here did not have to return to Turkey and thus there is a large Turkish population in the city. The island became part of Greece in the late 1940’s; I am not sure of the exact year.
Today we meandered through the Old Town. Our first stop was the Palace of the Grand-Master. He was the chosen leader of the knights and held that position until he died. The palace was a large fortified building in the northern part of town. Inside it was simple but beautiful. The floors had mosaics done in the island of Kos in the first century. So, many of the images were of “pagan” or Greek gods and heroes. I thought that this was interesting when the palace was filled with Christians with strong beliefs. The blocks used for the walls were many shades of gray and tan. The ceilings were made of carved wood. It was certainly a different decorative style than the grand palaces of the sultans and tsars. From here we walked down the Street of Knights which led to the “Hospital” of the Knights. On this well restored street was where the knights did their prayers and their military practice.
Brian asked the kids to close their eyes and pick out two random points on a map of the Old Town erected near one of the entrance gates. Then he told them we would wander and try to find those selections without a map. Old town Rhodes (or Rhodos in Greek), is supposed to be world renowned for its labyrinth of streets and alleys. More people miss cruise ships or get lost here than any other port of call in the Mediterranean. At any rate Brennan was very pleased when it was his navigating through the maze of alleys that got us to Sierra’s pick, Kimonos St. He did a fabulous job because I was certainly turned around several times. The funny part was that he forgot the name of the restaurant that he had picked out as his spot. So we wandered around aimlessly until we were hungry. Then we sat down at a small café, across the plaza from a larger eatery. Brian recognized the name as Brennan’s choice and also realized that we had passed it at least an hour before our lunch. Sierra didn’t mind though because we bought her a silver bracelet during our attempt to find Brennan’s restaurant. I really enjoyed our “wander” because we got into some of the back streets and away from the hustle and bustle of the main market areas. I also got some good photo opportunities too!
By this point, hot and tired, we decided to head back to our hotel, the Annapolis Inn. At first we thought about going to the beach but the one closest to our accommodations had too much wave action for Sierra. It was very windy and the water was very high. Instead we enjoyed the pool.
En route to the pool, I asked the receptionist about a bakery for a cake for Sierra’s birthday. She said that the owner Susie Atsaides would make one for us. Susie was sitting in the lobby area and we had a wonderful chat. She is American born of Greek heritage and has lived in Greece for 17 years with her Greek husband, Stamatis Chrisostomakis. What a wonderful, vibrant couple they are. The rest of the staff is as equally friendly and pleasant and they all are very fluent in English. The hotel is located in the New Town about half way between the beach and the Old Town. So neither place is very far away—maybe a four minute walk. We had one of the suites on the top floor and it was great for us. The furnishings are not luxurious but they are clean and comfortable. The small kitchen and the balcony for washing and drying laundry was a bonus. Our booking included a breakfast buffet. Brennan and I just couldn’t pass up Susie’s pastries. Brian kept saying that it was breakfast and that we shouldn’t get dessert at breakfast. We didn’t listen to him. We would recommend a stay here. As a post note, on Sierra’s birthday we picked up a large pink iced, vanilla cake decorated with flowers and ballerinas. Sierra was in heaven. Thank you again Susie.
Rhodes City : September 9, 2005
Happy Birthday Sierra!
Modern Rhodes is definitely a tale of two cities. On one side there is the very historical Old Town surrounded by ancient walls and filled with old buildings, sculptures etc. On the other side there is the beach and the party crowd. The beaches we walked by were very busy, with side by side umbrellas and lounge chairs. Often they were filled with topless ladies; some of whom shouldn’t have been. Bad images there……. Brennan of course got a few eyefuls and didn’t mind the young chicks. But I am getting ahead of myself.
Our day started off with a long walk around the beach promenade to a different gate into the Old Town. Sierra, Brian and I visited the Rhodes Museum of Archaeology. It contained many artifacts that have been found in the Old Town during excavations. It was amazing how much stuff they found, from Greek sculptures, pottery, and tools to tombstones and coats of arms from the knights. Sierra really enjoyed seeing all the old Greek artifacts. We left Brennan in the hotel with the computer and a homework assignment. He was a happy guy. I have to admit after an hour of the museum, I was “potted out”. I think that I was having relic overload.
As we walked, I saw Gabriel’s Water Sports Center on the beach near the old aquarium. It advertised a number of activities, including parasailing. After a quick check of the prices, we decided to treat Brennan to a ride. It was one of his wish list items. Sierra declined the offer, although later I think that she regretted her choice.
So later in the afternoon, after a quick take-out lunch of pork gyros, we ventured back to the beach and Brennan’s adventure. He was a little nervous at first because he wasn’t sure what to expect. He had to wait for a short while for Gabriel to finish with some other customers who were tubing behind the small boat. Then it was his turn. He lifted off without any difficulty and ended up having a marvelous experience. He had the underwater camera with him and he took some interesting video footage and still shots. One video clip was set to music; Brennan singing “Fly Like an Eagle”. His reaction upon landing safely back in the boat was that parasailing was AWESOME!!!!!!!!
Brennan talked to his grandpa Coleborn this evening about his experience. Grandpa C said that he was jealous because he has wanted to parasail for a long time. Maybe in Australia Grandpa…….
The hotel is surrounded by dozens of restaurants, all of which look fabulous. The ones that we have tried so far have had delicious food. We haven’t strayed from the traditional Greek dishes because who wants to eat Italian food in Greece? We’ll eat that in Italy.
Tomorrow we are going to explore the island in a little blue Suzuki jeep. Look out Greek roads, here comes Brian!( NEXT PAGE )
Alternatively read about the exciting story of Bob, The Car, and the Crappo Grapes.