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Published: April 10th 2011
A quick flight from Goreme to Izmir, then 3 hours by car to Marmaris for the night followed by a 2 hour ferry ride (Michelle finds the going a little rough) finds us on the island of Rhodes.
Rhodes is one of the biggest Islands in the Aegean, next to Crete and is supposed to be one of the most beautiful. We will not be disappointed.
Rhodes has a great infrastructure for tourism and agriculture and a population of, around 130,000 most of which live in Rhodes Town.
So we arrive at Rhodes' port and take a taxi to our new home (for the next four days), Anastasia Hotel, which is located in the new town of Rhodes, Rhodes city has 2 parts, old and new (original eh) and is separated by a very impressive medieval wall.
Two very different worlds.
A quick history lesson.
Rhodes has been inhabited since, around, 4000 BC. About 300 BC the Colossus of Rhodes (one of the seven wonders of the world) was built, at the port, but was destroyed 60 years later by a large earth quake. The ruins lay in the harbour for quite some time (about
Hotel Anastasia
AT last count there were 278 centuries) and one of the stories is that it was sold for scrap, to a Jewish merchant and it required 900 camels to cart it away.
Alexander the Great had a go at it and became a part of the Roman Empire around 164 BC. The Arabs invaded it at some time. The Knights Hospitallers conquered and took possession of the island in 1300 and built one of the strongest fortifications of any Christian Bastions in the world.
From here the Knights harassed the Turks (Ottomans) until 1522 when the new Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent, had had enough and through a long siege finally negotiated a withdrawal of the Knights.
It remained under Ottoman rule until their downfall and was taken over by the Italians before rejoining Greece.
The weather has turned nasty again and we find the need to don jackets & long pants, we remain close to our hotel, with a good book and find some excellent tavernas and cafes'.
On Sunday we make our way to Old Town, a magnificent fort surrounded by medieval walls that tower above you. As the "season" has yet to start (most places seem to close
Old Town, Rhodes
As viewed from the ferry from Marmaris down over winter) and being a Sunday the town is very quiet, so we virtually have the place to ourselves. We wonder aimlessly along the cobbled stone paths for several hours and are awed by the architecture and beauty of this town and marvel at its offerings.
The Old Town is still occupied by residents, none more so than in the Jewish Quarter and you can find pensions, hotels and cafes, intermingled with gaudy souvenir shops.
The next day we have hired a motor vehicle and spend the day driving the coast line of Rhodes, the sun has come out and the waters of the Aegean & Mediterranean show their true colors, colors that we will see all through the islands.
We come upon ancient sites and ruined castles which litter the countryside. Before the day ends we arrive at the town of Lindos. Another magnificent site (you'll be sick of this word before we get home) once one of ancient Rhodes' most important cities. Most of medieval Lindos has remained and is a national landmark.
We are due to fly out of Rhodes to Crete, it had been our intention to island hop by ferry
however as this is still off season the ferry time table is proving to be rather unpredictable. We spend our last day, once again wondering around the old town. Many of the shops have started to open, the sun is shinning and the locals are showing an expected enthusiasm to the coming tourist season.
We wish them well.
an antidote: Rhodos or Rhodus, in Greet mythology also known as Rhode was the Goddess of the Island of Rhodes and the wife of Helios, and the daughter of Aphrodite and Poseidon.
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taffy
non-member comment
Spent a bit of time in Rhodes while in the navy, must admit didnt get to much time in seeing the sights, there were other more important things to do like drinking oozo and partying. I have promised Denise I will take her there sometime in the future, just hope there is no one still there who remembers my wild navy days.