Rhodes and the Acropolis of Lindos

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We arrived in Rhodes early in the morning and as we cruised into Mandraki Harbor. We could see three medieval windmills. They were originally used to grind the grain unloaded from the merchant ships in the harbor. The mouth of the harbor had two sentinels...A male deer and a female deer standing on columns. Elafos and Elafina are the names of the deer and they are the symbols (Strength and Wealth) of the island. We passed the St. Nicholas Fortress which has a light house on the fortress so the ships can find their way into port. There were just as many old fishing boats as there were yachts.

We began our tour at the walls of the Old Town. We left the bus and walked through the Gate d' Amboise to the Palace of the Knights. We walked through the palace and saw numerous mosaic floors some dating from the 3rd century A.D. The statues were in very good condition. We strolled through the city shops and came to the Archaeological Museum. There were children everywhere playing accordions for money in the streets. They were pretty good! Again, the floor mosaics in the museum were amazing and so were the wall mosaics. We found a "Spartan" statue so Tim placed his Michigan state "Spartan" hat on the statue's head. We found a gelato shop and the owner had made animals out of the gelato. We peeked into many beautiful gardens, some of them hidden...

We drove to have lunch and then continued up to the Acropolis of Lindos. The town of Lindos was everything you would imagine in a Greek town. The acropolis was on top of the hill and beautiful white homes were nestled on the down slope of the hill. At the base of the hill was a beautiful little port. The colors of the water were blues and turquoises. From the top there were picturesque 360 degree views. When we looked over one of the walls we saw black and white goats near the cliffs. On our way down the steep and rocky path, we came across many shops and the floors of each one had black and white stones made into mosaics. Very pretty and tied the whole town of Lindos together. We found a creperie and had a lemon and sugar crepe. Delicious! When we got to the bottom, Our 6 year old friend Daniel was there and ready to show us and everyone else the sword he bought. Very proud of his purchase!

On our way back to the ship, we drove into Old Town again and drove by the three windmills and the statues of the two deer and the Aquarium. The beauty of Rhodes will stay in my mind always!

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Photos

Fortress in Mandraki Harbor.
There is a lighthouse in the fortress that guides the ships into harbor