Yeah, we are back in Greece and greeted to lovely weather, the day high is 70 degrees.
Rhodes is a lush and fertile Greek island, famous for the Palace of the Grand Masters and among the largest active medieval towns in Europe. Forests of pine and cypress blanket the mountain slopes and hug the rocky coastline. Vineyard, citrus and olive groves are everywhere. Of course they say their olive oil is the best, but then the island of Crete and Italy proclaim the same.
We had looked forward to a walking tour of the old city and the Palace of the Grand Masters. Unfortunately we did not have the best tour guide and we saw little of the old city. Though the tour through the Palace of the Grand Masters was quite impressive. The Palace was constructed in the 14th century by the Knights of Saint John. It’s spherical towers and many arched gateways sets it apart from other palaces and fortified medieval cities. The citadel was built in the 7th century.
After viewing the the Palace, out tour guide left us to our own devices, and made old city map, which could have been helpful in navigating the many narrow passageways of the old city if there had been street names on the buildings. There were none. Nonetheless we had a little time left before our next tour and we browsed some really awesome stores. I could not resist and bought a purse and some Greek designed jewelry. Would have loved to have had more time and visit the mosque and other interesting places.
At one we commence our second tour which was a scenic tour of the east end of the Island and a visit to the town of Lindos. This tour guide was not much better than our first. She spoke so much about the Greek architecture and that the newer construction is not following the original style and that the city of Lindos had become a very desired resort town and still very much in the old Greek style. We were so looking forward to visiting the town, however, vehicles were not allowed in the town and had to park at the outskirts and from there a rather steep walk down and hence of course steep back up precluded us from visiting the town. We were disappointed! One redeeming feature was a stop at a beachside cafe where we were treated to refreshments and a Greek snack. Yum, Yum. Overall, the drive, scenery and stop for a Greek snack was very enjoyable.
Entering the Port of Rhodes, the city walls went as far as we could see. Wow!
Lovely Dolphin Sculpture along the waterfront
One of the arched city gateways
And another arched gateway and spherical towers
After entering through one of the gateways we go through a tunnel which leads is the inner Old City
One of many side passageways. It is an active city, meaning people live and work here, and only those people are permitted to enter with cars or any type of motorized vehicle. Of course some passageways were too narrow for cars. But you did have to watch out for the occasional motorcycle.
Heading to the Palace of the Grand Masgters.
Inside the Palace going up the grand staircase. It truly is grand.
One of many floor mosaics. Dolphins were depicted in almost every room. There are some 200 bedrooms in the Palace.
Mosaic of Medusa. Sure you all know about this mythological figure, also called Gorgo, a winged human female with living venomous snakes in place of hair, and if you gazed into her eyes you would turn into stone.
Some sections are still being unearthed. Or maybe it was left this way to demonstrate the excavations that had taken place.
One of the many grand rooms with frescoes on the walls
The many large rooms were amazing.
This hung over one of the doors leading to one of the many rooms.
Heading back out of the Old City
Our Ship in the background. We walk back from the old city.
Lovely waterfronts and in the background is an island with a fort on it.
Since it was a sunny day there were a few people enjoying the beaches along Rhodes’s coastline.
Wisteria vines where seen in many home gardens.
While these looked like Red Bud trees I was told they were peach trees.
One of many gorgeous vistas on our scenic drive on the east side of the island.
Cute country side home. Would it not be lovely to live there!
Olive tree grove, they are everywhere and of course olive oil production is a main industry. It saved the island during Covid when the island was void of tourist. They were so happy to have tourist back.
An old fort with a village below it.
The beautiful bay at Lindos. The waters are so clear we could see the underwater formation from our lookout spot.
A closer look at at the bay and you see people already enjoying the beach and waters, even though it was only 70 degrees.
The city of Lindos with the cliff top acrópolis, which features monumental 4th century gates and reliefs from about 280 B.C. Also the Temples of Athena Lindia sits above an earlier temple. There is also a Castle of the Knights of St John, built in the 14th century. All would have been fascinating to see. But it requires a strenuous hike to get there. There are no roads to get to the top.
Ending the tour with an unexpected Greek snack and drinks at a beachside cafe. Life doesn’t get much better.
Comments
Post a Comment