Loco Avocado: Knights of the Rhodes Table

Back to the Greek trail....

After spending a short 48 hours in Athens, we were to hop over to Rhodes to spend the next 2 days.

Rhodes - the largest in the cluster of islands known as the Dodecanese – is situated at the far end of the Greek territories. In fact, it much nearer the mainland of Turkey (just 11 miles), than Athens, that it takes only a mere 1 hour ferry ride to the nearest Turkish port compared to 16 hours to Athens. (We took a 1-hour plane ride instead. On Olympic Air. The plane literally has the Olympic Rings as its emblem. We almost missed our plane, given that the Athens Metro did not have a train running to the airport frequently on Easter Sunday. But we managed to get there 20 minutes before the plane took off and they let us on!)

Rhodes Town (capital of Rhodes) holds the single largest inhabited medieval town in Europe, preserved from the Middle Ages during the crusading Order of the Knights of St. John. St. Paul also brought his Christianity here.

Given the proximity to Turkey and the ineveitable Ottoman occupation in the 16^th century that lasted 300 years, much Turkish influence is also discernible throughout the fortified citadel.

Being within the fortress walls of Old Town, I felt like I was in a Robin Hood movie set: cobble-stoned streets and little alleyways that turned into nooks and crannies; tavernas and old wooden doors and windows; signboards that looked like they were designed a lifetime before. I half-expected an armoured knight to jump out of nowhere, brandishing his glistening sword and claiming gallantry by offering protection to the 2 damsels on vacation. J

Rhodes reminded me a lot of Carcassonne - another medieval city preserved from the Middle Ages in the south of France.

Chances are, if you allowed yourself to be led by the maze of side streets, you would end up finding little conclaves of cafes and restaurants and comforting homes of the Rhodesians. Good luck finding your way back out the same way though!

Flying past one of the many Greek islands dotting the Aegean Sea

View from our Olympic Air plane window on the way to Rhodes

Hotel Isole - our Santorini-themed pension situated in a little alley right in the heart of Old Town.
Run by Franco - a ponytailed Italian man who spoke broken Italian and French and rode a Vespa :)

The side streets of the medieval city - cobble-stoned with high arches and wooden doorways - just like in the movies! Being Easter, paintings depicting the scenes of Christ (for Catholics - akin to the Stations of the Cross) are placed above the archways for an entire stretch. The paintings are covered in translucent film on Good Friday and revealed on Easter Sunday. This particular painting is of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples.

Crystal clear water lapping at the Rhodesian coast. With the shadow of the fortress cast on the sand.

St. Paul's Gate - one of the 11 entrances providing access into and out of the citadel in the olden days. However, not all the gates are currently open to the public.

The Mandraki harbour of Rhodes - the old military harbour. It was the main harbour of Rhodes for almost 2500 years. The entrance is guarded by 2 deer, each atop a pillar - Rhodian symbols of power and wealth. It is believed that the Colossus of Rhodes - one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World - was situated there.

Ever seen this ladder to heaven on motivational posters?? Now you know it really exists in Rhodes!! Found along Elli beach - a 10 minute walk from Old Town - it actually serves as a diving platform for a jump into the clear blue sea.

The sands of Elli beach (aka Rhodes Town Beach)

And to prove my point about the crystal clear water.....

Ippokratous Square - the main activity hub of Old Town - with an old Castellan fountain in the middle. Surrounded by cafes and restaurants filled with tourists, almost all of the main streets lined with touristy shops lead to Ippokratous Square.

The commercial harbour of Rhodes

The Kahal Shalom Synagogue in La Juderia - the Jewish quarter. Originally built in the 12th century, the Sephardic synagogue was destroyed during the war between the Turks and the Knights of Rhodes and rebuilt in the 15th century. Today, it is the oldest synagogue in Greece An informative museum is situated next to the synagogue with an interesting historical narrative of the Jewish community in Rhodes.

A vendor watching her wares along a cobble-stoned side street

Care for an Aladdin lamp by any chance?
Photo credit: Adeline Wong

One of the many small crypt churches in Rhodes

For a bird's eye view of Rhodes, climb up the Clock Tower for 4 euros and be blown away by the breathtaking landscape and infinite horizon. The ticket even comes with a drink at the base of the Tower - great way to rest those thighs after making the steep climb up!

View from the Clock Tower - right in front, the domes and the minaret are part of the pink Mosque of Suleiman. Built in 1522 over the site of the devastated Church of the Apostles to commemorate the Ottoman Sultan's victory over the Knights of Rhodes.

One of the main shopping streets in the Old Town. Behind, you can see the minaret and pink dome of the Mosque of Suleiman.

Ipoton Street - also known as the Avenue of the Knights - a 600m long unbroken cobblestoned stretch of honey-coloured walls, huge doorways and arched windows. The knights lived here in inns, divided into seven tongues based on their place of origin - England, France, Germany, Italy, Aragon, Auvergne and Provence. Each "tongue" was tasked with protecting a section of the medieval city. The knights reported to the Grand Master, who lived at the top of the inclined street, in the Palace of the Grand Master.

Restored in the 19th century, signs along various doorways of the street mark out the various inns of the knights. Modern offices now occupy the lofty inns.