Greek Isles
Trip Start
Jul 30, 2009
1
24
36
Trip End
Jan 23, 2010
Rhodes, Dodecanese, Greece
Monday, November 16, 2009
The next few blogs are of separate trips that we did: Sue to Rhodes in the Greek Isles (on her list of "must-do's!" for many, many years) and The Hague in the Netherlands (something she didn't DARE hope she could one day do), and John to Istanbul and Gallipoli in Turkey, a place I have always wanted to visit to acknowlege the great sacrifice given by so many there.
We both flew out from London Heathrow and the 16th of November and returned to Heathrow on the 22nd of November so we have had to fiddle the dates in between to get details of both trips into the same blog. So Sue flew London-Athens-Rhodes/Rhodos-Athens-Amsterdam (train to and from The Hague)-London.
Sue
Rhodes (Rhodos) is situated between the Black Sea and Egypt and is one of the most popular destinations in the Greek Isles apparently
From my room - Mediterranean Hotel Rhodes
. Rhodes is perhaps most famous for one of the Seven Wonders of the World - The Colossus of Rhodes. The island of Rhodes (Rhodes city is on the northernmost tip) is at the crossroads between Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and because of its position in major sea routes, is rich in history. It has four harbours! - and has been inhabited since 4000BC.The taxi driver told me that most of the tourist places on the island were closed from the end of the September till next May, and indeed they were - he pointed out all the buildings in darkness as we drove by. Everyone was exhausted and needed a break too, he said. I was the only tourist he knew of that was here. I think there were people from places nearby, but not from further afield. I was beginning to wonder at the wisdom of coming here at this time of the year.... but I was happy to be able to meet the locals rather than vie for standing room among hordes of tourists. He said none of the locals swim this time of year as it's too cold - around 16/19 degrees during the day.
The hotel was right on the beach and my room had a ninety degree view of the ocean and it was wonderful to be able to hear the waves break onto the shore and smell the lovely salty air again. The taxi driver assured me that crime was non-existent and it was safe to walk around at any time of the day and night on my own
My faithful friend
. I certainly took advantage of that and enjoyed my evening walks along the beach pathways before and after dinner! I got lost a few times but I needed the exercise, so all was well.The next day I quickly made my way through the New Town (more modern part - which is just like any other town in any other country) and then spent the rest of the day discovering the Old City (the Old Town as the locals now call it). It was fascinating!! I could have spent a week there! I made friends with a lovely old dog on the way, and to my surprise, found he faithfully followed me for the next couple of hours!! He knew his way around, obviously.... and I was quite chuffed to have found a 'friend' :) but the cobbled streets eventually defeated him.
The Old Town is the largest preserved medieval settlement in Europe and has been inhabited without interruption down to the present time and is completely enclosed in a thick, 6km long wall. No doubt bits of the wall have been built/repaired at different times, by whoever was "holding fort" at the time, but the earlier Byzantine city was extended and the walls fortified by the Knights of St John in the 14th and 15th centuries, creating the medieval city we see today.
Laneway in the Old Town, Rhodes
The Old Town is included in UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. I grinned my way around the cobbled streets, magnificent buildings of the Knights of St John, a moat and walls with their ramparts, the Byzantine churches and mosques, the squares, the gardens and the courtyards of the houses, The Grand Masters Palace and a Museum and Art Gallery.... and lots and lots of stalls/shops. I was lucky that a large ship had brought in some tourists for the day so, by arrangement, a select number of shops and restaurants were open. Otherwise, it would have been all shut.
The next day I went to Lindos by bus (about an hour's trip) and everything there WAS closed.... except one coffee shop, one bar and one cafe. It was a delightful little place with cobbled streets again, and the buildings winding their way up, down and around, were all white. The highlight for me was seeing the little bay where Paul's boat took shelter in the storm (in the bible) all those years ago. I did a lot of walking that day - and talked to a lot of cats along the way (there would be 5 or 6 at a time).... but enjoyed getting out into the countryside. I couldn't get over the fact that most of the buildings in the towns we passed through - houses and business - were flat-roofed, and most of the hills/mountains I saw looked plateaued as well.
Part of Wall, the Old Town, Rhodes
The weather was amazing while I was on Rhodes and the last day was absolutely magnificent. I went crazy with my camera and sat for quite a while watching the pinks and blues in the sky, and the silvery shimmer on the water until the day slowly disappeared.
I found the locals wonderfully friendly and eager to please any tourist who comes their way. I feel times are tough for them. Apparently they used to be rich in agriculture but nowadays they depend pretty much entirely on the tourist trade to keep the economy going. I took the hint from the taxi driver and except for going to the same restaurant each night, tried to spread my tourist dollar around.... t-shirts here, postcards there.... tablecloth here, embroidered tops there....
I have fond memories of Greece.
Comments
Hi Aunty Sue Thank you for the T-shirts from Rhodes, they fit perfectly. Hope you are having a nice trip. Love Riley and Isaac xxxx