Rhodos: Colossus of medieval cities

  Rhodes, Greece
Friday, April 7, 2006

So there's a bigger one somewhere else? I'd like to see that because Rhodes is an awesome display of Crusader architecture and military might that somehow ended up on this jewel in the Mediterranean. If there's anything bigger around, it must be huge!

As you can probably imagine lying smack dab between Greece, Turkey and Egypt, Rhodes has had a long and turbulent history. It was founded around 1,100BC as a administrative centre for the various Dorian states that had coalesced on the island, eventually superseding their importance to became the island's capital. Constantly swapping sides through the Peloponnesian wars got them through the tough times of Marathon and Salamis.

Later, to celebrate a foiled siege of the city, the Rhodians apparently built one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World - the Colossus of Rhodes - a 32 metre high bronze statue of a bloke straddling a waterway, holding a giant flaming pot on his head. As you do... Note however that no evidence has ever been found (apart from ancient travel blogs) that proves where it stood or even if it did actually exist.



After this Rhodes became the most important port and power in the Mediterranean until they got on the wrong side of the Romans after Julius Caesar's assassination. The resulting destruction of their navy was the start of the decline. Since then Goths, Persians, Saracens, Turks, Genoese, the Knights of St John, Ottomans and Italians have all occupied the hapless island, which was only returned to Greece in 1947.



What you see around you today in Old Town is largely a product of the Knights of St John. Kilometres of 20 metre high, 12 metre thick walls ring the city, often two or three walls deep. This in turn is surrounded by the New Town, the two combining to form modern day Rhodes Town which houses the majority of the island's 100,000 inhabitants.

Inside Old Town is a beautiful warren of often crumbling sandstone buildings, classically-named labyrinthine laneways and lively squares - all with a distinctly Christian feel. Comprised of three sectors - the Knight's Quarter, the Turkish Quarter and the Jewish Quarter - you do get lost wandering about but it's not for long and is immensely enjoyable to find your way out. There's plenty to entertain (tavernas, bars and clubs etc) and it's all very photogenic, so a couple of days spent here flies by.



The exultantly named Palace of the Grand Masters is the central focus of town. Blown up in a gunpowder explosion mid last century, it was lavishly restored by the Italians as a holiday home for their King Emmanuel and one Benito Mussolini, fascist dictator extraordinaire. It seems that when he wasn't being inspired by the ancient Roman Empire, he reverted to a dose of Crusader culture instead, so you have to give him some credit for good taste.



Small regal finishes are everywhere, harkening back to an age of crown and country, allegiance and chivalry. Very, very classy indeed.



And inside is just as good - grand stairways and gothic-arched halls, dozens of highly detailed mosaics pinched from Kos, free-standing and wall mounted statuary, and antique Chinese vases are just some of the ornamentation that grace its sombre halls. Artisans of Rhodes excelled themselves on this one. A history museum in the basement areas contains an interesting range of ancient coinage, statues and the like. Wherever you go and unlike most other castles I been to, you get the feeling you could be very comfortable living in this one - there's none of the stark coldness or foreboding you get in older forts. I'm sure Uncle Benito had a grand time in Rhodes.



Back outside and you hit the Avenue of the Knights, a cobbled and gently sloping roadway leading down to the harbour side wall that housed the 'Inns of the Knights'. These inns were the headquarters of detachments from seven countries assigned to defend Rhodes at the time - England, France, Germany, Italy, Aragon, Provence and Auvergne. Each had to protect a section of the walls and the inns were where their soldiers, ministers and chaplains lived.

They are bizarre but discrete buildings that look similar on first glance but are each unique in finished detail. Most are corporate offices now and it didn't seem feasible to go in.



Back out into Turkish Quarter and there is more evidence of life and commerce in the alleyways. There's a few mosques here, including a pink one dedicated to Suleyman, who ended up taking Rhodes from the knights back in the 15th century. It gets pretty rowdy in this neighbourhood later in the evening, so watch where you take a hotel or you could be sleeping next to a throbbing nightclub!



There are things to see in the New Town too, including the oldest town around - the Acropolis of Rhodes in the city's south west. Three or four columns from the Temple of Pythian Apollo are still standing and the theatre has been gleamingly restored, but it is the Stadium that makes the walk worthwhile - athletes used to train here, greased up and in a loin cloth if there were lucky, preparing for the ancient Olympic Games. I wonder if Rhodes was an athletic superpower too...

North of the city one can find package tour central and what looks to be a reasonably nice beach. The 'Stag and Doe' statues grace the entry to a very small Mandraki Harbour, which is said to be the location of the ancient Colossus (although this is physically impossible apparently) and from there its a short walk to the inter-island ferry port, where I'll take my next ferry to Crete come 4.30am.



Before that I'll try and get some sleep. I just hope Mike the hostel owner stops playing his bouzouki long enough for me to do so. He's been at it for hours!

Andio from Rhodos.

Next entry -> becoming a Cretan

Words from the Wise #70

"If we knew what we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?"

Albert Einstein (a Hippocratic enthusiast in his own way)