Day 27: RHODES

An overnight cruise brought us to the island of Rhodes, third largest of the Greek isles.  It has a population of over 100,000.  The city of Rhodes is at its northern tip, and encloses the medieval Crusaders' fortress where some 10,000 live and work.  This has proved to be the most touristy town we have visited so far.  Most of the shore tours were to Lindos, halfway down the island, noted for its ruins and the site where the Colossus of Rhodes once stood.  Having seen enough ruins for a while, I decided to skip the tours and do my own walk around ancient Rhodes.

The one hour historic tour (as outlined on the tourist map provided at the port information office) took me a little over 2 hours -- allowing for having got lost a couple of times!  Rhodes has had a chequered history which shows as one tours the old town.  1500 BC first settled by Greeks; 227 BC destroyed by earthquake; 42BC settled by Romans; 1190 AD Richard Lionheart briefly; 1204, the 4th Crusade; 1300 Kinghts of St John of Jerualem bought the island and built the fortified town; 1522, the Muslims conquered Rhodes; 1912, the Italians; 1943 the Germans (who massacred Jews here); 1947 incorporated into modern Greece.  There are a number of christian churches, both ruins and functioning; several mosques, all of which I saw were locked and looked disused; and a very nice Synagogue where they provide a welcome and interesting commentary.  

The streets are cobblestone and hard on the feet.  Never seen so many silver and goldsmiths, but I think most of them are just sales outlets.  I did see a couple of genuine small workshops in side lanes.  Eating places galore.  Again here, we seem to be one of the last ships of the season and no other in port, so the place wasn't really crowded and the merchants were desparate for trade.  The high point (literally) of the town is the Grand Master's Palace which was the HQ of the Knights when they were here.  Interestingly, there are a number of national "quarters" where Spanish, French, Germans etc... had their sphere of influence.  

Quiet afternoon on board which included lunch, a nap and some washing.  This evening I decided to forego the ship's free dining and go ashore to try some of the local cuisine.  Settled on an outdoor cafe in Martyrs' Square, complete with loud Greek music and screeching parrots; and a couple of hookers at the next table who tried hard to chat me up and interest me.  Lamb cutlets with the best Greek salad ever.  And a beer served in a foot mug that I didn't quite finish.  A really relaxing and enjoyable time.  I staggered back to the ship and hour before sailing time.  

We sail at 10pm; and all day at sea tomorrow as we head for Ashdod (Jerusalem).

Today's quota of snapshots can be seen here.