Category: Rhodes

Lindos 30.9.21

6 October 2021 / admin

Lindos Fortress 30-9-21

One of the main historic sites on Rhodes is Lindos and we took ourselves there on what seemed to be an exceptionally warm day. Lindos was a major trading centre in the 8th Century BC but its influence declined after Rhodes came into existence in the 5th Century BC.

Lindos Harbour 30-9-21

The harbour is not particularly large hence leading to the decline as a trading centre. The acropolis was topped in about 300BC with a temple to Athena, later falling into disuse and then being partially covered by a 14th Century fortress by the Knights of St John.

Temple Athena remains Lindos 30-9-21

For many the way to top is using a donkey – but neither of us feel that being atop a donkey is the safest activity we can undertaken and Jackie elects to stay in the Square whilst I walk to the top. It is busy and there is a queue to enter so it takes a little longer than I had anticipated. I made it!

Athena Temple description 30-9-21

Just to provide the historical background.

Acropolis of Lindos 30-9-21

On our return journey it proved possible to get a different view to grasp the size of the town and the fortress. Whilst the town is busy during the day with visitors like ourselves we were told that it goes very quiet in the evening and becomes a very pleasant place to visit. I do know that it was an exceptionally warm day to walk up (and down again).

Rhodes Town 28.9.21

5 October 2021 / admin

Windmills Rhodes Harbour 28-9-21

Rodos Park is within easy (downhill) walking distance of Rhodes town. I might take a slightly different view of the return journey. Rhodes is situated close to Turkey and has been controlled by many different empires through the ages. Roman obviously, the Byzantine or Eastern Roman empire based on Constantinople, Islamic forces carried off the remains of the Colossus, then the Genoese and in the Crusader period the Knights Hospitallers who are responsible for much of the monuments which we visit today. The scale of the fortifications is enormous.

Fortifications Rhodes 28-9-21

Later the island fell into the Ottoman Empire for around 400 years then the Italians took control in 1912 with an agreement that it would be passed back to Turkey never being completed due to the First World War. German occupation commenced in 1943 after Italy was defeated which ended in 1945 and the island became part of Greece in 1947 with the Italian colonists returning to Italy. A hugely mixed history and the town is relatively flat as we wander around some of the back streets.

Suleymaniye Mosque 28-9-21

We see evidence of the various eras – the Knights Hospitallers for the fortification and the mosque originally built in early 16th Century once the Ottoman Empire had taken control of the island, but I think a large proportion of was reconstructed in 1808 and has been closed since 2014 awaiting further restoration.

Rhodes Town 28-9-21

A side street in Rhodes Town – I was lucky here as usually there were more people around!

Different levels Rhodes Town 28-9-21

What was obvious but which we did not investigate is that there appear to be higher levels with connecting bridges between buildings common around the town.

View opposite coffee break Rhodes 28-9-21

After all that walking we decided a break for coffee and people watching was in order as they wandered along the Street of the Knights (Odos Ippoton). We ended our visit to Rhodes Town with a rapid visit to the iconic Windmills of Mandraki as seen above. They were used to grind grain being offloaded from the ships in the harbour. There were once 12 – 18 mills along the harbour front.

Rhodes 26.09.21 – 3.10.21

4 October 2021 / admin

Rodos Park Pool 27-9-21

This was our first escape from the UK now that International travel is once again permitted as the risks relating to covid have been addressed. We have the pleasure of an EasyJet to Rhodes where we have accommodation and are organised.

Arriving at the airport is instructive. To travel at the moment one needs a passport (obviously), tickets (even more obviously) and then proof of covid vaccinations plus completion of a form for each person notifying the authorities of whereabouts at the destination and all of which has to be completed electronically. Precise requirements depend on the destination.

There is a queue for the check in at the airport and a young lady whom we can see is seeking to check the existence of the relevant documents for each traveller before allowing them to actually drop their baggage. Many of them are seeking to display the information on their phones – and inevitably there is a lot of swiping going on as they seek to find the boarding passes, the vaccination records and the relevant forms. Quite a significant proportion have no idea of the need for the form to be completed for the destination country and are being sent away to complete them online – which is not always the easiest thing to do in the timescale needed.

Needless to say we are prepared – it is all printed out in order and can be easily checked. It is noticeable that the older travellers prefer paper to their phones – and compared with most we progress very quickly and the lady thanks us for being organised. I wonder she maintained her composure given the lack of documents among some of the intending travellers.

Magpies Rodos 27-9-21

With the difficult bit done we are eventually off into the wide blue yonder and our destination was the excellent Rodos Park Suites and the best sight was the sunshine and the pool which greeted us the following morning. Plus some pretty large magpies trying to hide in the trees. The trouble is that they are bit big to actually hide.

A decent hotel and we were able to eat outdoors in the evenings. The team delivered some good meals and we were able to enjoy some very decent local wines which the hotel staff were keen to demonstrate the ability of the local wine makers. Greek wine has come a long way over the years and we had a good week. There will be some individual posts on other aspects of the island.