Exploring Rhodes

Medieval Knights & Days of Yore

By Rick Millikan

Hearing a short port talk yesterday, my wife Chris and I readily debark our cruising Carnival Freedom hotel and stroll to St. Catherine’s Gate.  Within ten minutes, we’re exploring medieval Rhodes in the days of yore.  Our quest has begun.

Inside this high walled city, gothic churches mingle with homes of early squires, smithies and merchants who had served the crusaders. Fourteenth century masons had refortified the original Byzantine wall and created residences featuring arched gateways, sculpted coats-of-arms and paved courtyards.

They also built the central Knights of St. John Hospital to care for Holy Land pilgrims. Now an Archaeological Museum, we enter noting the ground level archways once leading to storehouses.  Crossing its sparse courtyard, we climb a wide staircase to its early infirmary. Exhibit rooms in the two-story arcade celebrate those noble knights and reflect upon their zealous struggles.

Crossing Knight’s Street, we gaze inside Our Lady of the Castle Cathedral. The crusaders revamped this former Byzantine church to fit their reverent needs. When Suleyman the Magnificent later conquered Rhodes, his Ottoman craftsmen converted their cathedral into a mosque, replacing its bell-tower with a soaring minaret.

Lofty stone inns still border the cobbled street. Above each arched doorway an emblem represents the language once spoken within. Thus contingents of English, Italian, Spanish, French and German knights were welcomed to their “Inns of Tongue.”

At the end of the street stood the formidable Palace of the Grand Masters, the Knights of St. John headquarters.  Becoming a dilapidated Turkish prison during the Ottoman period, during WW II Mussolini restored it for his residence. The Palace aptly evolved into a stunning museum. Eagerly entering, we investigate its twenty-four rooms.  Among the trove of treasures lie magnificent Grecian mosaic floors from ancient Kos.  Roman statuary border its large courtyard.

Ambling north we exit another gate to see the Temple of Aphrodite just outside the walls. Nearby lies Rhodes’ ancient acropolis and cemetery lay. Looping southward, we pass a pink-domed mosque and almshouse constructed by Suleyman. Returning along Socrates Street, stalls overflow with jewelry, pottery, clothes and embroidery.   Narrow side streets lead to an old Muslim Library, Ottoman mosques, various Crusader and Byzantine churches, as well as a famed local Turkish bath.

Finding a “taverna” in Hippocrates Square, we sip strong Greek coffee. A Greek pal taught me the old custom of reading coffee dregs. Placing the saucer atop my cup, I swirl my cup and flip it over. Thumping it three times, the cup releases. I note, “So my lady love begins with letter three.” Chris smiles as I continue,  “That line inside the cup shows a journey.  Those few grounds on the bottom mean life’s good.”  Having no grounds for complaint and feeling energized, we walk back to the ship.

That afternoon we take a taxi from the dock to a beach below Old Town. Renting lounges and a red umbrella, we join the multitudes of sunbathing sea nymphs and mermen. Refreshing ourselves in the crystal blue waters, we strolled back along the sunny shore.

From 280 to 244 B.C. mariners beheld the Colossus of Rhodes towering atop this hillside city. Collapsing during an earthquake, the ancient world’s seventh wonder was never resurrected. The Colosus once straddled platforms on both sides of the entrance into ancient Mandariki harbour. A bronze stag and doe now stand at these sites honouring the legendary deer that stomped out the island’s poisonous snakes.

Old Town Rhodes proves a unique world heritage site.  Walking through its four periods of historic splendor, we return once more to our cozy cabin laden with prized memories and priceless insights.

If you’re going:

Our Carnival Cruise Ship Freedom served as a convenient traveling hotel for unique excursions from eight port stops to explore ancient Greece, Turkey and Italy. Contact: www.carnival.com  for Mediterranean itineraries.