Rhodes Greek Island, Greece

Shopping in Old Town 
- Rhodes, Greece

Lunch Looking Over Hippocrates Square
- Old Town Rhodes

Calamari for Lunch 
- Rhodes, Greek Islands, Greece

Marine Gate 
- Rhodes's Old Town, Greece

Socratous Street & Mosque
of Suleyman - Rhodes

Lindos Beach - Rhodes, Greek Islands, Greece

'Boot' of Beer - Rhodes, Greece

Rhodes Greek Island, Greece (6/19-22/2010) - The Greek island of Rhodes is a wonderful jewel with a beautifully preserved medieval old city and wonderful beaches - you must get here. Really, come here!

We spent 3 days wandering the near magical Old City of Rhodes day and night and enjoying the beautiful beaches each day (see photos). The Old City of Rhodes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the best preserved medieval towns in Europe and is the largest inhabited medieval enclave in Europe. It is enclosed within wonderfully preserved walls, 3-miles long and up to 40-feet thick. 

The streets of Rhodes' Old Town are full of beautiful shops and restaurants (see photo). We found time to eat as much Greek food that we could (yum!). We stayed in the quiet Jewish Quarter in the Old City with a 5-minute walk to the major areas of Rhodes' Old Town through quaint cobblestoned lanes.

During our days we visited 3 beaches - the well-developed Faliraki Beach, the famous Lindos Beach, and the local Aquarium Beach. 


At Lindos Beach (see photo), we believe that we ate at the same Taverna (restaurant) that we did on our honeymoon 22 years ago (romantic points for Wayne). There are many more tavernas and sun beds now.

Some history... Rhodes has been famous since antiquity as the site of the 100-foot-tall bronze Colossus of Rhodes (see image below), one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World, which stood at the harbor entrance. Completed in 282 BC, the Colossus of Rhodes represented their sun god Helios (appropriate because Rhodes is the sunniest island in the Aegean). It did not last long when a strong earthquake hit Rhodes about 226 BC, badly damaging the city and toppling the Colossus. For the next eight centuries the Colossus of Rhodes lay in ruins until it was sold to a Jewish merchant, reputed to require 900 camels to haul it away.

Map of Rhodes and Aegean Islands

The island of Rhodes, just 11 miles off the coast of Turkey with a population of about 80,000 across the island, has been inhabited since about 4000 BC and is at a crossroads between Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Rhodes position in major Aegean Sea routes has given it a very rich history (once Rhodes ruled the Aegean Sea) and has given the city and the island many different identities, cultures, architectures, and languages over its long history. 

Possible Image of Colossus of Rhodes

Rhodes' current Old City was built by the Knights Hospitallers when they established their headquarters on Rhodes in 1307 on their return from the Crusades. Rhodes' cobblestone Avenue of the Knights (Ipaton Street) is where the knights lived near the main entrance to the city at the Marine Gate. The Knights Hospitallers remained on Rhodes for the next two centuries until finally pushed out by the Ottomans in 1522 after a 6-month siege by 200,000 Turks.

Map of Greek Islands

After WWI nearly four centuries later, the Italians gained control of Rhodes and tore down most of the evidence of the Ottoman Turks giving Rhodes the medieval Crusader appearance it has today.

Please see our 11 other blog posts for other beautiful Greek Islands:

Greece Greek Islands Our Impressions and Travel Advice

‪Greece Antiparos Greek Island

‪Greece Crete Large Towns Rethymno Chania Agios Nikolaos

Greece Crete Smaller Villages Matala Georgioupoli

Greece Ios Greek Island

Greece Mykonos Greek Island

Greece Naxos Greek Island

‪Greece Paros Greek Island

‪Greece Santorini Greek Island Oia Fira Villages

‪Greece Santorini Greek Island Rest of Island

Greece Tinos Greek Island

 

 
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