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RHODES GUIDE - RHODES TOWN |
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| Introduction | Rhodes Town | The East Coast | Lindos | The West Coast | ||
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Rhodes Town is situated on the northern tip of the island. It is a vibrant cosmopolitan place with many local and international shops and restaurants of all types ( including Marks & Spencers and BHS !! ) to choose from in both the Old and New Town areas. The Old Town is the largest, inhabited medieval walled city in the world and would take many days to explore properly. It is also an officially designated World Heritage Site.
A warren of narrow cobbled streets fan out from the main squares and within these streets the locals live in original 14th century houses. Some have been beautifully restored into modern homes whilst others have been converted into fine quality gift and craft shops, gourmet restaurants or bijoux hotels. Others are still in disrepair waiting for improvement. It is easy to half close your eyes in this area and imagine life as it was 650 years ago.
The Old Town
was originally built in
the 14th century by the Knights of St. John, a religious-military order
dating back to the 12th century, whose mission was to capture the holy
city of Jerusalem from the Infidel. These crusaders came from England,
France, Spain, Portugal, Germany and Italy and the different nationalities
were known as ‘ the tongues ‘ referring to their differing languages
and origins.
In the Street of the Knights, probably the best preserved medieval street in the world, can be seen the Inns of the Tongues each with it’s coat of arms carved in the stone. These were the headquarters of the different nationalities making up the Knights Order. The street leads to the Palace of the Grand Masters which dominates the town and houses a wonderful museum featuring many ancient artefacts and some beautifully preserved mosaic floors dating back to the 1st. century B.C. After the failed first siege of Rhodes by the Turks in 1480, Suleiman the Magnificent with a 200,000 strong army, laid siege to the city in June 1522. The 290 Knights and a further 6,000 inhabitants and mercenaries defended the castle walls until in January 1523, short of food, water and ammunition they negotiated the surrender and departed for Crete. It was a bloody affair with c. 2,000 defenders and 50,000 Turks killed.
The Italians took over the island in 1912, improved the island’s infrastructure and restored many of the ancient and medieval antiquities. They were generally regarded as benign occupiers. During World War 2 the Italian garrison, stationed mainly in Kalathos, came under periodic air attack from the RAF until the Italian surrender in 1943 at which time the Germans occupied the island until the end of the war. The British then administered the Dodecanese Islands until 1948 when they were handed back to Mother Greece.
The New Town has extensive shopping areas, bars, clubs, all kinds of restaurants, cinemas, a casino and accommodation ranging from simple pensions to 5 star hotels. During the summer season it buzzes with a sophisticated life of it’s own whilst in the quieter winter months the cruise ships continue to visit and the fun loving locals let their hair down.
At the northern end of the harbour there is a lovely beach from which, on a clear day, the Anatolian mountains of Turkey look so close it seems that you could reach out and touch them.
Modern resorts such as Trianta and Ixia are situated on the northwestern coast, close to the capital and feature mainly 4 and 5 star hotels. |
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| Introduction | Rhodes Town | The East Coast | Lindos | The West Coast | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
