Rhodes, Greece - July 31


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I am melting

HOTTER and even more HUMID



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part of the 300 step climb

Up and off the boat before 8:00, today’s adventure takes us first to the Acropolis of Lindos.  Lindos is a town an hour’s drive away from the port.  The archaeological site is high, high upon a hill which means a lot of climbing – donkeys are available for those who don’t want to climb.  It’s really not that bad especially when we are going as a group with our guide.  Even if we wanted to go quickly there would be no way considering the mammoth crowd.  I don’t know if this is a usual crowd, but to me the crowd seems huge.  The path to the top narrowed in parts so only 2 people could fit – one in each direction.  That caused some pretty significant traffic jams.  And…to top it all off everyone was drenched.  I’ve been to some pretty hot places with some pretty drenched folks, but I’ve never seen men with wet pants.  Shirts sure, but pants??  The view from the top was pretty amazing.  Rhodes has a very beautiful coastline and neat little towns to kick around - definitely on my ‘to return to list’.

After lunch is a walking tour of the town of Rhodes, in and around the fortress walls.  The narrow streets are lined with shops and cafes.  There’s really not much else to see other than the Grand Masters Palace.


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Palace



The palace was built in the 1300s by the Knights of Rhodes.  After the island was captured by the Ottomans, it was used as a fortress.  The original palace was destroyed 1856. When the Kindgom of Italy occupied Rhodes in 1912, the Italians rebuilt the palace.  The palace is also likely where the Colossus of Rhodes once stood – probably 100 feet high.  It was a statue built just after 300 BC of the Greek god Helios.  It is one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world.  The commonly held belief is that it was at the Rhodes harbour.  There are also ancient stories of it lying broken after an earthquake.  If it had fallen at the harbour it would have disappeared into the sea.  In the palace there are also many mosaics telling stories of Greek mythology.  These mosaics were brought by the Italians from Italy.  They are in very good shape and are almost entirely in tact. 




next year??

We stay on in town for some calamari and beer at a Greek taverna and a bit of shopping.  On the way back we see an enormous yacht (238 feet) in the harbour – maybe that’ll be next year’s trip.



calamari