Rhodes, Greece: Old Town – Rick Steves’ Europe Travel Guide – Travel Bite

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Rhodes is built upon layers of civilizations — Italian, Greek, and Turkish, with a dash of medieval Crusader lore from all over Europe tossed in. Today, luxury yachts crowd the harbor. Visit http://www.ricksteves.com for more information about this destination and other destinations in Europe.

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Rick Steves, America’s most respected authority on European travel, writes European travel guidebooks, and hosts travel shows on public television and public radio.

Rhodes, or Rhodos, as locals call it, is the fourth-largest of the Greek islands. As we enter the historic harbor, the walls of the fortified town seem to tell a story. Rhodes is built upon layers of civilizations — Italian, Greek, and Turkish, with a dash of medieval Crusader lore

From all over Europe tossed in. Today, luxury yachts crowd the harbor. The island’s main city, also called Rhodes, was one of the great cities of antiquity. The famed statue called the Colossus of Rhodes once towered above the city. ♪♪ Ancient Greeks believed that this easternmost point of the Greek world,

Where the rising sun first kissed Greek soil, was the home of the sun god, Helios. So, they honored Helios by building a colossal statue. It was 100 feet tall in polished bronze. This Colossus of Rhodes was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. But it was destroyed by an earthquake

A couple hundred years before Christ, and today, nothing survives. The formidable Thalassini Gate is a reminder of the age of Chivalry and the famed Knights of Malta. They were also called the Knights of Saint John Hospitallers. Their mission during the 12th-century crusades: To protect Christian pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem

And provide hospitals for their care. The pope recognized the Knights of Saint John as a religious order, and they eventually became “soldiers of the cross” with an economic agenda and a mighty navy. Because the knights were from aristocratic families, they had lots of money and lots of power.

As the nearest Greek island to the Holy Land, Rhodes was a natural gathering point for Crusaders from all over Europe. In 1309, the Knights of Saint John claimed Rhodes as their headquarters and transformed it into a bustling, highly fortified European city governed by their Grand Master. Coming from all over Europe,

They gave Rhodes a cosmopolitan feel. This lane, called the Street of the Knights, originally hosted knights from their various countries. Whether from Spain, France, or Germany, each group built its own headquarters here to feel like home. To this day, the street feels medieval with carved reliefs that show off that original national pride.

♪♪ In the 14th century, the knights built the Palace of the Grand Master — an imposing residence and capital for their leader. Destroyed by the Ottoman Turks, it was rebuilt in a fanciful style just a century ago. The palace was fortified with three walls

And two moats for good reason — the ever-present Turkish threat. Huge granite cannonballs littering the grounds are a reminder that it was said, “when the Turks attacked, cannonballs rained down on the city.” ♪♪ The Ottoman Turks finally defeated the Knights of Saint John in the 1500s. The knights then retreated

Hundreds of miles west to the island of Malta, where they built an even more fortified headquarters. Rhodes then became part of the Ottoman Empire for several centuries. In fact, you can still feel that Turkish influence to this very day. Ippokratous Square is the busy heart of the old town.

And those once-formidable walls now seem only to protect a fun-loving tourist’s mecca and a vibrant artist’s colony. The bazaar-like back lanes are a delight to wander, and the main shopping drag still feels a bit like a Turkish bazaar. At the top end, a 500-year-old minaret marks the Mosque of Suleiman the Magnificent.

Back outside the walls, the city beach sprawls in a beautiful arc away from the harbor. This point, where the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas meet, is famously windy — long powering windmills. And the once-menacing shores of Turkey are just 12 miles away.