Rhodes

The next stop on our Greek Odyssey was the island of Rhodes. Claire and I both wanted to make it there on this trip, but I honestly didn’t know that much about it beyond the fact that there was some sort of medieval history to the place, maybe a castle or something? That, and I liked the sound of the name. But that was enough, so we left Kos on a high-speed ferry that took us along the beautiful Turkish coast and made our way to the island to spend four knights nights there.

As with much of this part of the world, there is a lot of history to discover. But the big draw of the island is the old walled city, fortified by the Knights Hospitaller in the early 1300s, defended by them until 1523 when the city was taken by the Ottomans, and then restored during the post-1912 Italian occupation and in modern times. And boy, was it impressive to walk through the gates, past the massive walls, and stroll the cobblestone roads of old Rhodes (where the knights once rode).

We spent a couple of afternoons exploring the old city. Although it certainly attracts large crowds of tourists (especially when a cruise ship pulls into port!), the majority of these seem to be drawn to the souvenir shops and the terrasses in the squares, content to sit with their pints (or boots) of beer. After perusing the shops ourselves, but foregoing the pints, we found it surprisingly easy to find some quieter corners full of history, such as the Hospice of Saint Catherine, a small museum in which we found ourselves alone to explore (for free!). It’s looking pretty good these days, after having been damaged, and subsequently restored, in the 1480 siege, the 1481 earthquake, and the WWII bombing!

We also splurged and paid the entrance to the big castle in the centre of the city, also known as the Temple of the Grand Master. Restored by the Italians in the 1930s, it was really impressive to see the rooms inside. Although I love history, I have to confess that I’ve never really been into the medieval period, at least not beyond what’s covered in Monty Python’s Holy Grail. So, it was quite fun to learn more about this with the kids, and to try to fit some of the pieces of the historical puzzle together with what we had already seen in places like Istanbul. (On that note, though we loved the historic sites in Turkey, the entrance fees were often rather exorbitant, especially given how much they’ve gone up in a few years and that we had to buy four tickets. The sites in Greece have been more reasonably-priced, and the kids have all been free.)

I don’t want to give you the impression that we spent all of our time learning though, like some family of nerds. We also hit up the beach, which was a short walk from our apartment in the new town, and worked on our tan. We finally had some hot days, and though the water was still quite cool, it was also spectacularly clear. As a bonus, there was a permanent diving platform a short swim out from the beach.

I also managed to get out for some beautiful runs, along the coast, through the moat of the old city, and even up to the ancient Acropolis where I had the pleasure of running alone around a stadium that was built over 2200 years ago.