July 14 Rhodes

 

Heavy fortifications front the port

Not a great photo, but you can see the deer perched on columns either side of the old port entrance

Rhodes is an island of myth, one that I had looked forward to visiting (but I have to admit to some disappointment in our visit). The Knights of St John reigned over the island from 1310 to 1522 and built impressive defensive walls with majestic gateways – echoes of Malta? Long before the Knights were there, however, back in C3 BC the legendary Colossus of Rhodes, a statue of the Greek sun-god Helios, stood guarding the harbour.  It was one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The Colossus was toppled by an earthquake in about 225 BC. The fallen Colossus remained there until C7 AD when Arabian forces raided Rhodes and had the statue broken up and the bronze sold for scrap - supposedly more than 900 camel-loads – that’s a lot of weapons or ….. Today the old port entrance has columns topped with Rhodian deer. 

As with most ports we visited we had a choice of excursions. Here on Rhodes we opted for a bus tour down the east coast from the north travelling south to the ancient village of Lindos. I don’t know why we didn’t explore that town, but we had great views of it and its acropolis, as well as the Turkish coast, less than 20km away. The quaint whitewashed houses of Lindos are nestled hard up against rocky cliffs. 

Lindos

The delightful St Paul's harbour

Lindos in the distance

On the way back to the ship we stopped at a restaurant in the little seaside village of Kolymbia where we were served Greek mezze and ouzo.

In the village of Kolymbia 

Across the water we could see the Turkish coast.

It was Gala night to meet the Captain and crew. Our dessert was rather pretty.