Rhodes

Rhodes

Rhodes is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of land area and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the South Aegean administrative region. The principal town of the island and seat of the municipality is Rhodes. The city of Rhodes had 50,636 inhabitants in 2011. It is located northeast of Crete, southeast of Athens and just off the Anatolian coast of Turkey. Rhodes' nickname is The island of the Knights, named after the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem, who once conquered the land.

The Knights of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem (to give their full name) were formed long before their reign on Malta. The Order was originally established in 1085 as a community of monks responsible for looking after the sick at the Hospital of St. John in Jerusalem. They later became a military order, defending crusader territory in the Holy Lands and safeguarding the perilous routes taken by medieval pilgrims. The Knights were drawn exclusively from noble families and the Order acquired vast wealth from those it recruited (Taken from Wikipedia)

This evidently was once a Catholic church because it faces North to South, as opposed to Greek Orthodox churches which face East to West to welcome the sun.

It is quite ornate, but beautiful inside.

We were told deer had a special significance on the island of Rhodes.  They were supposed to roam everywhere on the island, but we did not see our first deer. 

The Deer Dama-Dama of Rhodes Greece, Dodecanese: The deer Dama-Dama is a unique species that lives only in Rhodes Greece for many centuries. Many legends say that this deer was brought to Rhodes by the Crusaders in the Medieval times, but according to other sources, they lived there since the ancient times. In fact, Rhodes was called Elafioussa in the antiquity, which means with a lot of deer. The two deer statues that stand in Mandraki Harbor, Rhodes Town, shows that this deer has been the symbol of Rhodes for long. (Taken from greeka.com)

At this tip the Aegean and Mediterranean Sea meet.  You cannot see it in this picture, but the blues are quite distinct from one another.

Agave plant

An Olympic stadium for the games.
We were told that they get different crowns for different areas, ie. pine needles,  olive leaves

We go inside the city walls and find beautiful structures and courtyards.

 However, we became quite fascinated by the moat.

Welcome to my moat!

I always thought moat meant a body of water between the castle and land, but this is land.  It may have one time been filled with water, but these balls seem to suggest it was a defense strategy.  Try lifting one of these!!

We go inside the city walls

Library

Beautiful mosaic streets around the library.

A Monastery, nobody home!

Church being renovated

Courtyard at the main gate.

We did not get to Colossus.  We wanted to go but ran out of time, energy, and the ability to make the taxi driver understand.  Next time!  For now, we say good-bye to Rhodes.

Picture of Rhodes taken from boat.