On Sep 22, 2021 we set sail for Rhodes. With 20+ knots it was a windy passage but with a first reef in the main and full staysail the boat was well balanced for a fast beam reach to our destination.
This location proved to be a disaster. Any winds between a NW and NE direction caused a horrible swell in the marina making all boats at “our” pontoon roll violently. During the night we had to readjust the mooring lines since our mast was banging into our neighbours’ mast despite having checked the clearance that evening. This meant that the marina provided mooring lines at the bow were dragging!! The next morning we insisted on being relocated to location 2, next to the fuel dock with the least swell. After some sulking the marina staff reluctantly approved our request. The subsequent nights we slept much better.
From the 16th century BC onwards, Minoans – Greeks (Rhodes participated in the siege of Troy, 1180 BC) – Persians – Greeks again – Romans and the Byzantines occupied Rhodes islands. We will spare you the details but from 1309 AD onwards it becomes interesting in relation to what is still visible today. The Knights Hospitaller were “homeless” after being driven from the Holly Land by the expanding Ottoman empire. They selected Rhodes, part of the Byzantine empire, to be their new home and after a 4 year campaign, the city of Rhodes surrendered. The Knights started (re)building the fortifications and buildings, of which many are still standing today. The origin of the Knights Hospitaller is explained in our post on Kastelorizo (https://www.twobatsea.com/from-riches-to-ruins/).
The Order of the Knights in Rhodes consisted of Christians from different areas in Europe and the holdings were organised into eight “Langues” or Tongues, i.e. Aragon, Auvergne, Castile – León – Portugal, England, France, Holy Roman Empire, Italy and Provence. True to their initial reason for existence, the knights build hospitals and churches in addition to the islands fortifications.
The headquarters of each tongue was known as an “auberge”, a French word meaning “inn” and many were build along “Ippoton”, better known as “Street of the Knights”.
In 1402 the Knights built a stronghold in Halicarnassus, present day Bodrum, Türkiye, and continued to defend the area against Muslim forces. Rhodes withstood two major Muslim invasions but in 1522 the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent decided that enough was enough and he laid siege to the city with 400 ships and 100,000 men, against the Rhodes fortifications and 7000 defenders. After 6 months the city fell. The Sultan was so impressed by the heroic fight put up by the knights that the defeated survivors were allowed to live and to withdraw to the island of Malta.
In 1912, Italy seized Rhodes from the Ottomans during WWI. The island was greatly improved during the 30 years of Italian rule and many structures were beautifully restored. Especially the Grand Maters Castle, which was transformed into a summer residence for the Italian Kings and the later dictator Benito Mussolini. Rhodes, together with the other Dodecanese islands were reunited with Greece after WWII in 1947.
We rented a car to tour the island and the first activity was a hike in Petaloudes Valley (also known as Butterfly Valley). As the name suggests the valley is known for the year round presence of the Jersey Tiger moth (not a butterfly!). The hiking trail runs along a small stream in a beautiful lofty valley.
There were not so many moths left this time of year since the end of September coincides with the end of their lifespan. The insect hybernates as a small larva. The best time to visit, if you want to be covered in months, is the end of May.
We continue further South to visit the ruins of Kamiros, one of the three large cities of the island, which united with Ialysos and Lindos (see below) in the 5th century B.C. to create the powerful city – state of Rhodes. Kamiros was basically an agricultural society which produced olive oil, wine and figs. It was the first Rhodian city to cut its own coins. Its decline was the result of the gradual abandonment by its residents, who decided to move to the city of Rhodes.
The acropolis is a natural citadel which was fortified successively by the Greeks, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Knights of St John and the Ottomans. This makes the site difficult to excavate and interpret archaeologically. However most of the structures standing today are from the Greek (Hellenistic) period.
To finish the day we celebrated Liza’s birthday (Sep 26) at the rooftop restaurant “Christof Modern Mediterranean Cuisine”. It was a memorable experience!
Thank you for reading this post about our Rhodes explore, but we are not yet finished. A third post about this fascinating and beautiful island will follow.
Warm Regards, Liza and Frits