Rhodes, Greece

Today was another beautiful day, with bright blue skies and a stiff breeze off the Mediterranean Sea. The temperature was in the 80s. Rhodes island is the fourth largest island in the Dodecanese archipelago (Greece has over 200 islands that are inhabited, and too many others to count), and is dry, rocky and barren on the west side and agricultural on the east side. There are beautiful beaches everywhere, but the ones on the west are very windy with wild waves in the sea while the ones on the east are calm. Half the population of Rhodes lives in Rhodes city and 70% of the population works in the tourism industry. This is a tourist destination and resort town, and the season runs from May thru November. Everyone on the island speaks English. There are olive trees everywhere (they export a lot and eat a lot).

Greek mythology is fascinating. I cannot even begin to remember all the wonderful stories about who, what, where and when as it relates to all the Olympic Gods. The early Greeks sure could spin a good yarn. One story explains why there is nighttime -- the sun goes to Mt. Olympus to rest at night. They had a story for everything.

Did you know that the word acropolis means high city? Acro = high; polis = city

Did you know that the early Olympic athletes competed in the nude? Here’s why: women were forbidden to compete or even watch the games and were given the death penalty if they did. If a woman was caught doing so, she was thrown from the top of a hill and either died or was stoned. One woman wanted to watch her son compete, so she dressed as a man and claimed to be his trainer. Somehow her costume came undone and she was exposed. Because she was the daughter of a famous boxer and the mother of a famous athlete, she was given clemency and was not given the death penalty. Instead, the athletes and trainers had to go naked to prove they were men! So much for Greek history and miscellaneous information.

We began the day with a brief tour of the old, walled city of Rhodes. The old city is surrounded by a magnificent sandstone wall built in the 1400s by the Knights of St. Johns. The old city is home to 6,000 people but mostly has shopping, restaurants, foreign consulates and museums.The roads were very narrow and paved with oval stones about 3-4 inches long, in white, brown and black, to create patterns and designs.

Michael escorted a tour with two stops. The first was Mt. Filermos which afforded a wonderful view of Rhodes Town. He saw several churches and a monastery that dates from the 14th century. There was a huge cross here, which you could actually climb up from the inside, and then walk out on the wings. The view from the top of the cross was incredible. He was standing in one country in Europe (Greece) staring at another country in Asia (Turkey) only 11 miles away. The Stations of the Cross was recreated here, too.

He proceeded back to Rhodes Town for a tour of a medieval castle built in the 11th century. It has been restored and is in beautiful condition. It is surrounded by two huge moats and has four gates. He concluded his tour with a stop at the Archaeological museum.

I had escort duty on a scenic tour of the island, with stops at a traditional 19th century Rhodian house, a pottery factory, and a walking tour of a picturesque village. The highlight of the village tour was attending a refreshment break at a local home. This home was over 300 years old. The walls were at least one foot thick and the house contained only one room. Yep, one room for everything except for the potty. That was outside and was a little more than a hole in the floor. We were served ouzo and bread, olives, and cheese. There was a little church that had a mosaic stone floor, which was just amazing.

 I was tired and sweaty but ready for more as this is such an interesting place.  I wish we had more time here to explore, but alas we are on to Santorini and eagerly await new adventures.