The Mini Rough Guide to Rhodes (Travel Guide eBook)

Rough Guides

• Publisher: Rough Guides
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9781789199659
• eBook ISBN: 9781839058059
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Desarrollo personal
• Subtopic: Viajes

This pocket-sized guide is a convenient, quick-reference companion to discovering what to do, what to see and how to get around Rhodes. It covers top attractions like Rhodes New Town, Petaloúdes and Líndos, as well as hidden gems, including a day-trip to the stunning neoclassical mansions on Symi Island, discovering the breathtaking 14th- and 15th-century frescoes at the Thárri Monastery and relaxing on the soft golden sands of Tsambíka Bay. This will save you time, and enhance your exploration of this fascinating island. This title has been fully updated post-COVID-19. 

 

This Mini Rough Guide to Rhodes covers: Rhodes Old Town, Rhodes New Town, The Northeast Coast, Líndos and The Southeast, The West Coast and Excursions

 

In this travel guide you will find:  

 

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EVERY TYPE OF TRAVELLER 

Experiences selected for every kind of trip to Rhodes, from cultural explorations to family activities in child-friendly places or or chilled-out breaks in popular tourist areas.

TOP TEN ATTRACTIONS
Covers the destination’s top ten attractions not to miss, including Petaloúdes, Líndos, Thárri Monastery, Tsambíka bay, street of the knights and a Perfect Day/Tour itinerary suggestions.

COMPACT FORMAT
Compact, concise, and packed with essential information, with a sharp design and colour-coded sections, this is the perfect on-the-move companion when you’re exploring Rhodes.

 

HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL INSIGHTS

Includes an insightful overview of landscape, history and culture.

 

WHAT TO DO

Detailed description of entertainment, shopping, nightlife, festivals and events, and children’s activities.

PRACTICAL MAPS
Handy colour maps on the inside cover flaps will help you find your way around.

 

PRACTICAL TRAVEL INFORMATION

Practical information on eating out, including a handy glossary and detailed restaurant listings, as well as a comprehensive A–Z of travel tips on everything from getting around to health and tourist information.

 

STRIKING PICTURES

Inspirational colour photography throughout.

Out and About

Rhodes is an easy island to explore, with a good road network and public transport for independent sightseeing. The old quarters of Rhodes Town and Líndos are mostly car-free, and make ideal places to wander through on foot. There are also numerous tour companies for those who want an organised itinerary.

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Columns at the partially reconstructed Hellenistic stoa on the acropolis at Líndos

This guide is divided into several sections, exploring Rhodes Old and New Town first. Then there’s a tour of the eastern coast, with a separate section for the ancient settlement of Líndos and the area beyond it, followed by another section covering the western side of the island. Finally, day excursions are suggested.

Rhodes Old Town

Nothing quite prepares you for the spectacle of Rhodes Old Town (Ródos) 1 [map] , especially seen from an approaching boat or catamaran. An immense citadel with high sandstone walls 4km (2.5 miles) around, facing the town’s three natural harbours, it has survived various sieges and bombardments, plus the visibly corrosive effects of damp sea air.

Built on the site of ancient Rhodes, itself founded some four centuries prior to the birth of Christ, the Old Town served from 1309 onwards as the headquarters of the Knights Hospitaller of St John, one of the most powerful of the Christian military orders. Originally established to provide medical care for pilgrims on their journeys to the Holy Land, they soon became one of the leading military opponents of Islam, harrying both Arab and Kurdish armies and later the Ottoman Empire.

In December 1522, after a long siege, Ottoman forces wrested Rhodes from the grasp of the crusader-knights and inaugurated nearly four centuries of Muslim Turkish rule. Vestiges of their influence are still obvious within the walls. The turn of the 20th century saw accelerated Ottoman decline and, in 1912, following the Italian-Turkish War, the Dodecanese islands (including Rhodes) were occupied by Italy. In contrast to Ottoman neglect, the Italians invested considerable effort and money into the Isole Italiane d’Egeo (Italian Islands of the Aegean), as they styled this cherished Mediterranean colony.

In the northernmost sector of the Old Town is the Knights’ Quarter or Collachium (kollákio in Greek), where each of eight langues (nationalities) within the order had its inn and the Grand Master had his palace. Beyond this is the Boúrgos or civilian area, where you will find a fascinating maze of streets, comprising the former Turkish and Jewish sectors of the town.

The Walls and Gates

The first impressive feature of the town is the walls themselves. Dating mostly from preparations for the 1480 siege, they sit strong and proud, especially beautiful at dawn, rosy-hued in the sun’s first rays, or at night, lit by the soft glow of wrought-iron lamps. The Knights did not begin the citadel from scratch; they elaborated a series of relatively modest Byzantine defences, creating eight sections of curtain walls, each one the responsibility of a separate langue (for more information, click here).

At one time each curtain had a gate; today there are twelve gates in use, each uniquely designed. Many are only wide enough to accept pedestrians or scooters. The most interesting is the D’Amboise Gate A [map] : situated in the northwest corner near the Palace of the Grand Masters (for more information, click here), it was built in 1512, during the reign of Grand Master Emery d’Amboise. It curves in an S-shape to outwit attackers and is then followed by a second, much simpler gate, Ágios Andónios (St Anthony’s), which lies between two curtain walls.

Beside this gate is one of four discreetly signed entry tunnel-stairways leading to the dry moat B [map] , attractively landscaped on the west and southeast sides. You can follow a path in the moat from here all the way around the landward walls to the Akandiá Gate on the east side of the city. The walk takes about 20 minutes one way. However, it is not possible to gain direct access to many of the gates on this route as they sit high in the walls above, with bridges over the moat linking the Old Town to the outside world.

On the eastern side of the fortifications, facing Kolóna Harbour, is the impressive Marine Gate (for more information, click here), plus in the northeast, linking Kolóna and Mandráki harbours, the smaller Ágios Pávlos (St Paul’s) Gate (for more information, click here). In 1924 the Italians decided that traffic would need access along the waterfront. They altered the walls, creating widened entrances for automobiles on the shore between Mandráki and Kolóna ports. The most important of these, Freedom Gate (Pýli Eleftherías) is located just west of St Paul’s Gate, isolating it and the now-vestigial Naillac Tower from the rest of the citadel. Today many visitors enter the Old Town through this gate as it is the nearest to the taxi stand and main Mandráki bus stations.

Conqueror’s gate

Victorious Ottoman Sultan Süleyman entered town through the southwesterly Ágios Athanásios Gate in 1523 and ordered it sealed up thereafter; it was only reopened by the Italians. The gate is, however, now universally referred to as ‘Ágios Frangískos’ after the Italian-built Catholic church of that name just outside.

The Knights’ Quarter

All the living and administrative quarters of the Knights are at the northern end of the Old Town. Just inside the Freedom Gate lies Platía Sýmis (Sými Square), focused on the remnants of a 3rd-century BC Temple of Aphrodite. Only a few columns and a section of entablature are on view, though other remains were found in the ancient shipyards behind the two buildings to the west. One of these houses a spacious, well-lit annexe (Mon–Fri 9am–2pm; www.mgamuseum.gr/en/info.php) of the Modern Greek Art Museum C [map] (for more information, click here), hosting worthwhile temporary exhibitions.

The Order of the Knights Hospitaller of St John

This religious military order had three classes of membership, each bound by vows of chastity, poverty and obedience. Fully fledged knights were recruited from Europe’s noblest families and numbered around 650; commoners could serve as soldiers or nurses, while chaplains saw to their spiritual needs. There were eight langues or ‘tongues’: English, German, French, Provençal, Auvergnat, Aragonese (in fact Catalan), Castilian and Italian. Each langue lived in a compound called an inn, under an appointed prior. For security, they went about in pairs and left the walled domain only on horseback.

French influence outweighed the other tongues when it came to electing the lifelong post of Grand Master. Thus, 14 of the 19 Grand Masters were from one of the French langues, and French was the Order’s spoken language (Latin was used for official documents). The Italians’ maritime talents made them the obvious choice to command the fleet, while other tongues each defended a section, or ‘curtain’, of the city walls.

After being expelled from Rhodes, the knights were without a base for seven years, until the island of Malta was offered to them by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. They changed their name to the Knights of Malta and successfully repelled a four-month Ottoman siege in 1565. Despite this, the order was fast becoming obsolete; nations could now outfit their own fleets more efficiently, and the new trade routes to the Americas and the Far East dwarfed the significance of the Mediterranean.

Nowadays the order has been revived in many countries (including as England’s St John Ambulance Brigade) and engages in various medical and charitable activities. You can learn more at www.orderofmalta.int and www.sja.org.uk

Platía Argyrokástrou

Beyond the temple is Platía Argyrokástrou, decorated by a fountain with a dolphin spout. The base of the fountain is in fact a Byzantine baptismal font discovered by Italian archaeologists in southern Rhodes. The square is flanked on the east by the splendid Inn of Auvergne, built in the 16th century for the langue of Auvergne – one of three French-speaking langues within the Knights’ Order (for more information, click here).

Behind the fountain is a building of 14th-century origin ...

Table of contents

• 10 Things Not To Miss
• A Perfect Tour of Rhodes
• Overview
• History and Culture
• Out and About
• Things To Do
• Food and Drink
• Where To Eat
• A–Z Travel Tips
• Where To Stay