23 Aug 22 Rhodes

This post is based primarily on Don's notes, occasionally supplemented with MT's notes from our cruise in August 2022. When information from other sources is added—for further explanation to readers or to satisfy our own curiosity—that is set off in a text box (as this one).
Most of the photos that accompany this post are from Don’s camera (with a caption indicating the time it was taken); those from MT’s iPhone are indicated by “MT” placed at the beginning of the photo caption. Photos from any other source (such as the public domain Wikimedia Commons), occasionally used for clarification, indicate that source in the caption.

The Viking Daily newsletter showed today's weather forecast as "Sunny 86° F."

The Viking Daily newsletter describes “Rhodes, Greece” as follows:
“The lush, fertile island of Rhodes is home to the Palace of the Grand Masters, a remarkable and sprawling fortification. Its historic quarter is Europe’s largest active medieval town. Outside the city, forests of pine and cypress blanket mountain slopes and hug rocky shores; vineyards and groves of citrus and olive soak up the Aegean sun. The Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem conquered the island on the 14th century. Bringing great wealth from the Holy Land. Under their rule, the city was reconstructed to mirror the medieval ideal. Many of the buildings from this era remain and make for rewarding strolls."

 

We woke at 6 am. Room Service breakfast came at 6:45.

Tuesday, ‎August ‎23, ‎2022, ‏‎6:44 AM - Rhodes: view from our balcony of the city wall (right).

‏‎6:44 AM - Rhodes: view from our balcony of the city wall (center).

‏‎6:45 AM - Rhodes: view from our balcony of the city wall (left).

‏‎6:46 AM - Rhodes: view from our balcony of the city wall (panorama).

The Viking Sky arrived at the port of Rhodes around 7:00 am.

Rhodes (Greek: Ródos), located northeast of Crete and southeast of Athens, is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. The principal town of the island and seat of the municipality of the same name is Rhodes (pop. 50,636). Historically, Rhodes was famous for the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The Medieval Old Town of the city of Rhodes has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The name of Rhodes comes from the ancient Greek Rhódon (rose), and it is sometimes called the island of roses. However, the name might be derived from erod, Phoenician for snake, since the island was home to many snakes in antiquity.
The island was inhabited in the Neolithic period, although little remains of this culture. In the 16th century, the Minoans came to Rhodes. In the 15th century, Mycenaean Greeks invaded. Homer mentions that Rhodes participated in the Trojan War (c. 1260-1180 BC). Around 1100-560 BC, the island was a member of the Doric Hexapolis, a federation of six cities in southwest Asia Minor, three of which were on Rhodes. In the 8th century BC, the island’s settlements had started to form, with the coming of the Dorians. In the Classical Era, the Persians invaded and overran the island, but they were in turn defeated by forces from Athens in 478 BC. In 408 BC, the three cities united to form one territory, and they built the city of Rhodes, the new capital on the north end of the island. In 357 BC, the island was conquered by King Mausolus of Caria; then it fell again to the Persians in 340 BC, but their rule was short. In 332 BC, Rhodes became a part of the growing Macedonian empire of Alexander the Great. Following the death of Alexander, Rhodes formed strong commercial and cultural ties with the Ptolemies in Alexandria, and the Rhodo-Egyptian alliance controlled trade throughout the Aegean in the 3rd century BC.
In 305 BC, the Macedonians besieged Rhodes in an attempt to break its alliance with Egypt. After a year, they signed a peace agreement, leaving behind a huge store of military equipment. The Rhodians sold the equipment and used the money, along with iron and bronze reforged from the weapons, to erect a huge statue of their sun god, Helios, near the entrance to the Rhodes harbor in 280 BC. The statue became known as the Colossus of Rhodes. According to contemporary descriptions, the Colossus stood approximately 105 ft high, the tallest statue in the ancient world. It collapsed during an earthquake in 226 BC, although parts of it were preserved. Ptolemy III offered to pay for the reconstruction of the statue, but the Oracle of Delphi made the Rhodians fear that they had offended Helios, and they declined to rebuild it.
Throughout the 3rd century BC, Rhodes maintained virtual control over grain trade in the eastern Mediterranean. By the end of that century, however, the balance of power was crumbling, as Ptolemaic power in Egypt declined. In 201BC, Rhodes appealed to the Roman Republic, and the Romans agreed to intervene. After Rome won wars with Macedonia, Rhodes preserved its independence and was rewarded with new territory and enhanced status, although its autonomy was ultimately dependent on good relations with Rome. In 164 BC, Rhodes became a “permanent ally” of Rome, with nominal but meaningless independence.
In 395 AD, with the division of the Roman Empire, the long Byzantine period began for Rhodes. In 654, Rhodes was briefly occupied by Islamic forces, who carried off the remains of the Colossus of Rhodes.
Byzantine central power began to weaken in the first half of the 13th century, and in 1306-1310, the Byzantine era in Rhodes ended when the island was occupied by the Knights Hospitaller of St. John of Jerusalem, who used Rhodes as their capital. Under the rule of these “Knights of Rhodes,” the city was rebuilt into a model of the European medieval ideal. Many of the city’s famous monuments, including the Palace of the Grand Master, were built during this period. The strong walls the knights had built withstood attacks of the Sultan of Egypt in 1444 and a siege by the Ottomans in 1480. However, Rhodes fell to the large army of Suleiman the Magnificent in 1522, and the knights moved their base of operations to Malta. Rhodes was thereafter a possession of the Ottoman Empire for nearly four centuries.
In 1912, Italy seized Rhodes (which it called Rodi) from the Ottomans and remained in control until the end of WWII, when the island was united with Greece.

The history of Rhodes is inexorably connected with the Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John which ruled there.

The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller or Knights of Saint John, was a Catholic military order. The order arose in the early 12th century. In 603, the Pope commissioned an abbot to build a hospital in Jerusalem to treat Christian Pilgrims to the Holy Land. That hospital was destroyed in 1009 by forces of an Islamic caliph. In 1023, merchants from Amalfi and Salerno in Italy had been given permission by another Islamic Caliph to rebuild the hospital in Jerusalem. That hospital, served by the Order of St. Benedict, was built on the site of the monastery of St, John the Baptist and was to provide care for sick, poor, or injured pilgrims to the Holy Land. After the conquest of Jerusalem in 1099 during the First Crusade, a group of Crusaders formed a monastic religious order to support the hospital dedicated to John the Baptist. The organization became a military religious order under its own papal charter, charged with the care and defense of the Holy Land. From that time, the order from time to time participated in the crusades as a military order. The Hospitallers and the Knights Templar became the most formidable military orders in the Holy Land. The Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa pledged this protection of the Knights of Saint John in a charter of privileges he granted them in 1185. At the height of the Kingdom of Jerusalem (1090-1291), the Hospitallers held seven great forts and 140 other estates in the area. In 1247, the Knights also received territories in the Kingdom of Hungary. After the fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1291, the Knights were confined to Tripoli and then sought refuge in Cyprus. When the Order found itself enmeshed in Cypriot politics, the Grand Master selected Rhodes, which was then part of the Byzantine Empire, as their new home. In 1310, after more than four years of campaigning, the city of Rhodes surrendered to the Knights, and the Knights were sovereign over the island. On Rhodes, the Hospitallers, then also referred to as the Knights of Rhodes, were forced to become a more militarized force, fighting the Barbary Pirates and withstanding invasions by the Sultan of Egypt and the Ottoman Sultan, who had defeated the Byzantine Empire. In 1522, however, a large Islamic force under the command of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent laid a siege, at the end of which the surviving defeated Hospitallers were allowed to withdraw to Sicily. In 1530, after seven years of moving from one place to another in Europe, the Pope reached an agreement with the Holy Roman Emperor to provide the Knights a permanent home on Malta, where they became known as the Knights of Malta and stayed there for 268 years. After their stronghold on Malta was captured by Napoleon in 1798, the Knights were dispersed, but the Russian Czar gave the largest number of them shelter in St. Petersburg in 1799-1801.
Between 1319 and 1798, the order was subdivided into eight langues (French for tongues), referring to a rough ethno-linguistic division of the geographic distribution of the order’s members and possessions. (The Langue of England was dissolved in the mid-16th century, leaving seven, but was reinstated in 1784, when the headquarters of the order was on Malta.) Each langue had an auberge (inn) as its headquarters, some of which still survive in Rhodes.

7:03 AM - Rhodes: view from our balcony of the city wall, including the two towers we would pass between to tour the city.

7:24 AM - Rhodes: view from our balcony of the city wall (panorama), including another cruise ship.

MT discovered that her iPhone had no power and feared it was dead. We went to the Explorers Desk (Customer Service), and a man there printed out a sort of map for how to walk to an iStorm (Apple) store, supposedly only a 2-minute walk. We thought we could do that before meeting our tour group at 9:15. We walked quite a distance (far more than 2 minutes) but weren't getting closer to anything. Apparently, we had made the mistake of following through the wrong gate in the city wall.

So we went back to the ship and met with our "Viking Sky 17" tour group for the included shore excursion "Rhodes Town Walk & Palace of the Grand Master."

The Viking web site described the included 2.5-hour shore excursion “Rhodes Town Walk & Palace of the Grand Masters” as follows:
“Stroll the Streets of a Medieval Treasure -- You will enjoy a walking tour of this UNESCO World Heritage Site. Meet your guide at our berth and walk the short distance to the city walls, passing through the imposing gate to explore the atmospheric cobblestone streets. First, head to the Street of the Knights, a narrow byway with medieval structures rising on either side. You will pass colorful shops and the 15th-century Hospital of the Knights, now home to a splendid archaeological museum. This historic lane ends at the most colossal building of medieval Rhodes, the Palace of the Grand Masters. Built in the 14th century, it will astonish you with its crenellated walls, massive towers and unmistakable medieval aura. Afterward, you will return to your awaiting ship.”

9:06 AM - Rhodes: MT and others in our tour group approaching the two towers between which we would pass through one part of the Medieval Town wall but walk along the outside of the main city wall.

9:10 AM - Rhodes: our red-headed guide Dora leading Viking Sky 17 tour group on boardwalk, still outside the main Medieval Town wall, along waterfront after passing between the two towers; the gate ahead is the Gate of the Virgin, through which we entered the Medieval Town.

9:10 AM (Cropped) - Rhodes: the Gate of the Virgin, through which we entered the Medieval Town.

Rhodes: Gate of the Virgin, viewed from inside the wall near the Church of Our Lady of the Burgh (By Volodymyrh Vlasenko (Own Work) at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gate_of_the_Virgin_(Rhodes)_ 1.jpg).

 
The Gate of the Virgin (Πύλη Παναγίας, Puli Panagías) is next to the church that is called The Virgin (or Our Lady) of the Burgh. The name “Burgh” comes from the bourgeoise (as opposed to Knights) who inhabited this part of the town. Burgh is also known as “Chora,” and it means ‘Space” in ancient Greek and here refers to the Main Town. This is a modern gate, envisaged in the town master plan by the Italian administration to allow vehicle traffic, but opened only in 1955 by the Greek administration.

9:10 AM - Rhodes: view, to our right from boardwalk, of city wall on other side of harbor.

9:14 AM - Rhodes: shortly after passing through gate, sign for "Latin Church of Our Lady of Mercy 14th c[entury]." The Greek part reads: “Panagia tou Mpourgkou,” which translates as “Our Lady of [the] Burgh.”

The English part of this sign refers to “Latin Church of Our Lady of Mercy,” but the Greek part reads “Panagia tou Mpourgkou.” The Greek for mercy is έλεος (éleos); so the translation with “Mercy” seems to be incorrect. Panagia (Παναγία) literally means All Holy or Most Holy. In Medieval and Modern Greek, it is one of the titles of the Virgin Mary, used especially in Eastern Catholicism and Orthodox Christianity. Most Greek churches dedicated to the Virgin Mary are called Panagia. Panagia, especially in the names of churches, is also the equivalent of “Our Lady” in English. In online translation web sites, Μπουργκου (Mpourgkou) comes out as Burgos (in Google, which adds “bournkou” below the Greek word, possibly as a synonym) or Burgu (in Bing). The web site rhodesinfo.gr does list the church as “Παναγιά του Μπούργκου” in Greek and in its English version as “Our Lady of Burgos.”
Most sources refer to this church as “Panagia tou Bourgou” (the Greek mpourgkou or bourgou can also translate as “burgh”). The name “Burgh” comes from the bourgeois (as opposed to Knights) who inhabited this part of the town. The “Latin” on the sign probably means Roman Catholic.
The Roman Catholic Church of Panagia tou Bourgou (Our Lady of the Burgh) is a Gothic three-aisled basilica type with two arcades, created by four columns and pointed arches. It was constructed in the early 14th century. It is also known as Virgin Mary of Mercy of Burgi Rodi (the Burgh of Rodi, with Rodi being the Italian name for Rhodes) and Virgin Mary of the Metropolis. According to recent archaeological research, the church must have been in use until the beginning of the 16th century. It was destroyed during the siege of 1522, when Rhodes fell to the Ottoman Turks.
Located in the burgess district of the Medieval City, hence its name, it was built sometime during the rule of the Grand Master Violleneuve (1319-46). It was most likely one of the first buildings constructed by the Knights. It is an important monument because there are few other Roman Catholic churches from that time period remaining in the islands. Not much of the church remains today due to damage from WWII bombings. Only the three apses are standing, together with parts of the six small chapels in the surrounding area. During the Italian rule of Rhodes (1912-43), restoration works were launched, freeing the original site through expropriation and razing of various homes allowed there in the previous century. Today, the area has been partially restored where possible. It is open to the public and sometimes musical events are held in its interior.

9:15 AM - Rhodes: part of our tour group (including MT at left) near one of the chapels of Our Lady of the Burgh.

9:17 AM - Rhodes: Our guide Dora, with 3 apses of Our Lady of the Burgh in background; the circular objects on the pavement are probably the cases of columns; MT in right foreground.

9:21 AM - Rhodes: laurel trees in Jewish Martyrs Square.

9:21 AM - Rhodes: sign for Jewish Martyrs Square.

The Jewish Martyrs Square, located in the old Jewish Quarter, has a Holocaust Memorial that pays tribute to the 1,604 Jews of Rhodes that were sent to die at Auschwitz. Only 151 Jews survived the Holocaust. Today, there are only about 35 Jews living in Rhodes.

9:22 AM - Rhodes: Jewish Martyrs Square - our Guide Dora speaking to group in shade of laurel trees.

9:24 AM - Rhodes: our guide Dora, in right foreground, pointed out this building for its (?) architecture.

9:24 AM - Rhodes: building with wooden balcony.

9:24 AM - Rhodes: view down the narrow street toward Knight's building called Kastellania, with MT just behind Dora leading the way.

9:26 AM - Rhodes: masks in store front.

9:26 AM - Rhodes: Kastellania.

Rhodes: Plateia Ippokratous (Hippocrates Square) with Kastellania at right (By Kai Potratz (Own Work) at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Platia_Ippokratous_in_Rhodos.jpg).

The Kastellania (or Castellania), built in the early 16th century by the Knights of St. John, was the commercial courthouse of the Knights, located on Plateia Ippokratous (Hippocrates Square), the main square of the Medieval Town. On the west façade of the building there is a marble relief depicting two savages holding the coat-of-arms of Grand Master Aimery D’Amboise, and the date 1507. The building was also called the Lódzia Emboron (Lodge of the Merchants), since the ground floor served as a meeting place for merchants. The courthouse, for trade disputes, was on the second floor, accessible by the open staircase. It now houses the Municipal Library. Located on the ground floor, beneath the stairs, since 1963 is the Cellar of the Knights wine cellar.

9:28 AM - Rhodes: view back to the staircase of the Kastellania, with part of Hippocrates Square at left.

Hippocrates Square (Plateia Ippokratous) was the commercial center of Medieval Town. Even today, it is lined with cafés and shops.

Rhodes: Kastellania fountain in Hippocrates Square with Palace of Grand Knight in background (By Karelj - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2865754).

The Turkish fountain, called the Fountain of Hippocrates or the Kastellania Fountain, A statue of an owl sits atop the fountain. The fountain is the symbol of the square, along with the Katellania with its steep stairs.

9:27 AM - Rhodes: next to the Kastellania was one pointed Gothic doorway among other rounded architecture.

9:27 AM - Rhodes: our Guide Dora telling the group about the large arches, for the knights' horses.

9:27 AM - Rhodes: Gothic vaulted ceiling inside one of those rounded arches.

9:28 AM - Rhodes: view, across Hippocrates Square, with its fountain, toward Palace of the Grand Master.

9:28 AM - Rhodes: view down side street from Hippocrates Square, toward a domed mosque.

9:29 AM - Rhodes: view from Hippocrates Square, toward Palace of the Grand Master.

9:29 AM - Rhodes: our guide Dora leading MT and others through passage in thick wall.

9:29 AM - Rhodes: view of towers of Palace of the Grand Master.

9:33 AM - Hospital of the Knights, on left.

9:33 AM - entrance of Hospital of the Knights, with coat of arms above arch.

The Hospital of the Knights of St. John is located on the Street of the Knights. When the Knights moved to Rhodes, they had not forgotten their original raison d’etre (reason for being); they built what was then one of the most imposing buildings of Rhodes as a hospital. Construction, over the remains of a Roman building, began in 1440 and was not completed until 1489. Above the front door is a marble slab with two angels carrying the coat of arms of Antoine Fluvian River, the Grand Maser who had first decided to build the hospital.
The hospital is built around a large courtyard surrounded by two sets of galleries with ribbed vaults resting on carved Romanesque bases.
The hospital housed and cared for the wounded from fighting mainly against the Ottomans, The Knights of St. John were actually known for the quality of their medicine; their medical knowledge had been greatly enhanced by contact with Arab medicine during the two centuries spent in the Holy Land.
During the Ottoman era in Rhodes (1523-1912), the building was used as a hospital and then ignobly as a barracks. The hospital was damaged in the 19th century. The Italians restored it in 1913-18 and turned it into the Archaeological Museum of Rhodes in 1914.

The Street of the Grand Knights began at the Hospital of the Knights.

The Street of the Knights (Odós Ippotón) is a narrow, medieval cobblestone street that starts from the square in front of the Knights’ Hospital (currently the Archeological Museum) and leads up to the Palace of the Grand Master. It is 5-6 meters wide and about 200 m long on an incline, running almost east-west. Along the street, seven imposing inns were constructed in the early 16th century, representing the seven countries from which the Knights of St. John originated: England, Germany, Italy, France, Aragon, Provence, and Auvergne. Each façade is decorated with emblems and details that reflect the respective country. Most of the Grand Masters were from France, and the inn of France, built between 1492 and 1503, is the most impressive. Opposite that inn is a beautiful garden with an ancient Turkish fountain. Next to the French inn is the Chapel of the French Langue, which features the coat of arms of Raymond Berganger, who was Grand Master in the mid-14th century.

9:34 AM - Rhodes: Street of the Knights - Gothic vaulted ceiling over arched entrance from near Hospital of the Knights.

9:36 AM - Rhodes: Street of the Knights - our tour group emerging from archway, with series of arches ahead.

9:36 AM - Rhodes: Street of the Knights - our tour group on street, MT at right.

9:38 AM - Rhodes: Street of the Knights - inns of the langues, with Greek and French flags.

9:39 AM - Rhodes: Street of the Knights - historical marker, in Greek and English, for "Medieval City of Rhodes"; the English text (with its sometimes lacking capitalization) reads:

"The medieval city of Rhodes has been inscribed upon the World Heritage List of the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage of the UNESCO on the 9th of December 1988 (criteria ii, iv, v). Inscription on this List confirms the outstanding universal value of its cultural property which deserves protection for the benefit of all humanity.

"The medieval city of Rhodes is a unique example of a particular medieval architectural style of the period of the Crusades that  combines byzantine, french and spanish influences. With its frankish and ottoman buildings the medieval city of Rhodes is an important ensemble of traditional human settlement, characterized by successive and complex phenomena of articulation. Its impact during the period of the Knights (1309-1522) affected [the] Eastern Mediterranean basin at the end of the Middle Ages."

9:39 AM - Rhodes: Street of the Knights - Church? of the Knights.

9:39 AM - Rhodes: Street of the Knights - view ahead up the street.

9:40 AM - Rhodes: Street of the Knights - emblem of Greece?.

9:41 AM - Rhodes: Street of the Knights - more emblems with Greek flag.

9:42 AM - Rhodes: Street of the Knights - paved with small stones from the sea.

9:42 AM - Rhodes: Street of the Knights – coats of arms of Langue of France (left) and Grand Master Pierre d’Aubusson (right) on French Inn.

Among the coats of arms adorning the façade of the French Inn are those of the Pope, England, and Grand Master Raymond Bérenger (1365-1374). Apparently, this was originally the property of the English Langue, but was transferred to the Langue of France in the 15th century.

9:44 AM - Rhodes: Street of the Knights - Inn of France, with emblems and French flag.

9:42 AM - Rhodes: Street of the Knights - Inn of France, with French flag.

9:46 AM - Rhodes: Street of the Knights - statue of Madonna and Child on Chapel of French Inn, next to Inn of France, and view ahead up the street with more arches.

Next to the Inn of France is the Chapel of the French Langue (or Chapel of the French), also known as the Church of the Holy Trinity. It is a small Gothic building of the 14th-15th  century. The main entrance is a Gothic arch flanked by two niches, one with a statue of the Virgin and Child (from the 20th century). The church was probably vaulted in medieval times. But today it has a dome, a reminder of the transformation of the chapel into a Moslem mosque under the Ottoman occupation.

 

9:46 AM - Rhodes: Street of the Knights - statue of Madonna and Child on Chapel of French Inn (telephoto 109 mm).

9:50 AM - Rhodes: Street of the Knights - our guide Dora leading group into Gothic vaulted arch of the Inn of Saint John.

The Street of the Knights ends with the Inn of St. John, which served as the monumental entrance to the Palace of the Grand Master. It has an arched entrance with two wings. This inn was largely destroyed in an explosion of a powder magazine in 1856 and was rebuilt by the Italian administration. That explosion also destroyed the Church of St. John, just past the arch and to the right on the Palace Square.

9:51 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - our group emerging from the arch of Inn of Saint John, with two cylindrical towers of the Palace of the Grand Master near the entrance.

 

Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master (By Picture taken by Polimerek - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=45262).

 
The Palace of the Grand Master is also known as the Kastello (from Italian Castello, castle). This medieval castle is one of the few examples of Gothic architecture in Greece. The palace was originally built in the late 7th century as a Byzantine citadel. As the Knights occupied Rhodes in 1309, they converted the fortress into their administrative center (headquarters) and the palace of their Grand Master. In the first quarter of the 14th century, they repaired the palace and made a number of major modifications. Distinguished by its cylindrical towers and arched gate, it was part of the medieval fortifications of Rhodes.
The palace was damaged by an earthquake in 1481 and was repaired soon afterward. After the capture of Rhodes by the Ottoman Empire in 1522, the palace was used as a command center and fortress and later as a prison. Unfortunately, the magnificent building was largely destroyed in 1856 by explosives hidden in the basement of the Church of St. John. During the Italian rule of Rhodes in the first half of the 20th century, damaged parts of the palace were restored in 1937-49, and it became a holiday residence for the King of Italy and later for Benito Mussolini. After 1948, when Rhodes was transferred to Greece, the palace was converted into a museum.

9:51 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - view to left of the arch of Inn of Saint John; on the right are the ruins of the Church of St. John.

9:53 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - the same two cylindrical towers of we had seen when passing through the arch of the Inn of St. John, near the main entrance of the palace.

The main gate is protected by two massive towers, cylindrical and crenellated. However, there are several other round towers around the palace.

9:53 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - two cylindrical towers flanking the main entrance of the palace and another large, single tower to the right.

9:54 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - two cylindrical towers flanking the main entrance of the palace and view to the left, with Dora in foreground.

9:57 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - Don's general admission ticket.

9:57 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - courtyard with statues in arcades on ground floor and knights' rooms on upper floor.

9:57 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - courtyard with statues in arcades on ground floor and exterior staircase to knights' rooms on upper floor.

10:01 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - courtyard with statues in arcades at left on ground floor and exterior staircase to knights' rooms on upper floor.

10:02 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - another side of courtyard with statues in arcades.

10:03 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - statue of Madonna and Child in courtyard.

10:03 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - our guide Dora in chapel with Gothic vaulting.

10:05 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - bronze statue of St. Nicholas in chapel; Dora said it was "copper" and in knight's attire from 19th or 20th century.

 

Statue of Sant’Eligio Nanni di Banco (Di Nanni di Banco (Italian, 1375–1421) - Jastrow, own picture, Pubblico dominio, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=971050).

This statue of St. Nicholas was modelled after the marble statue of Sant’Eligio (St. Eligius) sculpted around 1417-1421 by the Italian sculptor Nanni di Banco. 

10:07 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - coat of arms above arch of door from chapel; Dora at bottom.

10:07 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - view back down steps we had climbed to the second floor.

10:08 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - floor mosaic in Chamber of the Muses.

The Chamber of the Muses (or of the Nine Muses) is the main hall of the palace. It is so called because of the Mosaic of the Nine Muses on its floor.

Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - floor with Mosaic of the Nine Muses in Chamber of the Muses (By I, Sailko, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27420193).

The main hall is also known as the Chamber of the Colonnades, because of the two rows of columns that support its ceiling.

During the restoration of the palace in the early 20th century, mosaics from the nearby island of Kos were installed on the floors, including the Chamber of the Colonnades and the Chamber of Medusa.

10:08 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - Chamber of the Muses; Dora pointing out Greek columns.

10:09 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - small statues by fireplace in Chamber of the Muses.

10:09 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - more floor mosaics in Chamber of the Muses.

10:10 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - colorful walls in Chamber of the Muses; MT in right foreground.

10:12 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - colorful wall with inlaid inscription " FERT FERT" in Chamber of the Muses.

Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - colorful wall with inlaid inscription “FERT FERT” in Chamber of the Muses (By I, Sailko, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27420380).

Wikimedia Commons identifies this photo as “Palazzo dei gran maestri di rodi, salone fert” (the Italian translates as Palace of the grand masters of Rhodes, fert room).

10:16 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - statue of Laokoon in Chamber of the Laokoön.

Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - Cast copy of Laokoön statue (By Georg Karl Ell - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=103751140 ).

 
The original marble statue of Laokoön and His Sons, also called the Laokoön (or Laocoön) Group, has been one of the most famous ancient sculptures ever since it was excavated in Rome in 1506 and placed on public display in the Vatican Museums. It is very likely the same statue that was highly praised in 77 AD by the Roman writer Pliny the Elder. The figures are near life-size and the group is a little over 2m (6 ft 7 in) in height, showing the Trojan priest Laokoön and his sons being attacked by sea serpents. Various dates have been suggested, ranging from about 200 BC to the 70s AD. Pliny attributes the work to three Greek sculptors from the island of Rhodes: Agesander, Polydorus, and Athenodoros. The Laokoön Group in the Vatican Museums was signed by the three Greek sculptors.

10:17 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - desk in Chamber of the Laokoön; Dora said this was the office of the Grand Master, but we saw another office later.

10:18 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - Medusa Mosaic in Chamber of the Medusa.

10:19 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - Sign, in Greek [cut off], Italian, and English, for "Mosaic with Tiled Shield"; English text reads:

"Provenance: Cos
"Subject: Imbricated shield with the face of Medusa at the centre. At the corners, between the shield and the banded frame, ivy leaves.

"Date: Late 3rd-mid-4th c. AD."

Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - Medusa Mosaic (By I, Sailko, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27419531).

This is one of the mosaics from the nearby island of Kos that were installed on the floors of the palace during the restoration of the palace in the early 20th century.

10:20 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - stairs leading down to torture chamber.

10:21 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - office of the Governor of the Palace.

10:21 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - sign, in office of the Governor of the Palace, for "Late Antique Mosaic"; the English part of which reads:

"Provenance: Cos

"Subject: Panel framed by a guilloche and interlaced circles forming the [daillons?] and octagons which enclose ducks, drinking cups, pear, apple and pomegranate trees

"Date: 2nd half of the 5th-2nd half of the 6th c. AD."

Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master – mosaic in office of the Governor of the Palace (By I, Sailko, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27419125).

A guilloche is a decorative border design in which two or more lines or bands are interwoven so as to make circular spaces between them.

10:23 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - mosaic on lower level of floor exposed by ongoing excavation.

10:24 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - border of mosaic on lower level of floor exposed by ongoing excavation.

10:24 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - view, across large mosaic floor, to vaulted chamber ahead.

10:25 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - view across that large mosaic floor, from another side.

10:27 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - sign with photo of ruins of Agios Stefanos baptistery showing mosaic floor; English part of text below photo reads:

"AGIOS STEPHANOS [= Saint Stephen]

"Baptistery

"Subject: Two panels

"Left: grid of rows of tangent and intersecting circles forming quatrefoils. The circles bear small squares with serrarted edges.

"Right: orthogonal pattern of adjacent scales, the colours counterchanged."

The Basilica of Agios Stefanos (Saint Stephen) on the nearby island of Kos was built between 469 and 554 AD, the dates of the two earthquakes that hit the island, the second being the cause of the destruction of the basilica. Of all the basilicas that were discovered during various excavations on the island, the two Byzantine basilicas of the Agios Stefanos Basilica stand out as the grandest and best preserved. The ruins of the larger basilica, adorned with rich mosaics, were discovered and excavated in 1932 and those of the smaller basilica, also with mosaics, in 1935. They constitute a significant site due to their size and their rich mosaics, which are preserved to today. Excavations lasted until 1943, during which some Ionic columns were also discovered on the nearby shore and were erected again. The still existing floor mosaics are now covered by a protective layer and cannot be visited. Maintenance of the basilicas and the mosaic floors is carried out on a regular basis.
The baptistery, in the custom of those times a separate building, was also found on the northeast corner of the complex. The two basilicas shared the baptistery, to which they were connected through a door on each side.

10:27 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - view, across same large mosaic floor, of chamber with colorful walls and wood ceiling; this could be the main hall, Chamber of Colonnades (or Muses), again.

10:28 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - view, across same large mosaic floor, of Chamber of Colonnades (or Muses), with colorful walls and columns.

10:28 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - Chamber of Colonnades (or Muses), with colorful walls and columns supporting wood ceiling.

10:29 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - column with Corinthian capital in Chamber of Colonnades (or Muses) (telephoto 109 mm).

10:29 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - wooden ceiling in Chamber of Colonnades (or Muses).

10:31 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - choir stalls in Chamber of the Thyrsus.

The Chamber of the Thyrsus is named for the object in the center of its mosaic floor.

A thyrsus, in ancient Greece and Rome, was a staff tipped with an ornament like a pinecone (or by a bunch of vine or ivy leaves with grapes or berries), carried by Dionysus (or Bacchus) and his followers.

Originally, Dionysus was the Greek god of fertility. Later, he came to be known chiefly as the god of wine and pleasure. The Romans called him Bacchus.

10:33 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - sign in Chamber of the Thyrsus for "MOSAIC WITH THYRSUS"; English part of text reads:

"Provenance: The central panel was found in Cos, the rest of the mosaic is from Rhodes.

"Subject: Central panel with thyrsus ritual [???] of Dionysus and his retinue. It is framed by a guilloche and surrounded by [p???] mosaic [b???] by a [w??] [band].

"Date: The central panel with the thyrsus dates from the late 3rd - early 4th c. A.D.; the rest of the mosaic is dated in the Late Hellenistic-Early Imperial period."

Visible behind the sign is the Mosaic with Thyrsus.

10:33 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - Mosaic of Thyrsus in Chamber of the Thyrsus.

10:33 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - Mosaic of Thyrsus in Chamber of the Thyrsus.

10:34 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - Chamber of the Hippocampus.

Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master – Mosaic of Hippocampus in Chamber of the Hippocampus, with a nymph riding a hippocampus (By Максим Улитин, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=55052885).

The mosaic is from Kos, dating from the Roman period.
 
A hippocampus, in Greek or Roman mythology, is a sea monster with the head and forequarters of a horse and the tail of a dolphin or fish.

10:34 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - sign in Chamber of the Hippocampus for "MOSAIC WITH NEREID" English part of text reads:

"Provenance: Cos

"Subject: Central panel with nereid riding a hippocampus, framed by decorative bands with a double meander and an ivy tendril.

"Date: 2nd half of 3rd c. AD."

A Nereid, in Greek mythology, is a sea nymph, one of the 50 daughters of the sea god Nereus. These nymphs are particularly associated with the Aegean Sea, where they dwelled with their father in a golden palace in the depths of the sea. They were depicted in ancient art as beautiful young maidens, sometimes riding on the backs of dolphins, sea horses, hippocampi, or other sea creatures.

10:36 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - Mosaic of Hippocampus in Chamber of the Hippocampus, with a nymph riding on a hippocampus.

10:37 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - another mosaic from Kos, in chamber with choir stalls.

Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master – another mosaic from Kos, in chamber with choir stalls (By User:Piotrus - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8696871).

Wikimedia Commons identifies a similar photo as a Byzantine mosaic from Kos, ca. 450-500 AD.

10:38 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - sign for "MOSAIC WITH  CIRCLES AND OCTAGONS"; English text reads:
"Provenance: Cos

"Subject: Composition of circles and straight lines forming octagons enclosing [d??] geometric and floral motifs.

"Date: Mid- or 2nd half of 5th / Mid- or 2nd half of 6th c. AD."

10:40 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - mosaic with leopard hunt.

10:40 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - sign for "MOSAIC WITH LEOPARD HUNT"; English text reads:
"Provenance: Cos

"Subject: Composition with three compartments. Centrally a leopard hunting scene framed by a guilloche; lateral compartments decorated with ivy tendril.

Date: 2nd half of 3rd c. AD."

Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master – Second Chamber with Mosaic of the Leopard Hunt (By I, Sailko, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27420629).

 
Wikimedia Commons identifies this photo as “second hall, Roman mosaic from Cos.”

10:42 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - our group back in Chamber of the Muses/Colonnades.

10:46 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - another chamber with mosaic floor and choir stalls.

10:46 AM - Rhodes: Palace of the Grand Master - MT and others of our group going back down the grand staircase to the ground floor and the exit.

Then we continued our walking tour of the Medieval Town. We passed the ruins of the Church of St. John.

10:54 AM - Rhodes: sign with photos of "St. John of the Collachio" (the "Collachio" corresponds to Ippoton in the Greek); the English part of the text reads:

"Below the sanctuary of the church, at a lower level, the Knights built a passage linking the western part of the church with the Grand Masters' palace and Ippoton Street [= Street of the Knights]. Under the transept of the church there were crypts accessible through the gallery.

"The church was lit by arched windows, while the transept and the sanctuary had mullioned windows framed with rich mouldings. The church had three entrances, at the north, west and south façades. The main, or west entrance had a pointed arch with a gable moulding over it, topped by a palmette. The west façade, also furnished with a round light and two large windows, was typically gabled. The north entrance to the church, very similar to the west but smaller in size, was reached by a small flight of stairs, while the plain southern entrance to the church was probably a later addition.

"When the Ottoman Turks occupied the island in 1523, they turned the church into a mosque, the great mosque of Rhodes. The building was destroyed in 1856, after an accidental explosion of gunpowder, stored in the basement of the bell tower. In 1876, on the ruins of the church, a neoclassical building was raised, which served as a school. In the same period, a new street (Panaitou) was opened, through the ruins of the transept and its underground gallery."

The floor plan at the top right has a blue triangle that says "You are here."

10:55 AM - Rhodes: our group going passing the ruins of the Church of St. John; behind the ruins at the right is a school, and in the left background is a mosque.

The ruins of the Church of Saint John of the Knights are located across from the Palace of the Grand Masters. The church, built in 1310, was a three-aisled Gothic basilica with a wooden roof.

10:55 AM - Rhodes: more ruins of the Church of St. John, with a rounded arch and a pointed Gothic entrance.

10:55 AM - Rhodes: ruins of the Church of St. John, with dome and minaret of Mosque of Suleiman in background.

Rhodes: Mosque of Suleiman - minaret and domes (By Bernard Gagnon - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25026868).

The Mosque of Suleiman (or Suleymaniye Mosque) was originally built soon after the Ottoman conquest of Rhodes in 1522. It was named for Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent to commemorate his victory over the Knights Hospitaller. It was the first mosque in the town of Rhodes. The current building was constructed in 1808. Most of it was reconstructed using materials of earlier buildings that had existed at the same place. The pillars of the outer arcade belonged to the Byzantine Christian church of the Holy Apostles, which had previously occupied the site. The reconstructed mosque has three domes, one central dome and two smaller ones at the corners. The originally reconstructed minaret was demolished in 1987 for safety reasons. The mosque reopened to the public in 2005 after 18 years of restoration work, including its 34-meter-tall minaret.

10:56 AM - Rhodes: ruins of part of a Byzantine building.

10:57 AM - Rhodes: building with wooden upper story.

10:57 AM - Rhodes: view down the street from that building.

10:57 AM - Rhodes: Dora leading us down the street from that building toward building with tower.

11:01 AM - Rhodes: Dora leading us toward building with tower.

11:02 AM - Rhodes: Dora leading into a coffee shop that belonged to her friend.

11:02 AM - Rhodes: inside of the coffee shop.

11:03 AM - Rhodes: Dora and MT in the coffee shop.

At the end of the tour, Dora asked a shop owner for directions to the iStorm (Apple) store. He said to follow the main street (near the water) until the Black Fountain and then a Starbucks across the street, and the iStorm store (and the GQ on our map) was behind the Starbucks.

We found the fountain, which was not really black but just darkened stone, but we didn't see a Starbucks. MT asked some young people if they knew where it was, and one young man looked it up on his cell phone. When MT asked them how to say thank you in Greek (we had been speaking to them in English), we found out that they were actually Italians.

At the iStorm store, a nice man hooked up her iPhone to his charging cord, and it  came to life. At first, he thought that MT's cord was at fault, but then determined that it was the charger box. When MT asked if he had a charger for an iPhone 6, he said no, but he had a set of electrical plugs for €39. He went to check if they would work with iPhone 6 (they did not) but came back with a single plug with round prongs for European outlets that we could use on the ship. Then Don suggested she might be able to use the Charger from his Sony camera. We went ahead and bought the European plug for €9, just in case. (Back on the ship, we would find that both worked; sometimes even her original iPhone 6 plug would work. When we got back home, she decided to upgrade to the newest iPhone 14 anyway.)

Then we went back to the main street along the water and followed it back toward the cruise ship port.

12:08 PM - Rhodes: Mandráki Harbor and bastion with tower at end of city wall (right); in center are two small columns (where some say the Colossus of Rhodes used to stand straddling the entrance to the harbor).

12:09 PM - Rhodes: Mandráki Harbor with two small columns; column at left is topped by a bronze statue of a stag with antlers; the one on the right has a similar statue of a doe without antlers (mild telephoto 79 mm).

Rhodes: Mandráki Harbor – bronze statues of Elefos (stag, in foreground) and Elafina (doe) on columns flanking harbor entrance (By Jebulon - Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16947007).

 
Mandráki harbor was the main harbor of the Medieval Town, and the Knights moored their fleet here. It was protected from attack by gigantic chains across the narrow mouth. Today, columns with the bronze statues of two deer named Elefos (stag) and Elafina (doe) stand where, according to folk tradition, the Colossus of Rhodes used to straddle the harbor’s entrance in ancient times (although historians now doubt that legend). The stag and doe, which according to legend freed the island from an invasion by snakes, are emblems of Rhodes. The statues date from the Venetian period. The name Mandráki means barn or stable in Greek and refers to the walled port. The harbor is now transformed into a marina for pleasure boats and tour boats.
 

Rhodes: Mandráki Harbor – Asios Nikolaos Fortress by harbor entrance (By Bernard Gagnon - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27497759).

 
At the end of a 400-meter-long jetty extending from the city wall, facing seaward, is the fortress of Agios Nikolaos (St. Nicholas), named for the patron saint of seamen. The fortress, built in 1467, also operates as a lighthouse, the Nikolaos Lighthouse.

12:20 PM - Rhodes: sidewalk along main street by harbor, paved with small sea stones.

12:27 PM - Rhodes: boardwalk along city wall by harbor, with our ship docked around the curve.

MT 12:31 PM - Rhodes: view, from near our ship, of city wall with Palace of Grand Master on hill behind it (telephoto 105 mm).

12:37 PM - Rhodes: two towers, possibly windmills but without sails, near our ship.

MT 12:36 PM - Rhodes: Don and MT at base of tower near our ship.

MT 12:36 PM - Rhodes: Don and MT (closer up) at base of tower near our ship.

MT 12:37 PM - Rhodes: Don and MT (closer up) at base of tower near our ship.

MT 12:38 PM - Rhodes: Don in front of tower near our ship.

12:38 PM - Rhodes: MT by our ship, the Viking Sky, with her bag from the iStorm store.

MT 12:47 PM - Rhodes: two towers near our ship, with Medieval Town in background (mild telephoto 62 mm).

Back on the Viking Sky, we decided to try lunch at Mamsen's (on Deck 7). We both got crab cake sandwiches (open face) and Don got a toast beef sandwich, which we shared. For desert, we shared a slice of "Surprise Cake."

1:30 PM - Rhodes: view of Rhodes from our table in Mamsen's.

After eating, we went up to the Sun Deck on Deck 8 for a better view of the city wall.

2:03 PM - Rhodes: view of Rhodes city wall with one of the two towers we had seen earlier and another being rebuilt under scaffolding.

2:04 PM - Rhodes: tower being rebuilt under scaffolding (telephoto 130 mm).

2:04 PM - Rhodes: view of Rhodes city wall and Medieval Town, with towers of Palace of Grand Masters at top right (telephoto 130 mm).

Shortly after 5 pm, the Viking Sky set sail for our next stop at Kusadasi, Turkey (186 nautical miles)

At 6 pm, we picked up our passports at the Explorers' Desk in the Atrium on Deck 1. (We had to turn them in 3 days before arriving at Rhodes.) 

Then we went to the Explorers' Lounge on Deck 7 for "onboard Guitar Entertainer King."

MT 7:19 PM - Viking Sky: view of sea and Turkish coast (mild telephoto 44 mm).

MT 7:22 PM - Viking Sky: view of sea and Turkish coast (mile telephoto 63 mm).

At 7:30, we went to the Chef's Table restaurant on Deck 1 for our reserved dinner. The theme of the evening was "Erling's Scandinavian Bistro." Each course was accompanied by a paired wine (four of them). As usual in elegant restaurants, course servings were small, on a big plate. (Don picked up a spare copy of the menu on our way out.)

7:26 PM - Viking Sky: Chef's Table menu for "Erling's Scandinavian Bistro"; text on front cover says: "Taking a page from our proud heritage, we bring you the first restaurant at sea dedicated to the culinary arts of Scandinavia with this five-course tasking menu." The back cover text about "Scandinavian Cuisine" reads as follows:

"Scandinavia's northern location influenced its traditional foods; with cultivation limited to what could mature in the short growing season, and protein sourced from what could survive harsh winter or live off rocky grazing land--game, reindeer, goats and sheep--and of course, fish from the sea.

"Yet the Swedes, Norwegians and Danes were open to outside influences, adopting--and often embracing--foreign foods like the potato, coffee and sugar. In return, Norwegian dried cod, or stokkfisk, provided a nearly indestructible source of fish for much of Europe.

"With the development of new Nordic cuisine around 2004, there has been a move toward the use of pure, fresh local ingredients and seasonal foods along with a resurgence of traditional dishes that pay homage to old preservation methods: marinating, smoking and salting."

7:26 PM - Viking Sky: inside of Chef's Table menu continues: "Geography has always played a key role in Norwegian cuisine; over time, seafaring and farming formed a cuisine full of tradition. with a rich cultural history and geography unmatched anywhere else in the world, Norway has a large selection of unique and distinctive delicacies. Though not typically thought of as a culinary hotbed, the country currently boasts four of the world's top 50 restaurants. This interpretation of Norwegian classic dishes will inspire your palate and add Scandinavian cuisine to your list of 'must have' meals."

The other side has the actual "Menu" for this 5-course meal.

MT 8:52 PM - Viking Sky: inside of Chef's Table menu.

After dinner, we watched the Port Talk for Kusadasi/Ephesus on the TV in our stateroom.