Rhodes Town

Rhodes Town
The approach from the sea to the harbor of the walled medieval city with its minarets, domes, and 14th century windmills is an unforgettable experience. Eleven gates lead into the Old Town, one of the most impressive is the 1512 Pili D’Amboise Gate, not far from the Palace of the Grand Masters. Gates were named after the locality of origin of the corps of knights who guarded them. The 4 km of walls constructed by the Knights of St. John were built on top of older Byzantine walls, and average about 13 meters/ 38 feet in thickness, curved to deflect projectiles cast at them; a dry moat, 100 feet in width, surrounding them. A fascinating place to wander around in, the Old Town is paved with round pebbles closely packed together-a paving style known as hokhlaki, its narrow alleys full of arches, and stone buildings everywhere. This medieval town is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The crush of crowds in summer is a bit daunting, but one can escape them on some of the back alleys, away from the main thoroughfares.

The Palace of the Grand Masters

Details in both Greek and English.
Open in summer Mon, 12:30-3pm, Tues-Fri 8:30-9pm, winter Mon 12:30-3pm; Tues-Sun 8:30-3 pm. 6 euros admission.

Completed in 1346, this impressive structure was modeled after the Pope’s palace in Avignon, fourteen of the Grand Masters having been French, and French the official language of the Knights’ Order. The storerooms below ground were large enough to house the entire local population in the event of an attack or siege. The Palace was used by both the Ottomans and the Italians as a prison; the Italians rebuilt it as a summer palace for Mussolini and for the king of Italy and Albania, neither of whom ever visited the island, due to the outbreak of war. Though the interior is an overdone Fascist fantasy, the outside is generally true to its medieval origin; the ground floor houses the Medieval Exhibit, which focuses on the history of Rhodes as a trading center under the Knights, and Ancient Rhodes, 2400 Years-this second exhibit dealing with objects that depict ancient daily life.

Odos Ippoton-Avenue of the Knights
This cobbled boulevard is lined with the inns where the Knights lived, designated linguistically according to their national origins, and with the coat of arms of the Grand Master in charge at the time of their construction. The French Knights predominated, but there were others from Spain, Italy, and England. The buildings are now occupied by government offices and cultural institutions. The Inn of Auvergne (15 th century) , located in the Plateia Argyrokasro, is one of the loveliest, and houses a cultural center.