Roaming in Rhodes Old Town

We just loved wandering the streets of the Old Town, weaving our way down narrow alleyways and enjoying the previously undiscovered (well at least for us) charm at the end. Cobbled streets (a devil to walk on!) played host to a plethora of small shops and the narrow passageways often hid some real interesting architecture.

The library of Ahmet Havuz is worth checking out. There are some beautifully decorated Arabic and Persian manuscripts and the building and courtyard are a pleasure in themselves.

Just across the street is the Clocktower of the Bourg. This was built in the 1850s on the exact position that a Byzantine tower once stood. The building is impressive in itself, but climb to the top and you'll be rewarded with some superb views of Rhodes town, the harbour, and the immediate countryside surrounding the town.

The mighty Mosque of Suleiman the Magnificent is a interesting building to look at and you'll get good views of this from both the clocktower and the Palace of the Grand Masters. Unfortunately it has been declared unsafe and so there's no way that you can get inside. There seemed to be work in progress so perhaps one day tourists will be able to check it out.

The town's Jewish quarter is worth a poke around and just consider, when you're walking its streets that the whole population of this area were transported off the island to the austere prison of Auschwitz. Many of the inhabitants would never have left that fateful camp. Indeed the "sea horse fountain" is set in the centre of the Square of the Jewish Martyrs in memory of all those who were so pointlessly executed in the concentration camps.

Rhodes Town is just crammed with surprises, so be prepared to get lost or disorientated as you meander the streets. Even this experience has a charm of its own. Be brave - get off the main streets and enjoy the quieter back alleyways and the surprise as you emerge back onto the major thoroughfares. I just loved the town, its ambience, and the hustle and bustle of the narrow shopping lanes.

Quick Tips:

Rhodes is by no means the easiest place to find your way round so we opted initially for the “scatter-gun” approach to sightseeing – that is follow your instinct and go where you think there may be something of interest. Now that works well in a place like Rhodes Old Town, because each corner has a fresh treasure to reveal. After a time we began to make sense of the main roads, but Rhodes has so many small alleyways that it’s real important to try and keep a sense of direction. At one point my wife suggested that a compass would have helped – she was joking, but it would have made some sense!

Once out of the Old Town, especially near to the harbour and the outer walls you can become vulnerable to that breed of person known as “the time share shark”. We were surprised to stumble on one and he, like many people on the island trying to earn a tourist’s euro or two, casually said “hello, where are you from.” Being polite we responded, “England” but carried on walking. A little repartee took place and then he surprised us by saying that we were from the Midlands. “Yes” says I, continuing on route. “Nottingham?” he retorted, stopping me in my tracks. We exchanged pleasantries and it turned out that he used to live only a few miles from our village. He had cunningly laid the bait and I was almost “hooked” into his spiel when I spotted the telltale scratch cards. My defences returned and I was ready for his line about having a chance to win a “valuable” prize. I was guaranteed a T-shirt and “all I had to do was...” I jumped in with “you’re selling timeshare.” Would I do that so close to the Police Station? He enquired. “I’m a Jehovah’s Witness and they don’t lie”. Disarmed momentarily I replied, “could be a double bluff.” He gave a broad grin, shook me by the hand and said “I should never try to blag a blagger. Have a great Day!

So beware of over friendly salespeople with scratch cards. At the best it’s a few minutes pleasantries at the worst you’ll spend an hour or so hearing a hard sell on holiday accommodation.

Best Way To Get Around:

There are several choices about how to get to Rhodes Town. We were South of the island so opted for car hire. The road was very easy as once on the coastal road you stuck with it following the signs to Rodos. It took us around one hour twenty minutes and we generally tried to stick to the ever changing speed limits as we proceeded. I was never really sure what the speed limit was as whatever speed I was travelling at people were hassling to pass. It is a bit of a generalisation to say but the Greeks are bad drivers. They seem to ignore more road rules but the most noticeable is never to overtake on double white lines. Regularly we were overtaken on double white lines and usually we wondered how they managed to get away with not colliding with on coming traffic. Often we could not have seen the approaching vehicle – unless of course they have a sixth sense!

Hire a car, but be extremely cautious of your fellow road users in hordes, as they seemed to be very erratic.

Having arrived in Rhodes safely we needed to find somewhere to park. We had been told to park on any of the ‘blue lines’ this would cost sixty euros per hour. However, en route we saw cars on the side streets and decided to give this a whirl. It seemed busy except for one road where no one was parking. As luck would have it we asked a passing local about parking and he told us it was prohibited (and pointed at the faded yellow lines on the kerbside but then told us to wait. He disappeared around the corner and then beckoned us forward. The next thing we see is him manhandling a parked scooter and then waving us forward to park! 'You'll be alright there all day’ he reassured us and then shaking us by the hand he disappeared, like all goof knights about his usual business.

I’m not suggesting you will necessarily find such a helpful local but you can park for free on the outskirts of Rhodes old town (we were only a two minute walk to one of the entrances into the Old Town) if you are very careful and check out the road markings.

Once in the old town there is only way to get round - on foot!

We ended up eating at the Romeo restaurant on Manekleous Square in the centre of the old town. I have to say that there was little rhyme or reason why we rested our weary limbs on the seats of Romeo but it was here that we slumped for our midday snack.

We ordered a simple meal of Moussaka and a Greek salad to share with a litre of ice-cold water. The water was served rapidly alongside bread and a few dips (chilli feta, Tzaziki, and Taramasalata); we tore chunks of bread and started our onslaught on the dips, just proving what a healthy appetite we could build up after walking around for three and half hours. There was a real buzz to the place with waiters rushing all around us, but no sign of our food. Still we had the dips to toy with!

And then a hush descended on the place as the restaurant cleared of its diners. It was clear that we had opted for a restaurant popular with the docked sea cruises and the grand exodus of American tourists left a real gap in the place. The place was now half empty (or was it half full?) and our meal was finally served with a piping hot Moussaka served in its own ceramic dish. The béchamel sauce gave the topping a real light texture and there was plenty of meat, aubergine, and potato. There was ample for the two of us and we had supplemented it with a Greek salad. In all honesty this was a fairly average but nevertheless satisfying salad. It only had a couple of olives in it but they were nicely marinated and the Feta was beautifully creamy. However, there was a decent quantity and plenty of freshly cut tomatoes alongside the bowl full of lettuce. The olive oil and vinegar were on the table enabling us to dress the salad according to our own taste.

A very satisfying midday snack (albeit 2pm before we ate) and despite the wait it was efficiently delivered. The Romeo Restaurant is a very welcoming place and all the waiters were extremely hospitable. Overall it was a pleasant environment to eat in and situated where it was there were plenty of opportunities to people-watch from the vantage point of our table. On the downside it seemed to take an age to get the bill and as we were anxious to renew our wander around the streets of Rhodes the long wait agitated me beyond belief. Alongside the bill came a token for money off our next meal at this restaurant and points towards a gift. As we weren’t intent on returning I left these for the next diner to consider. Although I guess many would be in a similar position to us and unlikely to return!

The street of the knights is said to be one of the most photographed street in Old Rhodes Town, and it really isn’t that hard to believe. It runs from the front of the Palace of the Grand Masters right down to the city wall and leads through to the water’s edge.

The building of this medieval street started in the 14th Century many of the dwellings being gothically styled and they were carefully restored in the last century. Effectively this street was used exclusively to accommodate the knights when they visited the island – hospitality suites par excellence. They are known as the tongues because basically each Auberge catered for a country or a “linguas” so knights of the same nation could all gather together and discuss common matters, enjoying the Rhodian hospitality without struggling with a new language. Of course this would be more critical if they were having to resolve mighty matters when an offensive or defensive was required.

As we walked this architecturally magnificent street we had to give way for a small two-stroke vehicle as it roared its way up the hill. It might have been making a lot of noise but its progress was slow and laboured and we, alongside other tourists stood back waiting for the engine to pack up and for the vehicle to roll back down the hill. Needless to say it successfully made the journey, paused precariously at the top of the hill before panting its way towards the city wall.

There are some fascinating doorways, window surrounds on the facades of the properties down the street and of course the walkway, at the top of the street, linking the two sides together makes for a spectacular image. This corridor linked the inn of Spain and Inn of Provence together and looking up towards it we tried to imagine the organised chaos that would take place when all the Knights vacated the inns and gathered together before an attack. What a cacophony as the different “tongues” tried to communicate!

Check out the symbols above the doors – coats of arms of the various countries, Italy, France, Turkey to name but a few. This street is just steeped in history and although it will always be crammed with tourists there is always the possibility to loose yourself in the architecture, the views of pretty courtyards, and detour down the many side alleyways.

Looking back up the street from the lowest point will give you the most spectacular view, but we had to take our place with the other tourists jockeying for the best view for that “Kodak Moment”. We were pleased to have walked down the street I reckon the uphill drag would have drained our physical strength in the heat of the Rhodian sun.

Having exited the Old Town near to the modern port we strolled along the waterfront to the harbour. A modern sculpture incorporating dolphins, near to the large cruise ships, took our eye and we checked that out before making tracks to the harbour. Massive cruise liners were docked having spewed out their precious cargos onto the streets of Rhodes. It’s the first time we’ve seen one of these floating towns up close and we were real impressed with the scale of them. Perhaps we’ll try a cruise one day!

Next we’re hot footing towards the harbour passing through a small street market in the shadow of the city walls. Its traders are selling hard to the passing tourists, but there was nothing particularly unusual or enticing as far as we were concerned – just the usual tourist trivia. We continued on route and enjoyed the array of small, but no doubt expensive personal cruisers moored at the water’s edge. It was here that you’ll be able to book tours and boat owners were not shy in their offers for fishing trips, glass bottom trips and day trips to surrounding resorts,

But the real focus of our walk was the walk around the old harbour and this was a real hive of activity, with countless local fishermen sat on the quayside, families apparently discussing weighty matters, numerous sightseers snapping off photographs and scores of birds flying across the harbour and settling on the local landmarks.

Where the famous and mighty Colossus used to stand, astride the entrance to the harbour, now rest two more subtle figures that have become synonymous with Rhodes. They are the bronze figures of a Stag and its Doe and this couple keep an ever-watchful eye over the comings and goings in the harbour. I’ve read somewhere that the deer was introduced to help keep down a growing snake population and assumed the qualities of the guardians of the island as a result of their success. Not sure how credible that story was but as many snakes would be “imported” on incoming ships I guess their site at the entrance to Mandraki harbour makes absolute sense.

Across from the stag statue you get a good view of the city walls and looking out to sea are three medieval windmills and the 15th Century fortress of St Nicholas, which has assumed real importance for the shipping lanes as it now “doubles up” as a lighthouse.

A few metres away from the harbour we found the real delicate minaret of the Murad Reis Mosque. A mosque which has its peace disturbed by the steady flow of traffic around it.

Other notable buildings to watch out for are the government buildings with the delicate stoned mosaics built into the pavement, the picturesque dome of Nea Agora (the 'new' indoor market) and the impressively placed church of the Evangelismos (built in the 1920s). It's a great area just to stroll around admiring the many statues around the harbour.

The Palace of the Grand Master is indeed an impressive building but don’t get too carried away as this is a modern building built to what is believed to be the earlier specification. It was re-constructed in the 1930s and despite its lack of real age it’s a building that’s well worth inspecting.

The Square Palace is built around a large courtyard and follows the outline of the modified 7th Century citadel. In the early 14th Century the Knights began their repair of the earlier fortress to make it the centre of their administration and fit for the residency of their Grand Master. However, the whole of the first floor collapsed in the middle of the 19th Century and all that remained of the original were the imposing towers of the outer wall – twin horseshoe-shaped towers baring the coat of arms of the Grand Master del Villeneuve (in power from 1319 – 46)

In 1937 restoration (I use the term advisedly) started with a need to make the building usable in the 20th Century. An imposing staircase dominates the entrance and most of the staterooms on the first floor have had mosaic floors laid. Although they look extremely impressive and are indeed lat Hellenistic, Roman, or Early Christian in origin they do not originate from anywhere in or on Rhodes. Most of them were painstakingly removed from building on Kos and catalogued and shipped to Rhodes before being installed in the “new” palace of the Grand Master. That does not make them any the less impressive, but we needed to remind ourselves that they might have been far better left in their original context. However, the damage done, they do look almost monumental in their present setting.

Throughout the building are some strange collections of furniture several, like the 16th Century choir stalls with their elaborate cherubic carvings, looking seriously out of place. Gigantic stone fireplaces are in keeping with the Palace’s earlier existence but the building’s dance hall can only be seen to have a usage post 1930s. There are some amazing light fitments around the Palace and each room has a great view across the central courtyard, the north side of which has a row of Greek statues. As with the mosaic floors these were imported from the “lesser island” of Kos, which has clearly been robbed of much of its heritage.

On the ground floor we gained access to the Palace’s basement museums which detail, through archaeological finds the history of Rhodes. We gave it lightening tour as to do it justice you firstly need to be a fairly keen historian but secondly need to have a great deal of time more than we had. The palace was just part of our day’s visit to Rhodes and we didn’t want to miss out on the rest of the town. We got a good flavour of things but the place is crammed with interesting artifacts.