On this three-and-a-half week journey, there were portions which were meticulously planned (Belgium Grand Prix, Paris) and locations which were researched (French Switzerland, Athens). Some weren’t planned at all, and one of those was the Greek island of Rhodes. 

Rhodes sits less than 20 miles off the coast of southwestern Turkey and has been a crossroads of the Mediterranean for millennia.  Most interesting to me is that its heyday took place in the medieval period around 1300-1500 AD. I’ve seen a lot of Bronze Age, Ancient Greek and Roman history on this trip but not much from the medieval era. 

Once docked, I could see from the top of the ship how unique the city of Rhodes is. Rhodes was a fortified city, wrapped in a thick defensive wall. This wall still exists, although the city has expanded well beyond it. 

I left the cruise ship and walked into town through the St Mary gate in the wall. Restaurants, shops, pharmacies and all sorts of businesses populate the lanes within the walls.

I headed to the Palace of the Grand Master.  A castle going back to medieval times, the structure suffered significant earthquake damage in 1851 and was completely destroyed during an armament explosion five years later. During a period of Italian governance in the 1930s, it was rebuilt as a possible residence for the exiled Italian king, Victor Emmanuel III. It now serves as a collection of historical artifacts of the Knights of Rhodes in a magnificent setting.

The museum tells a very interesting story of the Knights, using projections of actors portraying the Grand Masters from 1300-1500, before the Knights were forced to relocate to Malta during the Ottoman period. I’d heard of the Knights of Malta, but didn’t know their mission throughout history is to provide care and comfort for those less fortunate or victims of war. In medieval times, they often tended to travelers making pilgrimages to the Holy Land. I love to visit a museum that tells me a story I didn’t previously know about. 

I walked down the “Street of the Knights” after my visit. This was a medieval lane which housed the eight different national factions which made up the Knights. I truly felt like I was walking back through time, along the pebble-paved lane. 

Following a classic Greek lunch of gyros, I headed back to the ship to chill in the air-conditioning for a few hours. 

Venturing back out in the heat of the afternoon, I headed for the Archaeological Museum of Rhodes, housed in another beautiful castle.  This museum house artifacts of Rhodes before the medieval period, back through Roman and earlier times. Several beautiful mosaics are showcased and the castle has lovely gardens to stroll through. 

Even despite the heat, I continued to wander through the walled city’s lanes, seemingly walking back through time. 

Rhodes represents a time period I haven’t spent much time exploring, and it made me want to visit more medieval era places, such as some of the castles of England and France. And I’d be more than happy to return to this magical island one day. Sounds like another potential adventure 😁