Rhodes Island Apkmusk

The city of Rhodes

The medieval old town (listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site) developed inside mighty walls that still stand, as do the former city gates. The most beautiful of the streets is the Street of the Knights – a cobbled street with tightly packed stone houses on both sides that leads to the palace of the grand master knight. Just a stone’s throw away, the neighbouring street bustles with vendors and tourists who walk past the shops, restaurants and pubs in the evening. Waiters woo with their “Hey, friend!” and “Where are you from?”; it became quite annoying after having walked down a couple of streets, so we decided to rather choose less touristy streets instead. Which led to us to the discovery of a charming square full of pubs for young people with music and lights, completely by chance. A top place!

We visited the former Acropolis a few kilometres above the city, which was the temple of Pythian Apollo, though the ancient theatre and stadium are even better preserved. There was no entrance fee or any tourist crowds. Somewhat lower was a surfaced car park and a nicely maintained path leading to all the buildings, like some kind of a park. We weren’t aware of that, though, so we drove all the way to the top and parked our car across the street. Which is no big deal in Greece.

Lindos

Approximately 50 kilometres from the city of Rhodes, in the eastern part of the island, likes a picturesque, cultural and historically rich town of Lindos, characterised by white houses, which are terraced into a hill. We navigated the narrow streets that are surrounded by shops, pubs and restaurants, and headed to the Acropolis that offers a gorgeous view of the town, the coves and the beaches. The entrance fee is 12 euros. The crowd was massive; we had to wait to buy our tickets for quite some time, but then people suddenly dispersed as it’s a large complex. Despite the Acropolis having quite a few buildings from the ancient times, Byzantines and the Ottomans lived here in the later periods, which makes for a diverse blend of cultures. The most beautiful, though, were no doubt the Greek temple with Doric columns, dedicated to the goddess Athena, and the monumental staircase.

Filerimos

10 kilometres from the city of Rhodes, above the town of Ialysos, lies Filerimos, a lonely mountain. A paved and well-maintained ascending road with a few hairpin bends leads up to the mountain. There’s a monastery hidden among the conifers and cypress trees at the top, which was founded by the Knights Hospitaller in the 15th century. The entrance fee is 16 euros. The gothic church has a lovely hallway with typical Byzantine mosaics. There were peacocks causally walking around during our visit.

Kamiros

Lindos, Ialysos and Kamiros are said to be the island’s three oldest towns that founded Rhodes. We stopped in Kamiros to visit the ruins of the former Hellenistic city. You could see the remnants of the acropolis, which was dedicated to the goddess Athena, and the house with a fountain. The city was once quite large; the stones that remained have been protected and there are now paths and benches, too. The entrance fee is 6 euros.

Apkmusk