Rhodes, Greece- Nov. 15

Lying at the eastern end of the Aegean Sea, wrapped enticingly around the shores of Turkey and Asia Minor. Rhodes is the fourth largest Greek Island with 120,000 occupants.  Construction on the ancient city was begun in 407 BC according to a city planning system devised by the greatest city planner of antiquity, Hippodamus of Miletus.

Strategically located Rhodes has played an important role in history. It was an important seafaring and trading center, became a province of Rome and later the Byzantine Empire. In 1309 the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem conquered Rhodes.  They built strong fortifications to protect the island. In 1523 the Ottoman Turks occupied the island. Suleiman the Magnificent sent a message to the Knights telling them they should leave or be overrun….so they left. The Turks came and occupied the area for 400 years.  This was a rough time. The Turks imposed a serious curfew, Greeks were forced to live outside the walls and any Christian found within the city after sunset would be executed. The Turks left in the early 20^th Century.  There was no love lost between the Greeks and the Turks at this point and some of the ill feeling continues today. There is a saying in Greece, “If you make a friend of a Turk hold also a stick of wood.”

Next came the Italians in 1912 during the time of Mussolini and leaving in 1943. The Germans occupied the area from 1943-45. The British then occupied the area until 1948 when it officially became part of Greece.

Rhodes gets 300 days of sun a year and the name means The Island of Flowers. All around we saw lots of trees and plants from various climates and areas.  Bougainville bloomed as well as lovely hibiscus plants. There were palm trees, yucca and cactus too. We drove in a neighborhood she called the Italian neighborhood. The homes here were built during the Italian occupation as home for the teachers of Italian. Speaking Greek was forbidden so Italian language teachers were imported to get everyone speaking the RIGHT way. Many of the lovely homes were filled with large pots of plants. Crystal said none of them ever needed to be moved inside for protection. It was VERY windy today and we learned this was about like the worse day of winter they would ever experience. In this neighborhood with “the best view in the town” the land sold for 4000 Euros  per square meter. 

I always learn something about language origins and meaning when we are on a tour and today was no exception. I learned that one of the roots for “diplomacy” is 2 eyes- meaning 2 different ways to view a situation…and that is diplomacy or at least how it is supposed to happen.

We saw the remaining columns from the Temple of Apollo dating from 5BC on the Acropolis- the highest point in the city. The temple was surrounded by a theater-Odeon- where Cicero

studied. There was a gymnasium where among other things boxing took place- although the boxing had much rougher and more different rules. For instance gouging out someone’s eye was permitted as a fair fight. Achieving fame in sports- and especially if someone wrote a sing about your accomplishments- meant achieving immortality. Crystal told us about a woman, Kallipateirai- whose two sons were accomplished athletes. She secretly made her way into the stadium to watch them compete. She was thrilled when they won and as she ran to hug them the first “wardrobe malfunction” in the world happened and part of her clothing fell off. From that point on all competition had to be in the nude. The word Gymnasium comes from the “gynos” which means nude.

Rhodes seems to have survived through the various political scenes, including Alexander the Great, by being “a friend to everyone and on the side of no one.”

The legendary wonder of the world the Colossus of Rhodes stood supposedly astride the harbor, but it could not have been the size it was believed to have been. It was actually to the west of the harbor and fell during an earthquake. The pieces stayed on the ground for many years because the Christians didn’t want to touch something that was pagan.  The oracle of Delphi came and told the people, “Don’t touch a misfortune that no longer touches anyone.” The pieces of the Colossus were hauled away by the Saracen Pirates and sold for the metal- somethings never change.

There were mosques to be seen in several areas but they are in use no longer. There is one Roman Catholic Church but mostly all people are Greek Orthodox.

Kathy, Bos and Jim making Mousaka

Our Cooking Instructor and his helper

Our tour ended with the four of us visiting a Taverna, the Drahmi and learning to prepare Mousaka with Béchamel Sauce, Greek Salad, Tzatziki Sauce, Eggplant Salad, and Soutzoukakia (Meatballs). We had fun cooking and sipping white wine. Crystal, our guide was very good and the driver did a great job of navigating the narrow streets. We are enjoying touring with just the four of and no big bus loads of folks.

Great day of learning interesting facts, seeing lovely places, and eating delicious food. Can’t get any better than this!