The Cloister of Tsambika

This cloister, located on a peak 340 m high, is the destination for many pilgrims and the climax of to­day’s walk, First you can swim at the most beautiful beach on Rhodes – Tsambika Beach. The walk is not strenuous except for the ascent through the rocky terrain to the cloister. You can get refreshments at the beach as well as near the cloister. The starting point is the second largest city on the island, Archangelos, which can easily be reached by bus.

AWT The street to Stegna leads eastwards from the main street in Archangelos, next to a cemented stream bed. On the other (northern) side of the stream bed there is a taxi

0.00 stand. From there, go along the street towards the sea, on the left of the dry bed. Three minutes later go straight ahead and leave the street, walking directly along the

0.05 stream bed. Then take the road uphill to the left to sev­eral pens. To the right, the mountain of the prophet Elijah arises and, in front of it, the crusader castle’s long wall.

0.10 From the pens, walk through a valley in an arc to the right and look for a dirt path off to the left on the next low hill. At the subsequent fork in the little forest, bear to the right and, at a collection of indescribable variety representing a Greek farm pen, continue uphill to the as­phalt street. Go downhill to the right along this street for a short while and then uphill to the left at a small private chapel. Now you can see today’s destination on a steep mountain: the cloister of Tsambika. Behind the garden surrounding a large house, turn to the right and walkpossibly through a chicken fence, on the left of the fence straight on downhill towards the sea. From here there is a magnificent panorama view of the cloister on the cliff and the sandy bay located in front of it CD. Further down, walking without a path and keeping to the left through the hollow filled with olive trees and then

Head across the top of Sokratous past the mosque of Suleiman into lpodamou. On the right is the Turkish Library of Ahmet Havuz, whose collection includes a chronicle of the siege of 1522 and two illuminated Korans of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Immediately, the narrow cobbled street transports the visitor into a different age blanking out the hustle and bustle of the main tourist thoroughfare. Arches, protection against earthquakes, bridge the street, enticing alleyways, flower decked courtyards all exude a more tranquil air. Even the tourist shops become less intrusive. Divert left along Arhelaou, to Platia Arionos and the Turkish Baths. Dominated by the Mustafa Pasha Mosque and baths of the same name, the square provides another opportunity to sit at one of the Cafes and absorb the atmosphere. This Turkish bath (hammam) still functions, despite bomb damage during World War II, and subsequent renovation work is difficult to detect to the non expert. Return to Ipodamou to continue down the street An intriguing wend through a narrow alleyway leads onto Omirou, emerging by the Ancient Market Garden Bar. Continue left along the street. There are better opportunities for sideways exploration and capturing a real flavour of the old town in this area. Pass the end of Fanouriou, by Hotel Paris, to shortly turn left through an archway into Platia Dorieos with its domed fountain which makes a great setting for eating out under the trees. Tucked into a corner, and almost masked by a taverna, is the old Byzantine Church of Agios Fanourios but dominating the square is the Retzep Pasha Mosque, one of the most striking of all the Turkish buildings. To regain Fanouriou, cross the square to the left, from the entry point, then turn right. Fanouriou is one of the oldest streets in the old town and can be better appreciated at this lower end. As the street rises up towards the Collachium, an increase in souvenir shops announces the return to the tourist heart. Emerge onto Sokratous by the Aga Mosque.

This one-and-a-half-hour walk of 4 km is laden with history and encompasses the old city of Rhodes. This once most powerful citadel of Christianity has been restored in recent years.

In 1309 Rhodes was conquered by the Order of Saint John, which had to withdraw from the Holy Land. In the beginning, the Byzantine walls existing in the city were hardly fortified. D’Aubusson, the grand master of the order, had all the fortifications reno­vated after 1480 in order to fulfil the requirements of the newly prevailing artillery. In 1522, 100,000 Turks besieged the city, which was bitterly defended by only 7,500 knights of the order and Greek fighters for five months. When the situation became hope­less, the conqueror, Suleiman the Magnificent, al­lowed them an honourable retreat.

Our walk around the immense fortification walls begins at the taxi stand in Mandraki Harbour, opposite the New Market. There is a great gate and then Entrance A. From the ramparts, with recently planted greenery, you can soon see the Grand Master’s palace crowned with pinnacles. It was its own castle within the city EL What you see today is, however, the work of Italian architects who reconstructed the palace in the 1930s. After the turn to the left, you see flat outworks in the moat to take the attackers under crossfire. The outer fortification walls on the right were built smoothly to prevent the enemy from having any cover during the attack or retreat. There used to be a drawbridge at the last section, the Amboise Gate. This section of the wall was defended by German knights. Different “tongues” or nations were responsible for each defensive section. Later you come to the pentagon-shaped Bastion of St. George. In the following section of the Auvergne there are two ramps com­ing up from below from which the defenders could surprise the besiegers. Behind the Tower of Spain there are gigantic outworks called “terre-plein” separating the moat into two parts and offer­ing other possibilities of fighting the opponent from all sides. After three quarters of an hour, you will walk under a bridge near the Athanassios Tower. The English knights also had a “terre-plein” in their section, and it was connected with the Koskinou Tower. The Melina Merkouri Theatre is located in the section the Provence had. The Tower of Italy (Caretto) corresponded to the latest fortification techniques of that time: thick and round El. After it you come to water and then turn left. The Ekaterini Gate is hidden behind several travel agencies. The loveliest gate, the Marine Gate, and the harbour itself were defended by the king­dom of Castile. Then there are two more gates which were added later before you come to the Ayios Pavlos Bastion, which pro­tected the harbour on the land side.

It is loveliest here in spring when the vegetation has a sumptuous, almost tropical effect. An Easter pic­nic in the park is a must for most loccds. In summer the coolness of the ravine offers a pleasant place to gather new strength.

On foot from the old town, you need half an hour along the much frequented road to Lindos. For this reason, the bus from Nea Agora or a taxi is recom­mended.

You begin this one-hour walk at the park’s entrance on the street to Lindos, and it’s best to walk across the bridge with the aque­duct first and then go uphill on the left. The part is set up aro­und a deep sandstone ravine.

The stream running through the ravine is dammed up again and again and spanned by picturesque wooden bridges. At the end of the park, cross over the stream and return on the other side of it. You have a choice of several parallel paths. Above the hollow there is a building with a terrace where several peacocks love to hang out. Their shrieks can be heard from afar. There is also a game preserve here.

Before you reach the upper end of the park, you can stay above the ravine and come to the cliff graves, which the locals call “kufio vuono”, meaning “hollow mountain”, in just a few mi­nutes. The most famous is named the Ptolemy Grave and has a five-metre high facade of relief pillars hewn into the rock. The entrance is barred by grating, but you can look into the cave through it.

The Countryside around the Panagias Paramithias Monastery

The Panagias Paramithias monastery is enthroned on a hill near the street from Rhodes to Lindos. You will meander through the rolling countryside for three to four hours. The somewhat strenuous walks, mainly along dirt roads, offer wide views. The walk ends in Afdndou.

Have the bus driver drop you off about 2.5 km to the south of Afandou, at the turn-off to the monastery -exactly across from a petrol station. Walk along a narrow side-street to a chapel (right) and then wander to the right along beaten paths through a meadow with olive trees to reach the monastery EL Keep left on a dirt road beneath the monastery and walk through a gate to reach the Pa­nagias Paramithias monastery.

Several monks live in the relatively new monaster}’. The central area with a small chapel is surrounded by buil­dings with cells and is dominated by an Italian-looking campanile.

Now walk downhill along the street and to the right in a left curve along a dirt road in the valley. Signs announce three churches. In the beginning, you walk uphill, pass a house and then walk through lovely, rolling countryside again. Disregard two turn-offs to the left. Soon you are above a hollow and discover a small, tile-covered chapel between trees on the other side. You soon reach the bot­tom of the valley and walk up to the chapel Ayios Nikolaos El. It is only 20 years old, with modest fittings. Beneath the chapel, leave the path you have taken so far to the right, towards the middle of the valley. After several metres, you pass by a dry streambed. From there, walk uphill for about 30 m and then to the right into a mea­dow with olive trees. Cross the meadow along the tractor 0.55 tracks and then cross over a cemented ford beyond it. Stay in the dry streambed for several minutes and then walk uphill for a few metres to another meadow, on the left above the streambed. At the following fork, you can see the monastery again, above on the right. Walk left here

Short cut: If you walk straight on and right at the next forte, you will come back to the meadow with the oli­ve trees below the monastery. From   here you can reach the mainstreet again. A sparse group of pines lines the dirt road, which leads uphill on the left above a ravine with thick vegetation. Before a fence, turn to the right and wander through the

meadow with olive trees once again. You can still see the monastery.

1.15 Along a rather steep path you come to the chain of hills with a view of the sea. Turn left to come to the next fork, where you can see Afandou with its thickly huddled white houses.

Alternative: The shorter and easier path leads downhill to the right from here and then to the left along the street.

Uphill to the left you come to a mountain ridge from which you have a view of the entire island. At a fork, wan­der uphill to the right and then downhill to the right

1.35   again at the peak to a fenced-in garden.

The dirt road ends here. Across from the garden, in the di­rection of Afandou, a goat track leads downhill – it is slip­pery and should be walked on carefully. Down below you come to a garden of olive trees embed-

1.45 ded in the rock and fenced in at the top. Climb over the fence, the best place is directly at the rocks, and walk over the terraces to reach the valley. From there, a path leads to the street, which you should walk along downhill to the left. It is used by garbage trucks and looks accordingly. At

1.50 the sign “Refuse disposal prohibited”, you can leave the asphalt street to the left and cross power lines and bet-

2.05 ween small gardens to reach the modest village of Afan­dou. Wait for the bus in a shady cafe along the street at the village platia.

A shady path leads up to the Akramitls massif and crosses through beautiful park-like meadows. You can wander on past the chapel of Saint John up to the peak. After a somewhat steep descent, you return to the street near Sidna. No functioning cisterns can be found during the three to four hours of walking. At four places you must pay careful attention to the turn-offs!!

First look at the clock at the taverna “Christos Corner”, then walk up the street and 10 minutes later you will no­tice a parking area on the right side of the street. Across from it yellow cairns (piled stones) □ mark the way up the slope. In the woods turn left after 50 m at the cairn and then walk up the easily seen path. Another cairn later marks the turn-off up to the right E. The walk continues upwards, at first with a bit of effort, then later very pleasantly between the pines, with a love­ly view of the broad Apolakkia Bay. At the end of the as­cent, wander down through the pine woods and then on the right of a ravine to a wonderful glade El, where all of Greece’s flowers bloom in spring, between age-old pines and cedars, ruins and decaying trees – a romantic painter like William Turner would probably have reached quickly for his sketch pad.

You ascend a few metres through violet sage blooms and cross over a stone wall which used to surround a field. From the other side of the wall it is only 200 paces until a

1.00 phalanx of cairns direct the wanderer uphill to the right !! and not straight on along the wider goat path. When you have passed the cliff, a wide meadow stretches out in front of you, in which, to the left and barely perceptible, 1.05 there is the chapel Ayios Ioannis. The structure is plain except for the lovely frescoes in the old apse. Even just its situation in this abandoned area makes seeing it an expe­rience.

Alternative: The rest of the way on down to Siana is un­even and bumpy. You could also consider returning the same way you came through the lovely meadows. On the other side of the meadow a reddish-coloured path leads slowly up to an open mountain pasture with a pine grove above it H. There is a quaint cairn to the right of

the path, directly in front of a tree trunk.

Alternative: It is only 10 minutes straight ahead to the observation station for forest fires near the peak of the Akramitis (823 m). By clear weather the view is very worthwhile. A path also leads into the valley from there.

If you turn right at the cairn, you will find a goat path over the hill and can walk downhill slowly from there, without a path, staying to the left until you reach a wide, red footpath, which you follow downhill. Soon there are ruins 100 m to the right between pines. The path be­comes steeper but shadier. Far down below you turn left at a cairn on a boulder to reach the street. It is 30 minutes on foot down to Monolithos; hitch-hik­ing is only 5 minutes.

It takes eight minutes uphill to reach Siana, with its nar­row lanes and nice little tavernas. The village is famous for honey, yoghurt and especially Ziimo- a kind of grappa.

On this five-hour walking tour you circle at a respect­ful distance round the crusade citadel enthroned on a steep cliff. There are several possibilities for taking a swim and then a terrific sunset at the end. The length of the tour is, however, 7 km, so you might want to take a short cut in the middle.

AWT  You should take some water for your walk at the lovely  village fountain in Monolithos since there is no possi­bility along the way to get refreshments. Then, keeping to the left, meander downhill along the street above the gar­dens and turn to the right at the last houses El onto a ce­ment path which is soon flanked on the left with natural walls of loess. It leads through terraces of olive trees and straight down to the valley floor. Here you turn right

onto the country road and follow it uphill after a bridge. !!       At the fork, go to the left – don’t miss the somewhat

overgrown dirt road leading downhill to the left after an olive grove – now nothing can go wrong for the moment.

At the end of the road, walk to the right past the grape vines and then take a half-right between two fields of grain to the right edge of the forest, where you unknot  and refasten the gate. You will find a sufficient number of red dots in the sparse pine forest to reach the edge of the forest soon. Charred tree trunks from the fire in 1999 stand in front of the sea. Since it is easy to lose your way in the next part of the walk, you are recommended to take the bright rocky peninsula on the right of the broad

Anyone who wants to wander through the Greek forests at some time should take this three to four-hour tour. You walk to the famous St. Michael’s Cloister in Than along roads which aren’t too steep and then return to Laerma in a wide loop. You will only find water in Thari.

The only bus connection to Laerma is in the after­noon, so you should plan either to spend the night (see below) or to go from Ldrdos by taxi or by hitch­ing a ride.

AWT  After the Church of Laerma (right), you pass by the 0.00   restaurant “Igkos” (left) on the slightly ascending street, then turn off the street to the left 200 m later after a right curve and walk along a dirt road leading downhill and 0.11   lined with pine and olive trees. At the fork, continue straight on downhill and down below in the flat area, 0.15   turn to the right. Meander light-footed, passing by the 0.25   turn-off (to the left), and you will come to a military de­pot (right) shortly. At the fork, bear to the left downhill and then directly afterwards to the right and on through a 0.30   stream bed, which can carry water until May.

At the following fork, go uphill to the left and then 0.50   through the wooded hillside to the cloister of Thari HI.

This cloister, dedicated to the archangel Michael, is a forg­ing tool for the Orthodox Church. The 15-20 monks liv­ing here will come far in the church hierarchy – so it is said. The cloister also sends forth missionaries. Visitors can view the old, completely painted church,

whose oldest, 600-year-old frescoes are in the altar area. Saint Michael can be seen several times, with his sword in the right hand and a child in the left. He is fighting against the powers of darkness with his sword and accom­panies mankind’s souls, symbolically represented by the child, into eternity. One special portrayal is the representa­tion of Christ sitting.

A confusion of influences assail the senses on a walk through theold town. The stoic grandeur of the medieval fortress-like buildings
seem at odds with the narrow alleyways and homespun architecture of the houses. Graceful minarets, rickety balconies, tranquil squares with fountains and shady trees still exude an oriental air. Blue glass eyes, to ward off evil, Loukouma and thebnames of many dishes in restaurants are all part of the Turkish legacy.
A visit to all or some museums is usually on everyone’s list. Even if ancient remains do not excite, the Museum of Decorative Arts with its insight into life during the past couple of hundred years, will interest all the family. If time is pressing, and there is only time for one museum visit, save it for the Palace of the Grand Masters. The Exhibition of Archaeological Excavations, displaying finds from
Prehistoric to Hellenistic times is clear, informative and above all fascinating. The palace closes at 3pm and admittance to the museum stops at 2.30pm but the exhibition demands much longer than half an hour.

From the taxi stand in Platia Rimini, head past the ranks of sponge sellers to enter the old town through the Freedom Gate (Pili Eleftherias). This narrow bridge has to cope with a steady stream of traffic, in both directions, as well as a swell of tourists. An early
or later start will allow chance to observe the deer in their compound to the left or glorious curtains of bougainvillea cascading down the walls, without being swept along by the crowd. Once inside, leaving the traffic to hurtle left out through the Arsenal Gate, head up the right-hand side of Platia Simis. The tour starts in the Collachium, the Knights-preserve. To the left are the remains of a third-century BC Temple of Aphrodite and in front of this is a useful the layout of the town. Further up the rise, on the left, kastrou, is the Inn of Auvergne built in 1507 and more recently restored. A Byzantine baptismal font serves as an unusual fountain in the Argirokastrou Square and heaps of cannonballs, from the Turkish siege of 1522, are displayed as decoration. One of the earliest buildings in the Collachium fronts the square, the colour and texture of its stonework softened by a tumbling mass of bougainvillea. This was originally the Palace of the Armeria, constructed under the Grand Master Roger de Pinsot in the fourteenth century, and the First Hospital of the Knights. It was also used by the Knights and Turks as an arsenal but today it enjoys a more peaceful role, it houses the offices of the Archaeological Institute of the Dodecanese and is where the first museum is located.

The Museum of Decorative Arts: an off-putting title for a delightful and intimate Folk Art Museum where decorated tiles, intricately carved woodwork, brightly coloured Rodian style pottery and exquisite needlework are elegant reminders of an earlier culture. A reconstruction of the interior of a traditional Rodian house provides a good insight into everyday life. Even here, a Turkish influence can be detected. Many exhibits seem to originate from the island of Symi where women could appear well provided with rich dresses by owning just one long, sleeveless, elaborately embroidered ‘gilet’ to wear over a basic plain dress embroidered only round the neck, hem and sleeves.

Not much further up the street, again on the right, is the Ministry of Culture Museum Shop. For a piece of Creek history to take home, look no further. On sale are authentic casts of parts of friezes and funeral stele and replicas of ancient Greek jewellery. From hereon, souvenir shops jostle for attention with displays of gold and silver, leather, lace and the inevitable T-shirts. On the opposite side of the road is the thirteenth century Byzantine Church of St Mary (Panagia tou Kastrou ), which became the first cathedral of the Knights. A forced change of allegiance under Turkish rule saw its steeple converted into a minaret and renamed Enderoum. After a Christian massacre here in 1523 it became known to Rodians as the ‘red mosque’. Converted back again for use as a Christian church it has become a fitting home for the Byzantine Museum which contains an exhibition of well displayed Byzantine paintings and frescos in an atmospheric setting. One fresco has even been transferred from Halki and is displayed on the ceiling of the barrel vault. The cobbled street Odos lpoton, the ‘Street of the Knights’, rises up right to the Palace of the Grand Masters. For the moment though, continue into Platia Moussieo (Museum). Tucked back on the left is a bank, separated from the rather undistinguished Inn of England by a narrow street. Of more interest are the eateries along the narrow alley which leads off the far left-hand corner of the square beyond the inn. The impressive building to the right commands attention. This was the new Hospital of the Knights and their original raison d’etre. Begun in 1440, over the remains of a Roman building, it was not until the Grand Master d’Aubusson took charge over 40 years on that it was completed. It was built along similar lines to Byzantine hostelries. Eight plain arches support the facade, the only relief to the severe exterior being the decorative, recessed Gothic arch of the main gateway which lies beneath the projection of the chapel above. Unfortunately, the original wooden main gate found its way to Versailles when it was sold by the Turks in the nineteenth century. After the Knights’ departure it was used variously as a hospital then ignobly as a barracks. Skilfully restored by the Italians and again after suffering bomb damage during World War II, it now serves as the Archaeological Museum. The entrance opens into a courtyard, surrounded by a galleried upper story accessed by an outside stairway. Stone fragments and stacks of cannonballs, relics from various sieges, lie on the ground and a first-century BC marble statue of a crouching lion takes centre spot. Upstairs is the large room which was the Infirmary Ward. What the small windowless rooms down the sides were used
for is open to conjecture, possibly isolation wards or maybe wardrobes. Pilgrims came here for treatment until the needs of the Knights themselves became paramount. When this happened, the vow of poverty seems to have been conveniently forgotten! Simple wooden beds were replaced by beds decked with brocaded canopies and nothing less than silver plate was good enough to eat off.
Medieval gives way to an earlier era in other rooms along the gallery. It is difficult not to admire the art of the sculptor in Hellenistic times and the marble statuette of Aphrodite bathing, an adaptation of an earlier first century BC sculpture, is a fine example. There is also another sculpted Aphrodite from the third century BC more commonly known as the Marine Venus after being hauled out of the sea nearly 70 years ago. It is this sculpture which inspired the title of Lawrence Durrell’s book Reflections on a Marine Venus about his life on Rodos. A second-century BC head, from a statue of the Sun God Helios driving his chariot in the sky, still has the holes where iron spikes for the sun’s rays would have been positioned. It is thought that this was sited in the Temple to Helios. Grave stele, as here, provide an insight into the everyday life of ordinary people of the time. One from Kamiros depicts a fifth-century BC bas-relief of a girl saying goodbye to a dead mother and another, erected by Damokles to his dead wife Kalliaista, shows her seated in front of her maid.

Besides these gems there are many funerary objects which is not too surprising, as most of the information gleaned about this early period comes from ancient cemeteries. Pottery figures strongly, especially Geometric and there are also some mosaics.
Leaving the Collachium with its austere faqades, it is time for a complete change of scene. Continuing in the same direction, outdoor tables on the square at Folydorou are invitingly placed for the thirsty visitor and it is tempting to pause and watch the world go by. Moving on through the square, Sokratous is not difficult to miss. Its wide bustling street, reminiscent of its central role in the old bazaar rises up towards Suleiman Mosque. With the projecting wooden balconies (sachnisi) of its Turkish style buildings, this is the most famous and photographed street in the old town. A short diversion left here leads into Platia Ipokratous, beyond which is the medieval courthouse and stock exchange, the Kastellania, and close by the impressive Marine Gate. Wandering up Sokratous could take a long time. Colour spills onto the street as traders entice with their assortment of wares, ikons, replica helmets, embroidery, carpet weaving, ceramics and leather sandals all clamouring for attention. Pastry shops and Cafes seduce the foot weary while the lure of shady alleyways suggest more peaceful oases. An arch jutting out into the street, the Aga Mosque, has so far restricted the view ahead but from hereon the Suleiman Mosqu comes into better focus. Built on the site of an earlier Church of the Apostles, it was constructed in honour of the Sultan after his conquest of Rodos in 1522 and rebuilt in 1808. The pink colour on man old buildings is not paint but a special pink cement used for waterproofing on floors, roofs, domes and walls. Do not continue up past the mosque but go right in front of it along Panetiou. The commanding walls of the Palace of the Grand Masters loom ahead. On the left are excavations of medieval buildings behind which is the Turkish school constructed on the site of the Conventual Church of St John destroyed in the 1856 gunpowder explosion.

A fragment of wall being the sole remains. Built in a plain architectural style during the fourteenth century it contained the tombs of the Knights, remnants of which are found in the Knights Hospital. Pass the top of the Street of the Knights’ to enter the palace environs. At the end of the street is Platia Kleovoulou and the restored Loggia of St John which, when the Knights were in residence on the island, connected the palace with the Church of St John. Two round towers announce the entrance to the palace, its large pointed door being one of the parts preserved from the original building. The Palace of the Grand Masters stands on the highest part of the Collachium, and was built on the probable site of the Sanctuary of Helios in the fourteenth century. Helios was the original sun god on Rodos but he appears to have been supplanted at some later time by Apollo who was also a sun god as well as sometime god of light, poetry, music etc. The role of gods being manipulated by different peoples to suit their personal requirements. Designed as a fortress in its own right with underground storerooms to withstand siege, it served as the Grand Masters’ residence and the hub of the Knights’ activities. Although it survived the Turkish siege of 1522 little damaged, its use as a prison and the earthquake of
1851 hastened structural decline.
The gunpowder explosion and fire 5 years later, coupled with removal of stone for other building work by the Turks, effectively sealed the fate of this once commanding edifice. Left to languish for the next 80 years, it took a new master to restore its fortunes when, under the Italians in the 1930s, it was rebuilt as an intended summer residence for Vittorio Emmanuel III and Mussolini. The exterior is supposed to follow the style of the old building with the interior adapted more to modern day requirements with electricity and central heating. Even camouflaged lifts were installed so as not to appear incongruous in such a setting. Ostentation was more a prerequisite than taste when it came to interior design, or so it seems. The lavish style extending to the use of Roman and Byzantine columns and importation of some fine Roman and Early Christian mosaics from Kos. The entrance to the main body of the palace is up the sweep of stairs to the left, opposite the pay desk immediately on entering. Inscriptions near this entrance appertain to the Italian Fascist regime and to Creek Independence gained in 1947. Ahead is the inner courtyard with its display of Roman statuary and off this courtyard is a snackbar and the entrance to the special exhibition within the palace of ancient local finds. The exhibition covers the period from prehistoric times to the Hellenistic City and includes some excellent mosaics. It is well annotated and displayed and time spent absorbing the information in here really helps to recreate the living and breathing Rodos of old. Climb the stairs to wander through the corridors and spacious rooms open to the public where a combination of seemingly wall to wall mosaics, statues, Italian Renaissance carving and scant furnishings add to the sterile atmosphere. This mix of periods lie uneasily together. Views from the windows over the town and gardens give a different perspective as does a walk along the old city walls.

Walking the walls is an excellent way to appreciate them as a tremendous feat of fortification. It also provides a superb overview of the old town which helps to put the layout into perspective. Only accessible on Tuesdays and Saturdays at 2.45pm but often open from 2.30pm. Tickets at the entrance to the palace. The unguided walk starts up the steps and through the small Cannon Gate off the outer courtyard. Covering only about a third of its original length, the walk passes along the ‘Curtains’ defended by Auvergne, Aragon and England, in that order, ending at the Koskinou Gate. Descend into Efthimiou and follow right then round left along Dimosthenous to Platia Evreon Martiron, the Square of the Jewish Martyrs which is easily identified by its tasteless modern fountain of bronze seahorses. The square was renamed in memory of the remaining Jewish population, who were deported from this spot to concentration camps when the Germans arrived in 1943. Only a few Jewish families live in the old town now out of a population numbering 6,000 before 1939, a fortunate 4,000 of whom emigrated at the outset of war. Close by, in Dosiadou, can be located the synagogue.

The next street out of the square on the left leads to the Ibrahim Pasha Mosque and very pleasant Platanos Square, reputed to have been used as a place of execution by the Turks with the Demerli Mosque lying a little further along. This is also a good area for exploring the numerous alleyways with less tourist shops. Sokratous lies just north of here.

Leaving the palace, go left down Ipoton, the Street of the Knights’, one of the best preserved medieval streets in existence. Besides being the main route from the palace to the port through the Collachium, it is the location of the inns of the various tongues. The present day pristine appearance of the cobbled street is thanks in no small measure to the Italians, who dismantled the Turkish addition of rickety wooden balconies to restore the late medieval architecture. Now used mainly as offices, it lacks the buzz of habitation and shows itself for what it has become – a museum piece, nevertheless, it is an impressive street. Even before it gained its medieval mantle it was an ancient route to the port. From this angle, the first point to catch the eye is an arch spanning the street. The Inn of Spain lies to the right either side of the arch and the room above the arch belongs to it while opposite is the later built, more elaborate, Inn of Provence.

Lower down on the left is the small fourteenth-century Church of Agia Triada (Holy Trinity) attached to the Inn of France which was converted by the Turks to a mosque called Han-Zade and before the chapel the house belonging to its chaplain. Well down the street now, reach the richly ornamented Inn of France on the left where the coats of arms of France, with its three lilies and royal crown, and the Grand Master d’Aubusson with its cardinal’s hat can be seen in a carved frame, dated 1495. The building across the road, next to the hospital, had connections with the Inn of Spain. Finally, near the bottom of the street on the left, is the Inn of Italy with its exterior showing simpler lines than th0se of the Inn of France.