How to get there?
If you love history, it is definably worth seeing. It is lovely in summertime but it is also very romantic in wintertime. If you go by car and you start in Faliraki, you just follow the road to Rhodes. Follow the signs, which has old town written on it, you cannot miss. It’s also good to do with the bus. Its cheep and easy. By car its takes you about twenty minutes.

What’s there to see in the old town?
I will tell you what there is to see in the old town. Rhodes the old town has nine gates and big heavy walls surround it. You’ve got Gate Ag. Georgiou, Gate Tilevolon, Gate Eleftherias, Gate Navarhiou, Gate Ag. Ekaterinis, Gate Milon, Gate Karetou, Gate Ag. Ioannou and Gate AG. Athanasiou . The one we got through was the Gate AG. Georgiou. What is there to see? There is the Palace of the Grand masters. The Inn of the knights, St Dimitros, Temple of Aphrodite, Museum of decorative arts, Tourist police, Lodge of the Auvergne, Byzantine museum, Byzantine church, Suleimans mosque, Library, Castellania spring, Turkish library, St Paraskevi, Turkish bath, Ibrahim Pasha, the first Hospital of the Knights, Admiralty, Panagia Kastru, Cathrins hospital, Synaqoque, St Nicholas, St Fanorios, Redjeb Pasha Mosque, St Kyriaki, the Folk dance theatre, the clock tower and the Archaeological museum. I will describe some of the features you can admire in the old town.

Street of the knights
You can find most Inns in the Ippoton Street otherwise known by the Street of the Knights. They represented the seven countries or tongues where the Knights came from. You can see that the architecture is mostly influenced by the French. This is because fourteen of the nineteen Grandmasters were French. What is also interesting is that most of the Inns have an arch through to a courtyard with a staircase leading to the upper rooms. Which always makes me curious at how the rooms upstairs look. But you have to let your own imagination run wild. Because the doors are closed. In the Street of the Knights, you can find the Inn of French. This beautiful building has the crocodile/ dragon gargoyles. They have a chapel which is one of the oldest buildings in the street. You can recognise this building by the statue of the Virgin and Child. Walking from the Palace of the Grandmaster you will see in this order the following Inns. On your right you pass the Inn of Spain. On your left you see the Inn of Provence and the Inn of France. The one with the chapel I described earlier. Than you will pass the Italian consulate which used to be the priest’s house. Next to the Italian consulate there is a little palace to be seen. This palace belonged to de I’lsle Adam. He was the last Grand Master on Rhodes. Next is the Inn of Italy which belonged to the second to last Grand Master. It is to be recognised by the emblem of Fabrizio del Carretto. When you walk to the bottom of the Street of the Knights on the left of you, you will find the Inn of Auvergne in Argyrokastrou Square. The Inn of England you can see on the right in Museum Square. This Inn was given to the people of Rhodes by the English Knights. This was after an earthquake in 1851 and the bombing during the war which left the building badly damaged. So it had to be repaired. It was given to the people of Rhodes at 1972. Did you know that this building was originally built in 1483?

Archaeological museum
The archaeological museum one can admire in the Medieval Building of the Hospital of the Knights. The building has two floors and an internal Yard. This Yard is on each side lined with porticoes. If you are interested in exhibited finds, dating from all Periods of history, you can find them in its six rooms and in its garden. I will tell you about the objects, which have come on during excavations, which you can find in the archaeological museum. Here they come in following order:
The stele of Crito & Timarista, fifth century BC.
The head of young athlete bathing, first century.
The marble Head of Ilios 250-160 BC.
Headless status of Nymphs.
Terracotta statuettes.
A large Rhodian oinochoe of the seventh century BC.

These are the most important of the exhibits that are in the archaeological museum. Sculptures and funerary steles of the Hellenic period you can find in the garden. More statues and fragments of funerary monuments you can see in the museum atrium floor, mosaic from Arkasa on Karpathos lies in the recess on the south side of the atrium floor. A reconstruction of a tombstone in the form of a small temple, housing a trophy, stands at the back of the recess.

Decorative Arts Museum
The decorative arts museum is in a three - aisled domed ground - floor room that was part of the Knight's arsenal. There are displayed wood - carved and ceramic vessels made in Europe and the East, as well as folk costumes and embroideries from all the islands in the Dodecanese. The exhibits date from the 17th to the early 20th c. The address of the decorative arts museum is 2 Symis Sq., Old Town

 

 

 

The Clock tower
You can find the clock tower in the Orfeos street number 1. They charge you five euro each but a drink of your choice is included. The Clock Tower used to be a mechanical masterpiece and the mechanical mechanism has been carefully stored. You can find the clock mechanism and the bell in the yard. They are replaced because of the many tourists who otherwise can’t have a look from the highest point of the old town. I give you one point of advice. When you are upstairs in the clock tower, it can be a bit crowded because it is very small. Therefore, it is maybe better not to go with big groups. It is certainly worth going up because it gives you a nice view over the old town. When you walk down from the clock tower, you find a cafe where you can give your ticket and order the drink you like. They show some features the people used when they were living there. There are also toilets if you have to go. The clock tower was built after the devastating earthquake of 1851 and stands on the site of the original north-west tower of the internal fortifications of the coliseum.

The Palace of the Grand Master.
This castle was not originally built on this site. It was first built on the site of a temple dedicated to he first Titan god of the island. His name was Helios. In the beginning there was a Byzantine garrison built on this site. After that, the Knights of St John built the Palace for their Grand Master. Later it functioned as a prison by the Ottomans. It was badly damaged in 1856 when the castle was struck by lightning. They forgot that there was ammunition stored in a basement of the castle church. After the occupation of the Ottomans, the Italians rebuilt the Palace of the Grand Master. They rebuilt it during their occupation and in 1940, they finished rebuilding. The Italians built the palace for the king of Italy. But General Mussolini wanted to use the palace as his summer residence. Of course this never happened. Now the palace is a museum. They charge you 6 euro each as a fee for the entrance. Downstairs are the exhibits from the days of ancient Greece to see. Upstairs you will see an Italian reconstruction of the splendour of the Knights with bathrooms, lighting and lifts. The Italians lifted some beautiful furniture and lovely mosaic floors, from Kos and brought them over here. You can admire them upstairs.

The Colossus of Rhodes
Next to the Palace of the Grand Master there is a garden .In this garden you can see statues. You cannot really see all of them because the garden is closed for visitors. From the Palace of the Grandmaster you have a good view on the garden. One of the statues is Colossus. The harbour of the city of Rhodes was once adorned by the statue of Collosos. Colossus was one of the ancient seven world wonders. A Lindian sculptor Chares made it. It took him almost twelve years to finish. The story goes that when the Rhodians vanquished Demetrios, they sold the seige machines and decided that with the money they obtained, they would set up a bronze statue, to commemorate their victory. They built a bronze statue that was 31 meters high in 229 B.C. The Colossus stood with its legs spread over the entrance of the harbour. In its lifted fist it held a naviganational light that showed the ships the way into the harbour. An earthquake destroyed the statue in 226 B.C. Today the harbour entrance is being watched over by a pair of bronze stags.

The temple of Aphrodite.
This is one of the ancient sites in the Old Town to have survived. It was built in the third century BC. I will fill you in on the story of Aphrodite. The earth mother Gaea had a partner for life called Uranus. Uranus was very jealous and drove Gaea crazy. So she asked her son Cronus to get rid of Uranus. Cronus loved his mother very much, so he did what his mother asked him to do. He took the sickle she gave him and he hit him bad. Drops of the blood of Uranus fell in to the sea, which created some mighty giants. However, another drop created Aphrodite, the goddess of love. When Peleus (a mortal friend) and Thetis (the goddess of the Sea) married, all the gods except Eris (goddess of mischief) were invited to the wedding. Eris was very disappointed and very angry not being invited. She came to the wedding anyway and entered the wedding feast holding up a golden apple. She said it was for the most beautiful woman in the room. Zeus was asked to make the choice between Hera, Aphrodite and Athena. Zeus was not stupid and searched for the most beautiful mortal that could have the pleasure. Paris, a prince of Troy, was working as a Shepard in Asia Minor. Paris than was visited by Hermes. Hermis had a winged hat and sandals and brought the three goddesses with him. Hermis asked Paris to choose the most beautiful woman of the three. The goddesses than offered him gifts. Hera gave him power. Athena gave him wisdom and Aphrodite wanted to give him the love of the most beautiful woman in the world. Aphrodite got the golden apple. This is how was declared that Aphrodite was the most beautiful woman of the world. She is otherwise known as Venus from Rome.

The first Hospital of the Knights
In Argyrokastrou Square, there is the first Hospital of the Knights. The Grand Master Roger de Pins built it in the fourteenth century. His shield you can find in the building. The Ottomans later used this as an armoury. There is a fountain in the middle of Argyrokastrou Square. This fountain is a sixth century Byzantine font from the village Arnitha.

 

 

 

Walk along the Walls
There are organised walks along the Walls. Every Tuesday and Saturday in the afternoon at 2.45 pm you can walk with a guide around the walls. The walk around the walls starts at the Palace of the Grand Master and it ends at the Koskinou Gate. You walk around the north and the south of the wall. The gate to the ramparts is locked before 3 pm. It’s also a must to wear proper shoes that are not slippery. If you take your children with you for the walk you have to keep a close eye on them. The guide is going to tell you about the country or tongue who was responsible for defending which side of the wall. The moat was never filled with water because it was above sea level. They used it to stop invaders building platforms to scale the walls. Also you pass the tower of Spain and the tower of St Mary.

Eat and drink.
Inside the old town, you also can find many streets with shops, restaurants and cafes. You have many places to eat. There are Italian restaurants, English restaurants, French restaurants etc. As there are many choices to go and have a drink. If you are thinking of going for a drink, it is best to check on the table to see what glasses they serve the drinks in. For instance the first bar/ restaurant on the right (this is when you came in to the town through the Gate Ag. Georgiou) is serving their drinks in large glasses in the shape of a boot. It looks like they poor one and a half litre of fluid in your boot shaped glass. The name of this restaurant is ΠΑΓΚΑΣ ΑΘ ΣΤΑ ́ΡΟΣ. They do not show any prices and you cannot choose in which glass you want to drink. For a glass of ice tea, they charge five euro and fourty cents each. What you have to putt in mind is that if you order a beer, they also pore your beer in this large glass. Therefore, if you decide to go and have a drink there, it is better not to go there, if you have to drive. The police in Rhodes are stricter on drinking and driving. You can drink a normal glass of alcohol and that is it. There is not an amount, that you have to pay, when they catch you on drinking and driving. It depends on how much you had to drink and what mood the police officer is in. They are stricter because Rhodes is a touristic island and they want to protect the tourists. In addition, we had the feeling that when you have not emptied your glass and the next costumer orders the same drink as you had; they just fill the glass up with some more of the drink. They also have a sign on there window what says they have wireless internet and access is available. Only when we wanted to pay our bill, we saw somebody who asked for the internet. This person was told he was not allowed to go on the internet. So our question was why is there a sign on the window which tells you you can go on the internet? I am sure you will not have this problem if you go somewhere else. Or just go there when you are very very very thirsty. You have to be careful where you sit and order a drink or have a meal. They charge you full price because it is very touristy.

Tips
I have to warn you for the gipsy people who are begging for money. Sure it looks heart breaking. They are woman who are sitting on the ground and holding a kid. You also see the children begging for money. My guess is that they make a hundred euro. If they make this in one hour it must not surprise you. Their husband is driving a Mercedes. And is making a lot of money on you. They are not as poor as you might think.

Shopping
There are also many shops. So if you like shopping you will certainly will have a lot of fun here. There are souvenirs shops, shops where you can find beautiful jewellery, t- shirts, shops that sell candy, bags, and clothing. If you need something for your camera it’s also there. There is a bank, where you can change your money. You can buy liquor. It is nice to shop until you drop. What’s also is nice to see is that the buildings, houses and shops look exactly the same as they did in the old days .Of course they build in shops for the tourist. But it gives you an impression of what it looked like.

 

 

Artists.
What also is very nice to do is to have your picture drawn. When you walk in the old town through the Gate AG. Georgiou you will see the artists who can draw your portrait. We talked to an artist who does this and asked how it works and how much it costs. He told us that you can sit down for about fifteen minutes and he draws your picture. Alternatively, you can have your picture taken. He draws you exactly as you look on the picture. It really looks good and you do not feel sorry if you let your picture drawn. He charges fifty euro. If you see the results you will be very pleased. It’s also possible to be drawn together with your loved one or a friend. This man also had an article written in the newspaper back in 2005. There are a lot of artists there who can draw your picture. So if one artist is busy you can have your picture drawn by an other artist. They are all very talented artists.

Mosques in the Old Town.
In 1523 to 1912, the Ottomans built the mosques, during their occupation. On the domes and high minarets with the small balconies, the mullah used to call the faithful to pray with him. The one you see on the picture is the red mosque of Suleiman. It is located on top of Socratous Street. It was rebuilt in the year 1808. The original was built in 1523 to celebrate the victory of Suleiman, over the Knights of St. John. There are more mosques to see in the Old Town. In following order, they are the Ibrahim Pasha Mosque in Sofokleous Street, built in 1531. This is the only mosque still in use with a daily service at 1pm. The Aga Cami or Governors mosque in Fanourios Street. It has wooden pillars. The Moustafa Mosque, you can find in Arionos Square. The Redjep Pasha Mosques, built in 1588, has a location on Dorieos Square. Opposite of where the people would wash their hands before they came in to pray, is a fine arched fountain.

History.
If you are interested in the history of Rhodes, you can read what is written below.
The old town was originally divided in two parts. There was the northern section. Here the Knights housed and all their official buildings. This was known as Castillo. The second half was south of a line that ran parallel to the old Bazaar street or Socrates. Here the Greeks, Europeans and Jews lived. This part was known as Chorio. You can see Mosques from the Turkish era as well as fortresses from the Byzantine epoch and buildings from the times of the Johanitan Knights. The history of Rhodes goes way back to the Stone Age. Cretans, who were the first settlers on the island, inhabited the island in Prehistoric times. Before the Trojan War (1184 BC), the Phoenicians and Dorian’s installed themselves on the island. In the antiquities of the three largest and most powerful cities of the island: Lindos, Iallysos and Kamiros you can see examples of the rapid progress and development of the ancient civilisation of Rhodes commences, after the Trojan War. These three cities united into a single political force at the end of the fifth century. At this time, they founded Rhodes. Rhodes achieved its great acme in the third century B.C. Famous artists, philosophers and writers lived here, during that period. From 2000 B.C, Rhodes became an ally of Rome and was thankful to have the same friends and enemies as the Romans. From the first century B.C, it began, slowly but surely, to go into decline. In 297 AD, Diocletian dealt the final blow to its independence. This was when he joined to the Provincia Insularum of the Roman Empire. Now I will tell you about the Byzantine and modern history. At the beginning of the fourth century A.D (314), Rhodes is becoming a member of the Eastern Empire. An earthquake destroyed the city of Rhodes in 515 B.C. It was rebuild by the emperor Anastasios. During the Persian Wars against the emperor Herakleios, the Persians (620 B.C) captured Rhodes. In 635 Arab invaders, sacked the town and destroyed its monuments. The incursions of the Saracens followed until 718 B.C. There was a raid of the piratical Saracen fleet with liquid fire. The Byzantine Navy did this. In the ninth century, Rhodos suffered very badly in the hands of the Seljuk’s of Haroun al Rashid, who plundered the island barbarously (807 B.C). In the eleventh century, there was a renaissance of its previous commercial activity. Rhodes forged trading relationships with the West and, with the Crusaders, which Rhodes furnished with ships and mercenaries.The leader Leon Govolas declared himself hereditary despot of Rhodes. He ruled Rhodes until 1246. After that, the Benoese captured the island. The Benoese were in power until1261. Then the Byzantine emperors retook Constantinople from the crusaders. Thenceforth Rhodes belonged, officially, to the Byzantine State. It was, in reality, in the hands of Benoese admirals of Byzantium. They sold the islands to the Knights of Ioannites in 1309 B.C. The Turks vanquished the Knights of Ioannites in 1522 and remained on the island until 1912. In 1912, it was taken over by the Italians. After the end of the Second World War (1945) Rhodes together with the other islands of the Dodecanese, was incorporated within Greece. So now you know the history of Rhodes. The old town is really a site you have to see when you come to Rhodes.