Postcards from Rhodes - Roaming in Rodos

Kalimera and welcome back to Rhodes! The Greek border guard exclaimed after stamping our passports, just four hours after leaving Birmingham. 

Yes, that really was the view from my window seat, with the incredible cerulean blue of the Aegean Sea no filter is necessary.

We collected our bag from the carousel, hopped on a bus bound for Rhodes Town (called Rodos by the locals) and forty minutes later we were within the walls of the Medieval Old Town, negotiating the labyrinthine cobbled alleyways in search of the Olympos Pension, our home for the next couple of nights. 

Sophia, a woman so beautiful she'd have given Helen of Troy a run for her money, showed us to our tiny two-storey, wood panelled apartment and handed over the keys. After quickly unpacking our bag and sighing over the rooftop view from our bedroom balcony, we raced off for lunch eaten beneath the shade of an ancient plane tree in a bustling square.

After an ice cold Mythos (or two), we were ready for some culture and, inspired by a couple of books I'd read by Lawrence Durrell written when he was stationed in Rhodes during the British Administration of the Dodecanese Islands between 1945 -1947, we set off in search of his former home.

In Lawrence Durrell and the Greek World he wrote, It was in Rhodes where I spent such happy post-war years, locked into the sacred garden of Murat Reis. I was indeed living in a Turkish cemetery of such beauty and silence that I often longed to die and be sealed.

A forgotten graveyard full of sedate tombs… in a sad state of disrepair. Many of the tombs have
fallen to pieces, and in places the loose drift of leaves has half obscured others. The majority of
those who lie buried here are Turkish civil servants. A few are political exiles. Lawrence Durrell, Notes on a Marine Venus

Neither signposted or mentioned in any of the guidebooks, Durrell's base during his two year residency was an ochre painted stone villa set within the burial grounds of the long abandoned mosque of Murad Reis, built in 1524 during the Ottoman occupation of the island. There's a decayed elegance to the cemetery shaded with eucalyptus trees and, although locked up for decades, we were able to peep through the iron railings and admire the unusual Turkish gravestones, the ones featuring turbans being male and the pineapple shaped ones for women.

A mere stone's throw from Durrell's house, these bronze deer mark the spot where one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Colossus of Rhodes once straddled the harbour. Erected by Chares of Lindos in 280BC, the Colossus was constructed to commemorate the successful defence of Rhodes against Demetrius I of Macedonia. It collapsed after an earthquake in 226BC. The ruins remained until the Arab invasion in 653AD when the Colossus was completely destroyed and the remains sold.

At temperatures hovering at around 32°C, it was time for a frappe, a Greek iced coffee taken "sweet with milk", in The Yachting Club Cafe on Mandraki harbour which isn't as eye-wateringly expensive as you'd expect.

Our first frappe of the holiday is treated with the same reverence as the first Greek salad and bottle of Mythos, admired, photographed and sighed over.

Now, on our third trip to Rhodes Town, we were starting to find our way about (no mean feat when your sense of direction is as terrible as ours). Sitting in front of Symi Square, otherwise known as Place de l’Arsenal, is one of the main entrances into the medieval city of Rhodes – Eleftherias (Liberty) Gate and the gate nearest to Olympos Pension (there's a total of eleven gates set into the ancient fortifications). The original gate on this site dates back to the time of Grand Master Heredia (1377-1396).

 

In the shadows of the gate stands the remains of the Temple of Aphrodite, built in the 3rd century BC and once home to the statue of the Marine Venus, immortalised in Durrell's book (you'll meet her later).

And we're home!

After showers and an obligatory sunset rum & cola on the balcony, we headed back into the cobbled streets for beers and, a few hours later, for dinner at Verandah choosing a selection of vegetarian mezzes to share - feta pies drizzled with honey, pitta bread, dolmades, garlic and cheese stuffed mushrooms and tzatziki washed down with a carafe of the local red wine and followed by a complimentary glass of tsipouro, a fiery locally-made spirit derived from the grapes leftover from the winemaking process.

Breakfast was consumed on the terrace and, at 8am, the sun already so dazzling that we needed to eat in sunglasses. We'd bought locally grown peaches, grapes and nectarines from a minimarket the previous day which we ate with Greek yoghurt so thick we struggled to get it off the spoon.

We fought our way out of the maze of Medieval streets, visiting a Greek Orthodox church decorated in the most astonishing 14th century frescos (photography prohibited) and greeting every cat we encountered with a cheery Kalimera, eesta kala?* often receiving a polite maiow in response.

*Good morning, are you well?

Rodini Park is a three kilometres walk from Rhodes Town, established by the Romans in 330BC and believed to be the oldest landscaped park in the world. The aqueduct and water tower the Romans built here once supplied the water to the town.

Rodini is a hidden gem, a cool and shady paradise a world away from the crowds elsewhere. There's no admission costs, no facilities and tourists are few and far between.

There's wild peacocks, waterfowl and fish galore. We even spotted a turtle!

...and there's absolutely loads of cats - if you visit take treats!

 We ambled back into the town, walking along the 14th century fortifications which The Knights of St John enhanced utilising the original Byzantine walls.

The Hafiz Ahmed Agha Library had been closed last year so we were excited to see the gates open when we got back into town. Founded in 1793, Hafiz Ahmed Agha was from a wealthy established Ottoman family and paid the librarians he employed to teach Arabic to the literate public of his home town in order that his collection of 1256 Arab manuscripts could be understood. 

All that walking (and culture) had given us an appetite so we stopped off at The Island of Lipsi taverna for lunch. I stuck to the traditional Greek salad whilst Jon opted for one with roast chicken.

Path of Gods is a fascinating museum showcasing Ancient Greek culture and set in a Medieval building itself built on the site of a third century BC aqueduct and amphitheatre.

 

Check out those kittens!

Jon kept calling me teacher's pet as I knew most of the answers to the questions the guide posed the tour group we were part of (my grammar school education & A Level in Classical Studies wasn't completely useless after all) although I had no idea that the Ancient Greeks invented the automatic door!

Back in the modern world it was beer o'clock so we headed back to the square where we'd had lunch the previous day.

It's rare to get a photo of Jon & I together when there's only the two of us - and we can't be arsed with selfies - so took advantage of a kind tourist's offer to snap us awaiting our ice cold Mythos.

After a siesta we headed back out and stopped for a photo in our next door neighbours' doorway where several of their feline family decided to photobomb me.

 

We fell in love with this bar last year, a 15th century former Turkish pasha's house crammed full of antiques and repurposed bits and pieces.

The boutique opposite is fabulous, selling dresses by Greek designers, Moroccan lanterns, leather sandals, straw bags & hats and huge statement pieces of jewellery...but that's for another post!

Dinner was another feast of vegetarian mezzes eaten at Vasilis accompanied by a carafe of the local red and followed by a complimentary slices wedges of his mama's homemade orange cake and his papa's ouzo and pomegranate cocktails. 

Yamas!

More to follow very soon.....