Back
to the present
While
the Constellation was in the Port of Piraeus,
Athens major
seaport, I read and rested. I went to a
movie in the ship's beautiful cinema after lunch, but could not keep my eyes open during it. I was constantly nodding off asleep.
I
wondered if I was dehydrated, so I drank a bottle of water quickly and felt
much better within 20 minutes. I had a
very late lunch of fruit and pastry about 4 PM.
I
prepared my laundry for turn-in the next day.
Laundry on a cruise ship is very expensive – in the entire series of
voyages I spent almost $90 for laundry during the 6 weeks I was aboard the ships. The Carnival Inspiration (The last vessel of my
voyages) did have several do-it yourself laundries aboard, but I just did not
want to deal with sitting in a small hot room to take care of my clothes.
The
ship sailed away at dusk to our next stop, the island of Rhodes
or as they spell it – Rodos.
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| The deer is the symbol of the Island of Rhodes |
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Rhodes – That Was Then
When
my family was living in Ankara, the capital city
of Turkey, in 1953 to 1957
the older “high school” aged teens – all 24 or so of us - went with the
“seniors” on their 3 or 4 day senior trip from Ankara
to Rhodes.
There were only 5 or 6 senior level students at the AAEA or Ankara
American Education Association. Turkish
law did not allow foreigners to establish schools, so the Association was formed by
the parents to hire a few teachers, rent a 3 story apartment building out in
the middle of a large empty space at the edge of Ankara to use as a school. Many of our teachers were parents who would
take an hour or two during their work day to come out to the AAEA building to
teach a class.
The
group of students flew down on a short flight on a propeller driven, chartered
Lebanese airliner. We stayed at the
largest hotel at one side of the waterfront in the city of Rhodes outside the walls of the city.
I
remember how excited we all were that we could eat Greek ice-cream because it was
safe and hygenic - unlike the Turkish ice cream of that time.
My
memory is that the hotel – Hotel des Roses – was high with many floors and was
very large and elegant. We raise a
ruckus in the hotel for several days. We rented mopeds and rode them to the
city of Lindos
at the other end of the island. I remember
my arms being bright red from sun and wind burn from the day in the sun.
We
visited the airport by mopeds and found a shot up relic of WW2, a Nazi
two motor courier plane still sitting in a quiet place away to the side of the
airport. The plane still had its
instruments, canvas seats and oxygen equipment intact 11 years after the
end of the war.
We
also explored a bombed out multistory building on the airport that had many
missing walls and floors. We were young
and did not think we might fall into the basement as we walked all over the
thin structural members still standing.
Rhodes – This Is Now
The
Constellation was tied up at the left of the small waterfront in Rhodes. The ship towered over the town giving us a
great view of the city and waterfront.
Just alongside the ship were the remains and restoration work on several
windmills and an old fortification that protected the harbor. Two other cruise
ships were in port – the MSC Musica
and the smaller ship, Vistamar .
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Rhodes and the city walls and gates from the Constellation
|
|
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| Rhodes - Port fortification and watch tower |
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| MSC Musica and the smaller Vistamar in port at Rhodes next to the Constellation |
|
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| Windmills next to the port fortifications |
Learn more about the island and city of Rhodes
The
harbor at the city of Rhodes
once contained one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World – The Colossus of
Rhodes – a 100 foot tall statue of the god Helios (the sun) made of iron and
bronze standing on a 50 foot tall marble block base. The Colossus fell in antiquity. The bronze
and iron which had come from weapons seized by Doric Rhodes was probably
recycled back into weapons. No trace of the Colossus has been found.
I
had signed for a tour of Rhodes including a tour of an ancient Mycenaen /
Hellenic city of Kamiros and a walking tour Rhodes within the walls of the old, world heritage city.
The tour bus passed by the Hotel des Roses where I had stayed so long ago, but it seemed so
small compared to my memory of it! A
casino has been added and I have learned it is quite an elegant place with the
rooms and suites starting at $700 a night and up! I bet they do not take groups of rowdy teenagers as guests anymore!
The bus also passed by the airport. I recognized
nothing about it. The bombed out
building was gone. I am sure that had I the chance to explore the byways of
the airport – that the old Nazi plane would be long gone to be recycled into soda pop cans!
The
island’s primary economy is tourism. My visit was at the end of the tourist
season. This fact was reflected by the many cafes, car rental offices, small hotels and
restaurants which were closed for the winter all along the road to
Kamiros.
There
were many indications of the Greek debt crisis as well – many half finished
construction projects and home additions that looked abandoned and unfinished.
Kamiros
We
spent about an hour or a bit more at Kamiros, an ancient Doric city. It is built in the cup of a valley like Ephesus. Only about one third of the city has been
excavated.
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| Panoramic view of Kamiros |
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| Traveler Al with a mono pod and photo gray glasses turned really dark! |
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| Kamiros - a maze of small streets and passageways |
”On
the north-western shore of Rhodes, close To the promontory of Agios Minas (the
Ancient Mylantio) lies the third of The island's ancient cities - Kamiros.
Kamiros was one of the three large Doric cities
of the island, which united with Ialyssos and Lindos in the 5th century B.C. to
create the powerful city - state of Rhodes.
Although it was established by the Dorians, it
seems like the first inhabitants of the area must have been Achaeans, as the
ruins of an ancient Mycenaean necropolis close to the village of Kalovarda
reveal. Kameiros was basically an agricultural society which produced oil, wine
and figs. During the city's golden era of the 6th century, it was the first
Rhodian city to cut its own coins.
Kameiros has been often compared to Pompeii,
something which is not correct since Kameiros did not fall into decline because
of a natural disaster. Its decline, like the decline of Ialyssos, was the
result of the gradual abandonment by its residents, who decided to move to the
city of Rhodes,
which as mentioned above, was established in 408 B.C.”
From Rhodes
Guide.com
The
Old City
of Rhodes
I felt that I could have been relocated back in time. The walls and buildings were glowing in the
golden afternoon light. The streets were mostly made of rounded beach rocks set
as cobble stones in regular patterns. The
fortifications and many piles of large, round stone cannon balls were reminders
that the city was heavily fortified. Only the passing of an occasional car or
motor scooter on the narrow streets or a person in modern dress were reminders
that I was not back in medieval times.
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| Looking back towards the entry gate - Rhodes, old city |
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| Inside the walls of the old city of Rhodes |
I heard accordion music and soon came around a corner to discover two boys and their very young brother busking on the street. (Busking - playing or performing on the street for tips.) I don't know if the boys were Greek, immigrants from another country or Rom (Gypsies.) Here are the boys and a sample of their music.
This is a short video and recording of the boys performing.
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| Portrait of a young busker - Old city of Rhodes, Greece |
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| Detail of stonework inside the old city walls - Rhodes, Greece |
I
passed the buildings of the Knight’s Hospitaller of St. John while they were on
Rhodes. This group of knights had profound
impact on the architecture and defensive structures of the city and
island. The Knights of St. John had been
pushed out of Akko, Israel
or Acre when the Holy Land fell to the Muslims
in 1291 during the Crusades. The knights ending up for several hundred years on
Rhodes, until Rhodes was taken over by
the Muslims.
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| Original location and current offices for the Knights Hospitaller of St. John |
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| Castle fortifications for the Knights Hospitaller of St. John at Rhodes |
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| A quiet square just alongside the Knights Hospitaller castle and fortifications - I have no idea of the significance of the "Eye" on the tree. |
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| A quiet restful spot outside the Knights Hospitaller castle - note closed tourist shop. |
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| Another view of the Hospitaller Castle's fortification. |
My
visit to the Knights of St. John’s fortifications in Akko, Israel or as it was
then known – Acre – was still several days in the future.
I would also visit
their final destination on the island
of Malta where the group
of knights became known as “The Knights of Malta” the following week.
I
was reminded that the tourism season was fast ending. There were few tourists
and most of the souvenir shops and cafes that thrive on the tourist trade were
closed in some of the quieter small squares and plazas in the old city.
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| Wash basin built for a mosque that no longer exists |
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|
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| Detail of carving at the wash basin |
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| Detail of the wash station water tap |
I
passed the location of what had been a mosque that is now gone, only the small
water tap at the foot and hand washing area was left.
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| More shops and stalls were open just inside the walls near the waterfront |
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| Detail of beach rocks used as cobble stones for paving in Rhodes |
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| More elaborate beach stone cobble paving. Many homes on the island have very complicated geometric designs done with black and white beach stones on their courtyards or patios. I did not see any of those private spaces on this visit. |
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| Tourist children playing at the ruins of a church just inside the city walls of Rhodes |
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| A small church away from the main tourist areas, but still inside the walls of the city. |
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| Inside view of a "Murder Hole" built into the side of an entry / exit passage through the city wall. |
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| Waterfront sales stall |
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| The Rhodes city walls from the waterfront |
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| Panorama of the boats in the small harbor. |
I
was back at an area inside the walls near the waterfront, once outside of
the walls I walked back to the Constellation for a late lunch and a much needed
rest.
Next
– Mamaris, Turkey
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