Our three nights on Santorini were a mixed bag. It is the Greek island that is marketed so well. Pictures of the blue domes overlooking the Aegean Sea are on nearly every travel magazine, website, book, etc. While the island is picturesque, I found the island to be dry, expensive, and flooded with tourists. For me, the best part was the six mile hike between Fira and Oia which we encountered very few people.
We left for the Greek island of Rhodes on a Monday afternoon. Since there were no direct flights, we flew from Santorini to Athens, and then Athens to Rhodes. Again, instead of vaccination, we showed airlines staff proof that we had COVID within the past 180 days. We arrived at the Sheraton hotel late around 9:00 p.m. due to a mixup with the transport company.
Since the Sheraton was a beach resort, we planned to spend more time relaxing and a bit less time sightseeing.
Relaxing on the beach and doing nothing for a few days is unusual for us, or at least for Rebecca. I’m used to doing nothing at home. But seriously, we’re starting to work in more time just resting.
Rebecca spotted one woman sunbathing topless but I missed it so there is no picture. On this side of the island the waves were small. I don’t know why people do it, but legs, feet, sand, and ocean seem to fit in one picture. These aren’t my legs.
The restaurants have been fantastic. I keep ordering moussaka over and over. The Greeks give you a complimentary dessert after each meal. Of course, there are the usual European idiosyncrasies at restaurants. They often bring you bread and bottled water without requesting. If you touch it you pay. They don’t care how long you sit at dinner and don’t care how lone people have to wait to get a table. They don’t hurry you along and you have to basically beg for the bill.
And it’s not been terribly expensive. I’m surprised you get a huge order of grilled Sea Bass for $13 to $16. I don’t think I’ve seen it for less than $30 in Texas. Also, they usually bring the machine to swipe your credit card right to your table, and rarely is there an opportunity to put the tip on the credit card.
One of our days in Rhodes we took a guided walking tour of the Old Town (also called “Rhodes”). But before I talk about what we saw/did, some Rhodes history.
The island of Rhodes was of strategic importance for trade in the ancient world. It was repeatedly conquered because of its key location between Europe in the west and Asia in the east.
The Old Town consists of three parts: ancient, medieval, and modern.
The most significant bit of history from ancient Rhodes is the Colossus of Rhodes. One of the seven wonders of the ancient world. There are no pictures of it. All we know about it is recorded in ancient records.
It was a huge 110-foot high statue dedicated to the god Helios. It was a statue of a man holding a bow in one hand and a torch of light in the other. It was made of iron bars covered with brass plates. The statue straddled the Old Town port with one leg on each side of the entrance to the port. Ships would pass under the crotch.
The Colossus was completed in 280 B.C. and stood for only 54 years until it was toppled by an earthquake. It broke at the knees and fell to pieces leaving huge chunks lying around for over 100 years.
Due to its proximity to the Holy Land, Christianity was accepted rather quickly. Tradition says that, in 58 AD, St. Paul came to Rhodes and preached in the village of Lindos.
The Greeks ruled Rhodes until 70 AD when it was conquered by the Romans. It was part of the Roman Empire until the fall of Rome in 395. At that point Rhodes became part of the Byzantine empire under Constantinople.
The Byzantine Empire was the eastern half of the Roman Empire which broke off after the fall of Rome.
After the Great Schism of 1054 (split between West European Catholics and Byzantine East European/Middle Eastern Orthodox), Rhodes became a pivotal port during the crusades and was conquered back and forth between the Catholic and the Orthodox.
The Catholic Knights of Saint John came to Rhodes in 1309 and ruled for 200 years. During that time they defended the island from repeated attacks by the Muslim Ottoman Turks. In defense of Rhodes the Knights built 30 castles around the island. In the Old Town, the Knights built 2.5 miles of fortified stone walls surrounded by a moat.
Ultimately the island was captured by the Turks in 1522 and the Knights were given safe passage to Malta. The Muslim Turks ruled for 400 years until its takeover by the Italians in 1912 and finally returned to Greece in 1947.
Enough history.
As I mentioned earlier, it was difficult to find a Catholic church in Greece, let alone that was celebrating Mass. The churches were closed on Santorini. However, on our last day in Rhodes, we found a noon Mass at St. Maria Chiesa Cattolika.
Walking around the Old Town it felt like we somewhere other than Greece. Every sign was in English. It’s great that us lazy Americans only have to learn one language.
We took an overpriced walking tour of the Old Town. Our guide was nice but nothing spectacular for the price we paid. It was just us and a young couple from Great Britain on the tour—so that was good.