We had breakfast and went to meet our tour group. We boarded our bus and headed out of the city of Rhodes and headed up the side of the island. As we passed the beach just near town and made the turn north our guide told us that at this beach the Aegean Sea and the Mediterannean Sea meet. So if you swim there, you are swimming in both seas. So that was pretty cool. Also since we were in a big bus on a small island with narrow roads we knew there would be a lot of near misses. Our guide said that many accidents happen because drivers are distracted by looking at the nude sun bathers. The road is so close to the beach.
The island is over run with wild goats, though we didn't see many. The guide pointed out the oleander bushes everywhere. She said that its the only thing you can plant that the goats won't eat because they are poisonous. Although she called them Laurel bushes. She also said that we would see lots of hibiscus but the greeks called them roses and that is how Rhodes got its' name.
We drove up the shore for about 20 miles and then headed inland and up. We arrived at the ancient city of Kamieros. It was a city built originally in the 6th century b.c. They started excavating it when a goat fell in a hole and they found artifacts. They have also established that at some point the city was abandoned and rebuilt in the 2nd century b.c. The astounding things they found were terra-cotta pipes feeding water from cisterns at the top of the mountain and from underground springs to all the homes. The homes also had indoor bathrooms. It is really an interesting place.
We got back in our bus and headed to Rhodes city. Rhodes claim to fame is that the Crusaders came from Italy, Spain and France. The Crusaders that came were doctors and they they established a hospital. They also built the fortress and they occupied Rhodes from the 13th century a.d. through the mid 1500's. They were the Order of St. John. The town was divided into three areas. The Grand Master's house and his administrative people, then the Crusaders and the military (although the doctors wore armor and fought and killed over 40 thousand invaders) and the rest of the inhabitants including a Jewish quarter. The fortress had a double moat. So there was one moat about 40 meters wide and then later the closer moat was about 20 meters wide. Both moats were dirt and not water because the fortress was so far above the sea level.
The city was exceptionally clean. Of course the cable stones were even worse than they are in Malcesine. Think of river rocks that are about 6inches long and 3 inches wide and maybe an inch or two thick. Then they paved the road with them set on their sides and sticking up about 2-3 inches. Really hard to walk on. The hospital is now their archaeological society and the Grand Masters house is now a museum. Just before the 2nd world war, Greece was trying to get Mussolini to make the Grand Master's house is vacation home. So some of the furnishings are from the 15th century and others were brought in from Italy in the 1930's. But the war broke out and he never came.
After our walking tour we were left on our own in the city. We had about 4 hours until the all aboard for the ship, so we walked around and shopped. Of course we stopped and had gelato. We do that first as soon as we are turned loose all the time. The city is a big vacation spot for rich Russians so there are lots of fur stores. Which we thought was pretty funny since it is never cold in Greece. But I guess they can import them and sell them to the Russians for cheaper than the Russians can get back home. We walked around for a little more than an hour when I had to pee, so we headed for the WC's. All the little outside cafes have people who "hawk' you in to their restaurants and tell you all about their food. So as we are walking to the WC we escape several 'hawkers' and we find out that the WC is a half a euro to use. But I didn't have and 50p coins so we turned around and headed out and there is a restaurant right there and the "hawker" offers me his bathroom. So after I go, we are guilted into sitting down and ordering wine. So he brings us wine glasses filled to the top with red wine. So we figured ok we are here for a while. I'd been using my Google Translate and was saying good morning and thank you in greek. I got asked a couple of times if I spoke Greek, but I fessed up to using Google Translate. After a while sipping our wine, we asked for some spanakopita, but they didn't have any so they brought us garlic/cheese toast, cheese croquettes and tzatziki sauce. So we were there for a couple of hours. The food and the wine were good and watching people on the square was lots of fun. Turns out we were in the old Jewish quarter and I got a picture of the memorial to the Jews who lost their lives in WWII.
After we finished our meal, we continued our stroll around town. We went out the gates and down by the docks. I hope you enjoy all the pics of Rhodes.
After we re-boarded the ship, we showered and then sat on our balcony and watched peopled coming back to the ship. Everyone would walk past the gate and then try to figure out how to get to the ship.The women always figured it out first, and it was very funny to watch.
Dinner was light. We didn't order a starter or a dessert since we ate so much in town. At the show that night, it was Legends and Divas. Performed by two of the featured production cast. They asked ho was celebrating anniversaries and we chimed up. Since we were the longest married in that crowd and we were in the front row, Melissa (the singer) invited us to come up and dance to Etta James' 'At Last' that she sung for us. Then Jesus (the singer) brought us a bottle of Champagne. Bill hates t get bottles of Champagne because you have to drink the whole bottle after you open it. Oh well. Then it was off to bed and we will wake up in Santorini in the morning.
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