What to see in Rhodes for a day
Rhodes is an island located in Greece where it was the site of the former Colosus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Besides, Rhodes was home to the Knights of St. John from the 12th to 14th century.
I had a guided tour excursion as Tour Escort in this island with a regular group of cruise passengers of the cruise company I used to work. We took a bus with a local guide to go to Mount Philerimos. The ride took for about 40 minutes.
The bus passes through the Mandraki Esplanade which shows the seaside of Rhodes, the entrance to the Old Town which is covered by walls. Then you continue the ride to the mount where you will see plenty trees and…the presence of fancy peacocks which welcome visitors loudly and they are camera-friendly beings 🙂
There is a myth which says that centuries ago, the peacock was the symbol of fertility. Besides one of them was a messenger to a female aristocrat in that time, however when the soldiers found out about that peacock, they cut his tongue, so from that moment, it was unable to talk. Nowadays, there are families who raise them as pets.
The Mount Philerimos shows the view of the city of Rhodes. From there you will find the Church of Our Lady, built by the Knights of St. John in the 15th century, as well as the Church of St. George which has paintings of the 14th and 15th centuries. They are Orthodox monasteries which hold weddings during summer season. Outside the monasteries, there is a garden which displays descriptions of the area most of them are written in Greek.
Grand Masters Palace
Then we continue the guided excursion to the Old Town of Rhodes which ride takes for about 40 minutes. When we arrived to the Gate D’Amboise, we reached to the Grand Masters Palace which contains alabaster windows, furniture and floor mosaics with scenes from Greek mythology. It served as a fortress during war times and a residence for the Grand Master. Also, it was a meeting place for senior knights during times of peace.
Outside the palace, there is the Avenue of the Knights at the Old Town where the knights lived. It is a cobblestone long street which homes are made of stones, there are huge doorways and arched windows. When you leave the avenue, you continue walking through the Old Town where you realize that you are at the commercial area full of stores, restaurants and tourists. There are also some monuments of the past centuries.
Rhodes is a place which invites History lovers and Crusader fans to come back to time and afterwards explore the Old Town to have Greek lunch, buy souvenirs and also to contemplate the seaside close to the Mandraki Port.
