Rhodes For A Day (Reports From My Summer Adventures)
Earlier this summer to take a break from Turkey, Mom and I took a ferry to Rhodes for a day. This beautiful island is less than an hour’s ride from Marmaris. Rhodes is famous as one of the last holdouts of the crusaders, and it’s still very much a knight’s town. It’s also a really great place for walking around. On our way to check out some of the historical stuff, we found lots of winding cobblestone streets with arches, gardens, and pretty doors to keep us interested without ever losing the feel of the knights. Also, if you find yourself shopping-inclined, there are awesome little stores tucked away everywhere!
Eventually we got to the Archaeological Museum, whose courtyard alone is impressive and worth the cost of admission. The museum is housed in the old hospital of the Knights of St. John, built in the 1400s. Along with lots of way older stuff, you can see some of the weapons from crusader times. At first Mom and I were super-interested and checked out every room, but after so many amphoras and old bowls, even the most dedicated of us gets bored.
We breezed through the rest of the exhibits and rewarded ourselves with coffee and lemonade in a courtyard facing the museum, where we ran into scores of elderly American cruise ship passengers.
My favorite part of the day, however, was a simple walk up the Street of the Knights. This is where the headquarters and hotels for each country or principality’s knights was located. Lots of coats of arms, churches, and courtyards – just amazing to see!
Of course, catching the ferry back was a little disappointing – I could have hung out on the island for a few days.
