The earlier
Byzantine city was extended, and the walls
fortified, by the Knights of Saint John in
the 14th and 15th centuries, creating the
medieval city of Rhodes we see today. The
Old Town, as the local call it, is today one
of the best preserved fortified medieval towns
and is included in UNESCO’s list of
World Heritage Sites. There are six main entrances
to the medieval town and a series of smaller
ones.
The main gates
are:
D’ Amboise Gate to the northwest.
Saint Athanasios Gate to the southwest.
Koskinou Gate to the south, also known
as Kokkini Porta (Red Gate).
Agia Aikaterini (Saint Catherine’s)
Gate, leading to the harbor.
The Sea Gate (Porta Marina) stands
facing the central harbor is the most
beautiful of all the gates.
Agios Pavlos (Saint Paul’s) Gate
to the north, leading to Mandraki.
These (including some secondary gates)
gates lead to the interior which is, in
turn, divided into two sectors: the “Collachium”
(or Kollakio), where the Knights lived and
where the most important Knights’
houses are still to be found, and the “Burgh”
(or Hora), the main city.
Walking the cobbled
streets, the visitor can admire the magnificent
buildings of the Knights, the moat and walls
with their ramparts, the Byzantine churches
and the mosques, the squares, the gardens
and the courtyards of the houses.
The feeling is very much as though the
clock has stopped somewhere in the past,
but at the same time, the visitor discovers
that this unique complex is a vibrant town,
full of surprises, and just crying out for
exploration.
The Street of the Knights “Ippoton Street”
Leaving Symi Square
and passing through Argyrokastro Square
(the old arsenal of the Knights stands here)
we end up to Alexander the Great Square.
From Alexander the Great Square, just before
the Museum Square and in front of the Church
of the Virgin Mary of the Castle begins
the famous Street of the Knights (Ippoton),
the most important and imposing street in
the Collachium, leading to the Grand Master’s
Palace.
It is a cobbled street, lined on both sides
with the Inns (headquarters) of the various
nationalities (“tongues”) of
the Order of the Knights. Walking up, you
pass the north aspect of the museum (left)
and the Inns of the Tongues of Italy and
France (with its little chapel and gothic
statue of the Virgin Mary holding the infant
Christ).
Beyond the arch are the Inns of the Tongues
of Provence (right) and Spain (left). The
Street of the Knights ends under a large
gothic arcade with peristyle, having passed
two further Inns.
The Palace of the Grand Master
The Grand Master’s
Palace, the most imposing edifice in the old
town, was the headquarters of the leader of
the Order of the Knights of Saint John, and
at the same time a strong fortress.
It was built
in the 14th century on the ruins of a Byzantine
fort. It consists of two storeys with a large
internal courtyard.
It was destroyed in
the period of Turkish rule and rebuilt in
the 1930’s in the magnificent style
we see now.
Today the Palace (or Castello) is a museum,
and its many rooms contain important archaeological
finds from ancient and medieval Rhodes.
Statues from the Hellenistic and Roman
periods, removed from the ancient music
school on Kos, stand in the courtyard.
In the right hand wing of the ground floor
are three halls decorated with frescoes
by the painter Venlia (1940).
The corridor in front of the chapel of
the Annunciation (1940) leads to the ground
floor exhibition salons.
A wide, generous, staircase leads to the
first floor, where visitors can marvel at
the splendid décor.
Many of the separately named first floor
rooms contain floor mosaics, furniture,
statues, vases, icons and other luxurious
artifacts.
The Archaeological Museum of Rhodes
The Archaeological Museum of Rhodes now
occupies the building that once formed the
main hospital of the Knights. Its construction
was begun in 1440 by Grand Master de Lastic,
and finished in 1489 by Grand Master D’
Aubuson. It has been used as a museum since
1914 and its exhibits cover periods from
the Mycenaean era to early Christian time,
as well as various typical examples of the
arts of the Knights themselves. In the main
courtyard sits a lion, of Lardos stone,
its forepaws resting on the head of a bull.
On the ground floor there are displays of
ordnance from the Ottomans and Knights periods,
as well as other finds. The first floor
has altars, sarcophaguses and other objects
from Ialysos, statues and steles from Kamiros
and the neighboring islands. The famous
grave stele of Kalliarista, the statue of
Venus, a bathing Aphrodite, the “Drunken
Dionysus” and a headless statue of
Artemis are just some of its exhibits.
Hippocrate’s Square
Hippocrate’s
Square at the end of Socrates Street, the
main shopping thoroughfare of the Old Town.
Around the square are many bars, restaurants
and nightclubs.
The Panagia (Virgin Mary) of the Burgh
The church of the Panagia (Virgin Mary) of
the Burgh is a late gothic structure of the
14th century. Bombed in the Second World War,
only the sanctuary’s three apses remain
standing today.
The Melina Mercouri Theater at the Medieval
City
The Melina Mercouri theatre appears in
the moat of the medieval town. Beneath the
magic scenery of the ramparts, towers and
walls, take place summer concerts, plays
and dance performances.
The Street of the Knights “Ippoton Street”
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