Rhodes

What a contrast to Troy!

The immediate sight is of many narrow, wonky tiled or cobbled streets passing, between very ancient,undecorated  walls of buildings,

reminiscent of Santorini, with hills and small flat areas but no brightly coloured walls. It's a real gem of a place.  I took many pics of the many interesting buildings and some main routes but not the wiggly ones!

Rhodes is a fascinating island with a long and complex history encompassing Greek and Roman cultures, Christianity, Islam and Judaism, which have coexisted, been in conflict and returned to peace again over many centuries.

There is a direct relationship with Malta, when the Knights of the order of St John were evicted by the Ottoman  Empire and went to Malta, so we have now seen their history in both islands.Dorian Greeks were the first on the scene, followed by Romans who brought tiles from floors that predate the Christian era and relaid them in the same pattern that is there to this day inside a huge castle.

The Dorians founded Rhodes then the Romans left their mark and Judaism started then the Christian era followed then the Ottoman Islamic Empire then Christianity returned and more recently the Italians made big (self indulgent) improvements under Mussolini with  the Italian King until they were defeated  WWII and the Germans arrived and deported nearly all the Jews, then the British took over for two years at war's end then it returned to Greek governance to this day.

There are churches, synagogues and mosques dating back to even the 11thC. I include a selection of pics.

The guide was clear, knowledgeable and very empathic. The majority of shops were staffed by women and one, where we bought some belts explained that it is Islam that leads men to run shops in Turkye. Women must be at home. This was less evident in Istanbul but very evident further out.