We returned our rental car after a fun week driving around the Greek mainland, and flew to Rhodes, a Greek island famous for its medieval old town, and for the legendary Colossus of Rhodes. The Colossus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was a statue of the sun-god Helios about as tall as the Statue of Liberty. It was destroyed in 226 BC by an earthquake. Rhodes is the largest of the Dodecanese Islands, and is 11 miles from the southwest coast of Turkey. We arrived in the charming medieval town as the sun was setting (around 8pm), and had a delicious dinner at Hermes Grill House, whose friendly owner serves delicious food away from the touristy main street clogged with expensive, low-quality restaurants. Our platters came with grilled pita, tomatoes, onions, tzatziki, and French fries. Robert ordered chicken gyros, and I had grilled halloumi. We had complimentary ouzo (anise-flavored liquor) and watermelon for desert. We slept in and spent our first full day walking around the beautiful old town. We relaxed at the beach for a bit, and had the most delicious Greek yogurt with honey, walnuts, and freshly chopped cherries at Porca Vacca. In the evening, we went to Mevlana, a Turkish coffee shop, which is the oldest in Europe, according to the owner. The next day, after having coffee, fresh squeezed orange juice, and olive sesame bread at a local bakery, we rented a car and drove to Lindos, a beautiful, but overcrowded beach town. After having lunch and walking around, we left in search of a more secluded beach, which we found just south in Pefki. We went swimming near a beautiful resort, and drove back to the old town in time for a late, rooftop dinner of vegetarian moussaka, Cretan salad, spicy cheese salad at Ta Kardasia. Dakos, the Cretan salad, is made with chopped tomatoes, tangy cheese a bit ligther than feta, and olive oil tossed with rusks of whole grain bread. We spent the next morning visiting the Suleman Mosque (constructed in 1522); the Hafiz Ahmed Agha Library, a beautiful Ottoman building that was a center of learning in medieval Rhodes; and the Kahal Kadosh Shalom Synagogue, the oldest synagogue in Greece. The synagogue was accompanied by a museum chronicling the history of Jews on Rhodes, which dates back 2,300 years. The Jewish community thrived for millennia, particularly under Ottoman rule, and Rhodes was home to six synagogues until the Holocaust, when most of the community was deported to concentration camps in Eastern Europe and murdered. We learned the story of Selahattin Ulkumen, a Turkish diplomat in Rhodes, who managed to save around 50 Jewish Turks (including their Greek spouses and children) by arguing to the Nazis that Turkey was neutral. He stated, “under Turkish law all citizens were equal. We didn’t differentiate between citizens who were Jewish, Christian, or Muslim.” Ulkumen threatened that a failure to release these Jews would cause an international incident, and eventually the Nazis agreed. A few survivors returned to Rhodes after World War II, but the Jewish community never grew to its previous size, and the only operating synagogue holds services on high holidays and for special occasions. We went back to Hermes Grill House for another delicious meal, then spent the afternoon exploring the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes, an ancient fortress converted in the 1300s by the Knights Hospitaller, and later occupied by the Ottomans and Italians. It was damaged and repaired several times and features mostly gothic/medieval architecture, which is unusual in Greece. That night, we flew back to Athens for a quick layover, departing early the next morning to fly to Crete.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Email subscribe:
Archives
September 2018
|