Rhodes, The Island of Knights

Rhodes is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. It's nickname The Island of the Knights, named after the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem, who ruled the island from 1310 to 1522. Among the sun-seeking tourism and huge medieval capital the island offers plenty of excellent ancient acropolises and other classical antiquity sights.

Archaeological Museum of Rhodes

The Archaeological Museum of Rhodes is housed in the monumental edifice that was the hospital of the Knights of Saint John.

Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes

The Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes, also known as the Kastello, is one of the few examples of Gothic architecture in Greece.

Acropolis of Lindos

Medieval City of Rhodes

From 1309 to 1523 Rhodes, the largest island of the Dodecanese, was occupied by the Knights of St John of Jerusalem who had lost their last stronghold in Palestine, in Acre, in 1291. They transformed the island capital into a fortified city able to withstand sieges as terrible as those led by the Sultan of Egypt in 1444 and Mehmet II in 1480.

Camirus

The ancient city of Camirus was built on three levels. At the top of the hill was the acropolis, with the temple complex of Athena Kameiras and the stoa. A covered reservoir having a capacity of 600 cubic meters of water (enough for up to 400 families) was constructed about the sixth century BC. Later, the stoa was built over the reservoir.

Acropolis of Rhodes

The Acropolis of Rhodes dates from the Classical Greek period (5th–3rd century BC) and is located approximately 3 kilometers from the centre of the city of Rhodes.

Monolithos Castle

Outside the Monolithos village is the medieval castle, built on top of a 100m rock. It was built in 1480 by the Knights of Saint John to protect the island from attacks. In fact, this castle was never conquered. The Castle of Monolithos is widely ruined today but it offers great views of the sea and the two islets opposite to it.

City Walls of Rhodes

The fortifications of the town of Rhodes are shaped like a defensive crescent around the medieval town and consist mostly in a modern fortification composed of a huge wall made of an embankment encased in stone, equipped with scarp, bastions, moat, counterscarp and glacis. The portion of fortifications facing the harbour is instead composed of a crenellated wall.