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These pictures are part of the panoramic view from our terrace, where we were able to sit and paint.

That's Turkey in the distance, over the sea. We could take in all of Rhodes Old Town with its Castle, Walls, mosques, minarets and ancient houses.

My guests on this trip were Bev and Rob Rackham, Freda Cribbs, Hilary Nicholas, Viv Bushell, Liz Fyfe and her daughter, Ellen plus her mum, Audrey Phipps.
Here is the group on the terrace, drawing the amazing views.

Here is Bev sitting pretty at the top of the steps!

Next we visited the Castle of the Knights, or Grandmaster's Palace.

The interior is amazing, with ancient mosaics from the island of Kos.

This one depicts the nine muses and is in excellent condition 

This is one of the city gates!

A pleasant stroll brought us to lovely Mandraki Harbour with the famous deer statues

and its ancient lighthouse

We made it to Elli beach, where the water was lovely and cool. 
Rhodes had been baking in 49% C the week before, but we were lucky enough to have a constant cooling breeze for the week we were there.

The shellboat was a popular stop off for present buying

In the evenings we strolled down the pebble cobbled lanes to Romio's Restaurant

The mixed grill was flaming marvellous!!

Here's Freda enjoying a drink on her private terrace, watching the sunset behind the Castle
 
 

Some rooms had private gardens and some had roof terraces. All had great views.

We went to Lindos on the Love Boat for a day trip which was such great fun and a lovely way to see the island's lovely coastline.

Lindos has a wonderful sheltered sandy beach, a hillside full of white sugar-cube houses, tiny streets full of interesting little shops, and a huge acropolis on top of the hill.
It was a lot hotter there than Rhodes Town as it was sheltered from the cooling breeze.

All too soon it was time to go home. We had thoroughly enjoyed painting the island of Rhodes which is as pretty as a painting in itself!

Thank you to all my lovely guests for making this holiday such a success.
Thank you also to Patrick, Anna and all the staff at Hotel Andreas for looking after us so very well. 
Thanks also to Romio's Restaurant for excellent food every day!

If you are interested in coming on a Painting Holiday in Rhodes let me know!
E-mail  sue.paton@ntlworld.com

Our holiday reunion at the Aegean Taverna in Cardiff

see paintings and drawings from this holiday

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The History of Rhodes Old Town

The island of Rhodes is located at the crossroads of two major sea routes of the Mediterranean between the Aegean Sea and the coast of the Middle East, as well as Cyprus and Egypt.
The meeting point of three continents, it has known many civilisations.

Throughout its long history the different people who settled on Rhodes left their mark in all aspects of the island's culture - art, language and  architecture. Its strategic position brought to the island great wealth and made the city of Rhodes one of the leading cities of the ancient Greek world.

Rhodes is the largest island in the Dodecanese.
Its capital city, located at its northern tip, is the capital of the Prefecture with the Medieval Town in its centre. In 1988 the Medieval Town was designatedas a World Heritage City.
The Medieval Town of Rhodes is the result of different architectures belonging to various historic eras, predominantly those of the Knights of St. John.

Classical Period

The island was inhabited as early as the late Neolithic period (4000 B.C.). In 408 B.C. the three major cities of the island - Ialyssos, Kamiros and Lindos - founded the city of Rhodes.
The three centuries that followed were the golden age of Rhodes. Sea trade, skilled shipbuilders, and the careful and open-minded political and diplomatic manoeuvres of the city kept it strong and prosperous until Roman times.

In the same period, Rhodes produced excellent artistic work. The most
celebrated of all was the Colossus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, made between 304 and 293 B.C. by the Lyndian sculptor Hares. The construction of the Colossus took 12 years and was finished in 282 BC. For years, the statue, representing their sun god Helios, stood at the harbour entrance, until a strong earthquake hit Rhodes about 226 BC. The city was badly damaged, and the Colossus was demolished.

The urban plan of ancient Rhodes reflects directly the urban and philosophical ideas of the famous ancient Greek planner, Hippodamus. The street plan of the ancient city is known due to decades of archaeological excavations. The building blocks (insulae) measure 47.70 x 26.50m and all have the same dimensions. They included 3 houses each and were surrounded by streets 5-6 meters wide. Greater units constituted areas surrounded by wider streets (8-11 meters). Every area included 36 insulae or 108 houses. The ancient city had an
extended and well-constructed sewage system as well as a water supplynetwork

Roman Period

The independence of the city came to an end in 164 B.C. when Rhodes became a Province of the Roman Empire. But even as late as the 1st century A.D. Rhodes preserved much of its splendour and developed into one of the greatest centres of learning, science and the arts.

Apart from the surviving written sources, the archaeological research which continues to this day gives us a clear idea of the level of civilisation during this period.

Byzantine period

During the early Christian period (330-650 A.D.) Rhodes belonged to the eastern part of the Christianised Roman Empire, which is known inhistory as the Byzantine Empire. Though less significant and prosperous than before, the city was the See of a Bishop and had a great number of churches, among them some basilicas of impressive dimensions. 

It was also an important military base. The Arabs, who appeared for the first time in the Mediterranean in the 7th century, attacked Rhodes and occupied it for some decades. The city shrank during the following centuries and was fortified with new walls. At the same time it was divided into two zones, one reserved for the political and military leadership and the other where the laymen lived, a division that reflects the social reality of medieval times. 

Due to lack of written sources we have little information concerning
this period. The restoration work of the Italians neglected or evenharmed surviving buildings.

Knights period

In 1309 the island was sold to the Order of the Knights Hospitaliers of Saint John of Jerusalem. The Order was established in the 12th centuryin Jerusalem for the purpose of nursing pilgrims and crusaders, but soon enough it was transformed into a combat unit and acquired vasttracts of land. Having retreated from Jerusalem and then Cyprus, the Order established its Headquarters on Rhodes, taking a leading role in the Eastern Mediterranean at this time. 

During the Knights' era the fortifications were extended, modernisedand continuously reinforced. A hospital, a palace and several churcheswere among the many public buildings constructed at that time, offering interesting examples of Gothic and Renaissance architecture.

In spite of the hostilities with the Ottoman Empire, sea trade was a source of wealth and the markets of the city were thriving. Under the Knights, the island had a period of prosperity and the relations between them and the local population was characterised by tolerance and often by close collaboration. Most of the streets of the Medieval Town coincided with those of the ancient city. The division of the town into two parts was retained. 

In Rhodes the Order kept a well-organized archive that included documents issued by its leadership, correspondence, notary acts, etc. The archive has survived and is found today in the National Library of Malta. It constitutes a valuable source of information for the period. 

The city was divided into its two parts by an inner wall. The Northernpart, known as Chastel, Chateau, Castrum, Castellum or Conventus, wasthe site of the Grand Master’s Palace, the church of the Knights, theLatin Cathedral, the Catholic Bishop’s residence, various quarters, the Knights houses, a hospital etc. The South part, known as ville, burgus or burgum was the area where the laymen lived and included the market, synagogues, churches and public and commercial buildings.

Ottoman period

In 1522 the Ottoman Turks conquered the city after a second long siege.
New buildings were constructed: mosques, public baths and mansions for the new patrons. The Greeks were forced to abandon the fortified city and move to new suburbs outside its walls. In the Ottoman era Rhodes lost its international character. The city maintained its main economic function as a market for the agricultural products of the interior of the island and the surrounding small islands.

After the establishment of their sovereignty in the island,the Ottoman Turks repaired the damaged fortifications, converted mostof the churches into mosques and transformed the major houses intoprivate mansions or public buildings. This transformation was a
long-term process that aimed to adapt the buildings to the Ottoman way of living. The Knights period facades with their sculptureddecorations, the arched gates and hewn stone walls were enriched withthe random character of the Ottoman architecture and adapted to the local climate and culture. In this process most of the architectural features of the existing buildings were preserved.

The most characteristic additions were the baths, usually in the back of the buildings, and the enclosed wooden balconies on the facades over the narrow streets. In this way most of the buildings of the Hospitaliers period in the Medieval Town were well preserv