Rhodes, Greece

The Mediterranean Sea was calm and not very interesting until.... The captain gets on the ships intercom and said we were going to slow down and change course because he saw something orange floating in the water that he wanted to investigate. Well, you can imagine that everyone rushed to the side of the ship to see what it was.  This captain had done something like this before and found a fishing boat that had been adrift for two weeks with crew onboard that were still alive -- barely.  So of course, we wondered what it was. Much to our disappointment, it was not a pirate or a refugee boat or a fishing boat or the missing Malaysian airplane -- it was a FLOATING COW!  Yes, the poor thing was dead but unfortunately, we will never know how it got there. 

It was a rough and short night for me. I could not sleep and had crazy dreams.  Between the knee problem, and other concerns, I am so looking forward to home.  I have mentally shifted to packing mode and thinking about all the things we have to do when we get home.  First up, is a visit to the Ortho doc who did my knee surgery.  Next, appointments with my hair dresser and manicurist.  My nails are a mess and are held together with glue. And my hair -- OMG -- it is awful. They have people onboard who do these jobs, but I don't trust them to do a good job, just look at my nails. 

Anyway, we arrived at Rhodes at 7 am. The "alarm clock" went off an hour before we docked.  So we were off to an early start, or so we thought. While waiting for Lillian and Adrian, the assistant cruise director wanted us to unbox a 10-year supply of bridge supplies that resided somewhere in the bottom of the ship since 2010, and then throw all the stuff we are currently using away in the trash.  We had enough of the same consumables already to last for another year; it was the same stuff we just received.  After that task was finished, we all left the ship to do some sightseeing. 

After some negotiations, and convincing my husband to take a taxi instead of a tour bus, we selected a driver with a very nice and roomy Mercedes.  The cost was 40€ for a private tour versus 40€ for a tour bus with lots of steps.  Duh, no contest. 

Today was another beautiful day, with bright blue skies and a stiff breeze off the Mediterranean Sea. The temperature was in the high 70s.  SWEET!  Rhodes Island is the fourth largest island in the Dodecanese archipelago (Greece has over 200 islands that are inhabited, and too many others to count), and is dry, rocky and barren on the west side and agricultural on the east side. There are beautiful beaches everywhere, but the ones on the west are very windy with wild waves in the sea while the ones on the east are calm. Half the population of Rhodes lives in Rhodes Town and 70% of the population works in the tourism industry. This is a tourist destination and resort town, and the season runs from May thru November.   In season, the population swells by 65,000 to 75,000 tourists daily.  Everyone on the island speaks English. There are olive trees everywhere (they export a lot and eat a lot).

We drove through the "new" city, which is only about 500 years old. We stopped to take pictures of the harbor. 

And then drove to the top of Mt. Filermos that afforded us a wonderful view of Rhodes Town.  From here we could look across the Mediterranean Sea over to Turkey. 

    That's Turkey in the background

  

    Ruins dedicated to the God Apollo

We continued our tour of the suburbs of Rhodes.  It is a very beautiful city, with plenty of greenery and lush parks.  Our guide wanted to take us to Lindos, about 40 minutes away, but Mr. I Rather Take a Bus said no, he wanted to go and explore the old city.  Our driver dropped us off in the old city; you cannot drive inside here.  The roads were very narrow and paved with oval stones about 3-4 inches long, in white, brown and black, to create patterns and designs.  The old city is surrounded by a magnificent sandstone wall built in the 1400s by the Knights of St. Johns. The old city is home to 6,000 people but mostly has shopping, restaurants, foreign consulates and museums.  

    Oval stones laid on their side to form designs in the road or floor

    A gate in the backside of the wall

    Inside the old city

     The main street is nothing but tourist shops

     Local color

We were not interested in shopping.  It was getting near lunch time and we hadn't eaten for a few hours, so we needed to eat again (sarcasm goes here).  We ran into the rabbi and his wife and decided to join them at a nice little outdoor cafe.  Michael ordered a beer, and this is what he got:

It took two hands to hold it, and this was the small size!  Here is Lillian with hers:

After all that beer, we needed food. What better than some Greek food.  We each ordered a platter of gyros and should have only gotten one order. This is why:

Fully satiated (read that as stuffed), we decided to explore a little bit more.  The synagogue was just down a nearby alley that was paved with small oval stones. 

The synagogue was absolutely gorgeous.  The Kahal Shalom is the oldest Jewish synagogue in Greece, and the sole remaining synagogue on the Island of Rhodes used for services. There were once six synagogues and prayer halls in the Jewish Quarter (called "La Juderia"). The Kahal Shalom is  believed to have been built in the year 1577. The full name of the building is "Kahal Kadosh Shalom" (Holy Congregation of Peace). It is used for prayer services when visitors or former residents and their families visit the Island for Friday night prayer services, High Holiday services and for special occasions.

In addition to being a functioning synagogue, they have a wonderful museum about the history of the Jews on Rhodes.  It was well done and one could spend several hours here looking at and reading the exhibits.  Knowing how much I love museums, and I was little concerned about my knee, we did a quick tour; Lillian chose to stay behind.

    The synagogue 

    The museum (note the stone floors)

We came, we saw. It was now time to head back to the ship for some R and R.  This was the gate that we took to get back to the road that would take us to the ship. 

All and all, it was a lovely day and I'm glad that I went out on this excursion.