Our ship, the Costa Mediterranea, docked this morning in the harbor of the Greek island of Rhodes, just off the coast of southern Turkey. We disembarked and found ourselves staring up at a massive stone wall. The Knights Hospitaller built it in the 14th century. The wall surrounds a palace and the ancient city of Rhodes, now called “Old Town.” Let’s go inside.
Two enormous towers stand on either side of the main entrance. We passed through the gate and entered the central square of Rhodes’ Old Town. Wow. Once inside, my first thought was “Whoa – we’re not in Kansas anymore!”
Inside Old Town
Narrow streets spread out in all directions from the square. Some meandered into Old Town. Others lead to the Palace of the Grand Master. Surprisingly, (to me, anyway), lots of large trees provided shade from the already-hot sun.
Buildings in Old Town are a mix of Greek and Turkish architectures – exotic and interesting. I couldn’t be here without knowing more about how this place came to be. Let’s take a detour and go back in time.
After sending Demetrius and the Macedonian army on their way in 304 BC, things settled down in Rhodes. Sort of. At least the city was no longer under siege.
A Special Visitor Arrives
Sometime around 50 AD, a special visitor arrived from the east. This one didn’t show up with an army. The visitor was the Apostle Paul.
Paul stopped in Rhodes while on a missionary journey into Greece. He was reputed to be a persuasive talker, and as a result, Rhodians were among Paul’s first converts to the emerging religion.
At the time, there was no such thing as a “Christian.” Christianity wasn’t a religion yet. That wouldn’t come for a while. When Paul visited Rhodes, it had only been 20 years or so since Jesus was crucified.
The movement didn’t take hold until Paul and a few others hit the road and convinced people that this new religion was the way to go. Someone came up with the term “Christian” for the converts, and the name stuck.
Starting in the Holy Land around Judea and Jerusalem, Paul traveled west and then north, past Rhodes and up into Greece. He made stops in Thessalonica and Corinth. (Hence the Books of Thessalonians and Corinthians, eh?) Paul’s travels, including his stop at Rhodes, are described in the Book of Acts.
A thousand years after Paul’s visit, European Christians launched Crusades into the Holy Land. Crusaders scored early victories, even taking Jerusalem, but Muslims – Turks in particular – regrouped and eventually gained the upper hand. Christian forces retreated to Rhodes to make a stand.
The Knights Hospitaller
A Catholic military force called the Knights Hospitaller were charged with protecting Rhodes. The Knights Hospitaller were similar to the Knights Templar. Remember those guys? We came across them when we were roaming around in Paris’ Marais district.
Both groups protected Europeans traveling to the Holy Land. Like the Knights Templar, the Knights Hospitaller started out as monks, originally sent to Jerusalem to set up a church and a hospital.
Monks or not, they had to learn how to do battle or be destroyed. They proved to be so competent, the pope granted them sovereignty – independence from church or state. The Knights Hospitaller built the enormous walls we’ve been ogling.
The Knights Hospitaller held off Turkish forces for 200 years, but in 1522 the Turks finally conquered Rhodes. Then they advanced into Eastern Europe, (all the way to Vienna!), and became the region’s dominant superpower for the next 500 years.
Meanwhile… It was hot, we were hungry, and it was lunchtime. We found a restaurant with tables outside in a patio shaded by big trees. Now… what to order… what to order?
To be continued…
