A medieval city that is still lived in
The Old Town of Rhodes is the walled medieval core of the island's capital. It was built mainly by the Knights Hospitaller, who took Rhodes in 1309 and held it until Suleiman the Magnificent besieged the city in 1522; the Knights negotiated terms and left on 1 January 1523. Nearly four centuries of Ottoman rule followed, then Italian rule from 1912 until the Second World War. The Dodecanese joined Greece in 1948.
UNESCO listed the Medieval City of Rhodes as a World Heritage Site in 1988. Its walls run for about 4 km, and inside them people still live, work and go to school, which is why the town feels like a neighbourhood rather than an open-air museum.
The Old Town has two parts. The upper town in the north, once called the Collachium, was the Knights' administrative and military quarter. The larger lower town to the south was where the Greek, Jewish and later Turkish townspeople lived.
The Knights' quarter
The Street of the Knights climbs from near the harbour towards the palace. Along it stand the inns of the "tongues", the national groups into which the order was divided, such as France, Provence, Italy and Spain. Most of the street was restored under Italian rule, so the facades are partly reconstruction, but the layout and many original details remain.
The Palace of the Grand Master stands at the top. A Byzantine citadel on this site became the Grand Master's residence after 1309. In 1856 lightning struck a gunpowder store under the nearby Church of St John, and the explosion wrecked most of the palace. The Italian administration rebuilt it between 1937 and 1940 to a design by Vittorio Mesturino. The result is more a 20th-century interpretation than a faithful restoration, but the floors are laid with Roman and early Christian mosaics brought from Kos, including a Medusa mosaic. Since 1948 it has been a museum.
The Archaeological Museum of Rhodes occupies the 15th-century Hospital of the Knights, a large arcaded building at the foot of the Street of the Knights. The courtyard and upper ward are worth seeing for the building alone, and the collection covers finds from across the island.
The lower town
South of the Knights' quarter, the streets become narrower and busier. Sokratous Street, the main shopping street, runs uphill to the pink-plastered Suleymaniye Mosque. Nearby are the Ottoman clock tower and the Hafiz Ahmed Agha Library. Hippocrates Square, with its medieval fountain, is the natural meeting point at the eastern end.
La Juderia, the Jewish quarter, lies in the eastern part of the lower town. The Kahal Shalom Synagogue, completed in 1577, is the oldest synagogue in Greece and houses the Jewish Museum of Rhodes. In 1943, after German forces took direct control of the island, more than 1,550 of the roughly 1,700 Jews remaining on Rhodes were deported and murdered. A memorial stands in the Square of the Jewish Martyrs.
Walls, gates and the moat
The fortifications were built in the 14th century and strengthened after an earlier Ottoman siege in 1480. Several gates lead into the town, including the d'Amboise Gate near the palace, the Gate of the Virgin, and the gates facing the commercial harbour. Walking around the outside of the walls, or along the dry moat where it is open, shows the scale of the defences better than any view from inside.
Getting there and getting around
The Old Town lies next to the commercial harbour and a short walk from Mandraki harbour and the New Town. Rhodes airport is about 14 km from the city, with buses and taxis to the centre. Inside the walls, much of the town is pedestrianised and paved with cobbles; streets are uneven and some are steep. Vehicles that do enter use narrow lanes, so watch for them.
Practical tips
- Visit the palace and museum in the morning, before cruise passengers arrive, and walk the residential lanes later in the day.
- Wear shoes with grip; the pebble paving is slippery when worn or wet.
- Opening hours for state museums change between summer and winter, and some close on certain weekdays, so check before you go.
- Staying inside the walls is quieter after dark than many visitors expect, once the day crowds leave.
- Respect residents' homes; many doorways and courtyards are private.
