Rhodes, Medieval port town in Rhodes island, Greece
Rhodes is a medieval port town on the northern tip of the Greek island of the same name. The old quarter sits inside tall stone walls and consists of narrow cobbled lanes that wind between houses built from pale stone, with small squares, fountains, and arched gateways.
The Knights Hospitaller took over the island at the start of the 14th century and built fortresses and palaces that served as their headquarters for two centuries. Ottoman forces captured the town in 1522 after a long siege, adding their own mosques and administrative buildings.
The knights built a separate house for each nation in their order, and these lodges still line a narrow lane inside the ramparts. Each building displays a coat of arms or a door in the style of its home region, so visitors can see the connection between medieval knightly states and the Greek island.
The old town is best explored on foot because most lanes are closed to cars and the enclosing wall makes orientation easy. The newer quarters outside the ramparts offer many places to stay and eat, while ferries sail regularly from the harbor to other islands.
Cannonballs from the 1522 siege still lie in many corners of the old town, never removed, and now resting between cobblestones and walls. Visitors often find them in unexpected spots where they have remained for centuries.
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