Temp. 15-10 degrees, wind: north/west, cloudy to clear
weather.
This morning we drove north to the city of Rhodes.
Especially the Old City has a long and checkered history. (I'll share that another time).
We stopped first near
the Jewish cemetery, which is part of the main Rhodes cemetery and divided
according to faith: Christian, Jewish and Muslim. On the other side of the road
was a small WW II cemetery. Next to the entrance was a small room with some
chairs and some background information on a few of the ancient stone markers
and the history of the people mentioned on them.
Finding a parking place near the Old City wasn’t as easy
as we thought and we ended up parking (for free) on the tourist harbor, from
where in summer many ferries depart. Today, only Blue Star Ferries to Kos and Pireus waited to receive passengers.
Without planning, we ‘happened’ to park next to the
Jewish cemetery entrance, and again, we just ‘happened’ to enter the Old City
of Rhodes via the Panagias Gate, leading into the old Jewish Quarter of the
city. Opposite the Martyr’s Square we had coffee, near the famous water
fountain.
Only a few shops
were open to receive customers. Most of
the shop and restaurant owners were getting ready for the tourist season:
cleaning and dusting the merchandize, painting or remodeling their shops or
restaurant. We decided to just walk around and not follow any specific walking
tour. It brought us to many beautiful alleys and back streets, sometimes dead
end, or alleys following the high stone walls of the city. The Palace of the
Grand Master was closed – we weren’t interested in visiting it anyway. We
preferred to stay outside, enjoy the lovely Spring weather and explore the
city.
There were not many tourists around, which we liked very much. Near one
of the many
Eating a sandwich while sitting on an ancient stone wall
in the sunshine is part of our holiday. Until now we haven’t eaten out, and
don’t mind taking sandwiches along the way.
We were getting tired from the city, and walked back to
the harbor. The shop/restaurant near the custom office was open. While browsing
to buy some souvenirs, we were happy to see they also sold suitcases! After
landing on Rhodes, we noticed that one of our suitcases was badly damaged, and
we had been wondering where we could buy a new one. Voila! That was also taken
care of!
Driving past a previous parking lot we missed the first
time, there was a place to park the car and walk to the end of the pier and the
Aghios Nikolaos fortress, complete with light house.
It was closed for the
public, but we enjoyed the walk and the views – towards the new city, with the
covered market and the town hall, the two famous statues of Rhodes on each side
of the harbor entrance and the many luxurious yachts ‘parked’ there. 
It seems that Rhodians take good care of their street
cats, for even on the pier was a shelter for them. They look much better fed
than Jerusalem’s street cats!
We took the coastal way home again, did some more
shopping at Lidl supermarket and were back at the apartment around 15.00 hours.
(3 p.m.) Time for a looooooooong nap for Wim and for me high time to upload
yesterday’s trip, sort through the many pictures and of course, share about the
observatory tour!
For dinner, we enjoyed a lovely spaghetti meal (prepared
in stages) because there’s only one big cooking pan and one electrical cooking
plate. It’s just like camping, but more lavish!
How blessed we are, to be able to stay in this wonderful apartment,
on this beautiful island, with its friendly people!
