Greece again

Returning to our favourite island, Anghistri, this year we had devised a plan to include a visit to the island of Rhodes as we had never been there but heard much about it. Of course, we organised it in a very expensive way - but you live and learn. We booked two flights from Athens to Rhodes in the middle of our holiday. We should have used our common sense and organised a week in Rhodes with a follow on to Athens from where we could have returned to the UK after 3 weeks in Anghistri.

However, we went to Anghistri and took a week off to fly from Athens to Rhodes. One good thing was that we were able to locate an excellent cafe in the airport at Athens called the Olive Tree. This was useful on our return flight to Manchester. The quality of the food and drink there was excellent and we recommend it.

On arrival at Rhodes Airport, we took a taxi to our hotel in Rhodes Town. Its name was Hotel Sylvia and was a relatively cheap and comfortable place. Our only criticism was that the shower in the bathroom sent water all over the floor and this did not drain away immediately. Hence, one found it necessary wade when using the loo in the middle of the night! However, the location of the hotel was very good as it was only five minutes from the Old Town of Rhodes.

When we made our first tour of part of the mediaeval quarter we were absolutely amazed at it all. The walls that surrounded the Old Town were thicker and higher than anything we had seen. These walls were pierced by about nine gates, so the way in was always close by. The place dates back to 1309 when the Knights of St John Hospitaller captured the island and made it their headquarters. The Order had begun in Jerusalem and the island was a useful base camp or last stopping place for pilgrims wishing to visit Jerusalem.

You can see from the photograph that it remains quite a stronghold today. Within the city there is a street called Ippoton which is also known as the Street of the Knights. This street rises to the top of the city where stands the Palace of the Grand Masters. On either side and at the bottom of Ippoton are the various Inns. Each inn was there to accommodate important guests of the knights from each country. At the bottom of the street in a square stands the Inn of the Tongue of England which is now a taverna. The Inns of the Tongue of Provence, Italy etc are used as consulates for the appropriate country.

The head of the Order was known as Grand Master and there are a number of old pictures remaining of these Grand Masters still in existence. The Grand Master's Palace fell into disrepair over the years following its prime use. By mid 19th century its upper storey had collapsed. As recently as 1937 the Governor of the Dodecanese initiated a programme of "reconstruction". To be truthful the reason for this was the provision of a summer palace for Mussolini. As it was not possible to know the original lay out of the buildings much was assumed. When I visited the Palace in August 2008 I saw many items which clearly never had any place there at all. There were church pews to match those seen in old pictures of the establishment and many mosaics which had been taken from various Dodecanese islands to grace the floor of the Grand Master's Palace.

The stone used for reconstruction beautifully matched the surviving stone from the original buildings. The problem was that it stood out as modern because it was too smooth and precisely cut. All in all the Palace was a disappointment to me, but the remainder of the old city was quite wonderful. The entire city (or Old Town) is in use today for cultural, commercial and domestic purposes which is a good thing.

We went into the Old Town many times whilst in Rhodes and each time it was a joy to be there. But we also wished to see two places we had heard or read about. Firstly there was the ancient Lindos further up the coast. Our trip there was a disappointment because it had become "wall to wall tourism." On the other hand we certainly enjoyed our visit to the smaller island of Symi. First of all we sailed into a lovely harbour with a beautiful monastery at the middle. Above the monastery was an open bell tower and as a response to the ship's hooter the bells rang out a pretty tune of welcome.

It was possible to stay for a little while and wander round the village there. It was enchanting. Then we rejoined the ship to sail round Symi to its capital. It is an understatement to say that the entry to the harbour there is breathtaking. The entire town is built on a steep slope surrounding the harbour and much of it comprises neo-classical frontages of properties once occupied by wealthy sea captains. The rest of our time there was enjoyable as we sat down to traditional Greek food in a taverna.

We flew back to Athens having had an amazing seven days in Rhodes. We had seen the mediaeval buildings of the Old Town, the beauty of Symi and the sight of cruise ships coming and going each day. It had been a wonderful time.

On arrival back in Anghistri at the port of Mandraki I could not contact Christos, our host at Hotel Boulas. It turned out that I had the telephone number for his house and not the hotel. How were we to get our heavy suitcase up the steep hill to the village of Megalohori? Then I saw an advert for Takis, the scooter hire man. He is a good friend and I rang him to ask if he could collect us in the harbour. "Wait there and I will collect you." said Taki. A few minutes later we were being taken up to the village in his petrol tanker! You see, Taki is also the proprietor of the only petrol station in Anghistri.

Having travelled there nay times over the past 20 years we have made friends with a number of people resident on the island so we are never stuck in an emergency. Friends like this are worth their weight in gold! We stayed the rest of our time there and came home just after a weekend of heavy rain. It had been a memorable stay once more.