Greece - Korina Miller [418]
Back on the right side is the Chapelle Française (Chapel of the Tongue of France), embellished with a statue of the Virgin and Child. Next door is the residence of the Chaplain of the Tongue of France. Across the alleyway is the Inn of Provence, with four coats of arms forming the shape of a cross, and opposite is the Inn of Spain.
Near the end of the avenue, St John of the Collachio was originally a knights’ church with an underground passage linking it to the palace across the road. The Ottomans later turned it into a mosque and it was destroyed in 1856 when the gunpowder stored in the belltower exploded. Soon after, a neoclassical building was erected on the site and remains there today. Climb up to the viewing platform to also take in the ruins of the original transept and the underground gallery.
On the right is the truly magnificent 14th-century Palace of the Grand Masters ( 22410 23359; Ippoton; admission €6; 8.30am-3pm Tue-Sun), which was severely damaged by the Turkish siege and then destroyed by an explosion in the mid-1800s. The Italians rebuilt the palace following old plans for the exterior but introducing a grandiose, lavish interior. It was intended as a holiday home for Mussolini and King Emmanuel III but is open as a museum. Only 24 of the 158 rooms can be visited; inside you’ll find antique furnishing, sculptures, frescoes and mosaic floors.
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THE KNIGHTS OF ST JOHN
As you travel through the Dodecanese, you’ll quickly realise that the Knights of St John left behind a whole lot of castles. The knights were originally formed as the Knights Hospitaller, an organisation founded in Jerusalem in 1080 to provide care for poor and sick pilgrims on their way to the Holy Land. After the loss of Jerusalem in the First Crusade, the knights relocated to Rhodes (via Cyprus) in the early 14th century and managed to oust the ruling Genoese in 1309. The Knights of St John in Rhodes were supposedly a chivalrous Christian organisation but also established themselves as purveyors of legitimate and somewhat-less legitimate commercial activities – primarily piracy, and antipiracy against Ottoman shipping and pilgrims. This irked the Ottoman Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent (not a man you’d want to irk) and he set about dislodging the knights from the stronghold. Rhodes capitulated in 1523, after which the remaining knights relocated to Malta, where they continue to meet as the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta.
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From the palace, walk through D’Amboise Gate, the most atmospheric of the gates which takes you across the moat. When the palace is open, you can also gain access to the walkway along the top of the wall from here, affording great views into the Old Town and across to the sea. Another option is to follow the peaceful Moat Walkway, which you can access next to St Anthony’s Gate. It’s a green oasis with lush lawns cushioned between trees and the old walls.
Hora
Bearing many legacies of its Ottoman past is the Hora. During Turkish times, churches were converted to mosques and many more Muslim houses of worship were built from scratch, although most are now dilapidated. The most important is the colourful, pink-domed Mosque of Süleyman, at the top of Sokratous. Built in 1522 to commemorate the Ottoman victory against the knights, it was renovated in 1808. For a bird’s eye view of it, follow the footpath along the side of the neighbouring (and now defunct) clock tower.
Opposite is the 18th-century Muslim Library (Plateia Arionos; Sokratous; admission free; 9.30am-4pm Mon-Sat). Founded in 1794 by Turkish Rhodian Ahmed Hasuf, it houses a small number of Persian and Arabic manuscripts and a collection of Korans handwritten on parchment.
Continuing through the winding pedestrian streets will bring you to the municipal Hammam Turkish Baths (Plateia Arionis; admission €5; 10am-5pm Mon-Fri, 8am-5pm Sat). They are open to