Greece: Royalty in Rhodes

Submitted by Hannah Kirby on the 2022 spring semester program in Athens, Greece…

We spent another weekend exploring one of the less famous, yet still highly recommended, Island of Rhodes. The trip started with a bang when we were greeted with a walk through the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes to get to our Airbnb. Surprisingly, walking through this castle is a daily route for a lot of locals – can you imagine? The medieval city was beautiful. The architecture was breath-taking. Lucky are the people who live here year-round.

This was the entrance to the palace grounds that we had to walk through to get to our Airbnb.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were also able to see where one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World stood in its prime. The Colossus of Rhodes stood at the entrance of the harbor for all to be greeted by. This 105-foot-tall statue of Chares de Lindos was built between 292 and 280 B.C.E., but sadly fell due to an earthquake in 224 B.C.E. Pieces of the statue fell onto land and long ago one was able to see them, but those pieces have since been sold. While we were saddened to not be able to see such an extraordinary piece of history, it was easy to imagine it in all its might. One Ancient Wonder down, six to go.

The Colossus of Rhodes stood with one foot on each side of this harbor’s mouth.