Rhodes day 1

This morning we left Marmaris and set sail to the Greek island of Rhodes. The short boat ride was quite beautiful. From the water, the island of Rhodes looks like a medieval fortified castle with high wills and rounded towers. On any normal day this scene would have been quite exciting, but today I felt weighted down with weariness. An epic cat fight took place outside my window last night, and needless to say this disrupted my sleep cycle.

After arriving we took a very brief tour of the old city of Rhodes. By brief I mean the briefest tour we've had so far. We drove past the sites, walked around the old city for a few minutes, and then had two hours to roam around on our own. This is perfection.

Even though we basically did a drive-by tour, I did learn some very interesting things about Rhodes. The giant colossus statute that used to be in the harbor was over 150 feet high and literally straddled ships as they came into harbor. It was made of copper and was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Unfortunately, it fell over in an earthquake and was later sold for scrap metal.

This island is known as the island of the sun because it only gets an average of 15 cloudy days a year. Perfect spot for a beach vacation. At one time this island was plagued by snakes (gross) and in order to get rid of the snakes the people brought in deer. Now two pillars with deer on top "guard" the entrance to the harbor.

We went to the "old town" which was the original part of the city. The streets were individual stones laid together on their sides. It's very difficult to explain, but the effect was quite amazing. I couldn't help but think about all the time it must have taken to lay down these roads. To be brief, I was impressed by the roads in Rhodes (cheesy pun totally intended).

All of the sites and museums were closed, so we didn't get to go on any official tours. We did have the opportunity to roam about the trinket shops in the old city, which were filled with everything from herbs to hand made leather shoes. The most exciting part of the old city was the discovery of chicken gyros. Toasted pita bread filled with chicken roasted on skewers, tomatoes, onions, and tatziki sauce. I think I just discovered the fountain of youth.

After visiting the old city, we went back to the hotel. Of course, since we're on an island, there was a beach nearby. I felt the need to go swimming as soon as possible, so Ellie and I spent the late afternoon wading in the Mediterranean.

It's amazing to me how crossing a brief stretch of ocean leads us to a place with it's own unique history. The sites in Rhodes look medieval, while the sites in Turkey were more ancient. Even the people are very different. In Turkey the population is 98% Muslim, while on Rhodes there is only a very small Muslim population. A few minutes of sea time is enough to produce different cultures and ideologies.