Our next stop was the island of Rhodes. With a population of 56,000 in the city proper and 90,000 counting the outskirts, Rhodes is the principal city of the island of Rhodes. Built by the Hospitalliers, it is one of the best-preserved medieval cities of Europe, and is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

One of our first stops in Rhodes was a park that contained remnants of the acropolis where the games were held. Back then the contests concentrated on boxing, javelin throwing, races and discuss throwing. Synchronized swimming had to wait for its day in the sun. 

After we walked through the park, we went to view some city ruins. 

The archeology project that is currently underway to unearth the ruins will be going on for a long time—because there is so much to unearth. Our excellent guide told us that maybe only 20% of the ruins had been discovered.

We took a long walk through the Old City and got a reasonably good idea of what it was like behind the city walls, which were designed to protect the city from raiders. 

One of the ironies is that people who live in Old Town (and only the people who are permanent residents) are permitted the luxury of owning cars and driving them in the Old City. My guess is that that is largely responsible for the spectacle pictured below, which is repeated many times over on a daily basis. 

All things considered, Rhodes is pretty spectacular and well worth a visit, especially for art and history aficionados. Next stop: Turkey or Türkiye as the locals put it.

JFB

After leaving Malta we headed to the Greek islands. The first place we docked was the port city of Chania on the island of Crete. There we visited an ancient monastery and then went on a walking tour of Chania. 

One key factor has to be kept in mind when the Greek islands are being discussed: Greek civilization developed in a variety  city-states, so while the various islands certainly have marked similarities, they all have their own stories and histories. The stories of Athens and Spartacus are a good example of this. 

Anyway here we were in Crete, so we immediately made a beeline for the Agia Triada Monastery (Holy Trinity) monastery. It is a masterpiece of Venetian Renaissance architecture. 

The monastery is a well-preserved complex that features churches, courtyards, gardens and the inevitable gift shop. The scene at the monastery, best described tranquil, includes snowcapped mountains in the distance.

After we spent quite a bit of time on the monastery grounds—not to mention the gift shop—we headed out to the city of Chania. The bishop of the diocese had just recently died so there was a large gathering of Greek Orthodox bishops and other clergy, along with other VIPs who wanted to pay their respects. 

Before heading back to the ship we did a little sightseeing at the water’s edge where we saw the Chania lighthouse.

JFB