When I visited Rhodes at the beginning of August, I had a morning to visit the castle in the old town of Rhodes, known as the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes. This medieval castle is located in the old town of Rhodes and one of the major tourist attractions. It is one of the few examples of gothic style medieval architecture in Rhodes. The building served as the palace, fortress, headquarters, and hospitaller of the Knights.
Before the palace was constructed, the site was the location of a temple dedicated to Helios, and this may have been the original location of the Colossus. The palace itself was built in the 7th century, and in the 1300s, it was the palace of the Grand Master of Knights.
The palace suffered some damage in an earthquake and fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1522. The palace was rebuilt by the Italians in the period they occupied the island, and the Italian king used it as a holiday destination in the 1900s.
The palace is located at the end of the Street of the Knights road in Rhodes, which is a picturesqu cobbled-stone street. I visited in the morning to avoid the crowds, and the first part of the tour is through the museum. The museum contains various ancient items found in Rhodes and covers the different aspects of life in those times: spiritual items, working items, theatre, literature, fashion, funerary, and much more.
After having a look inside the museum and reading some of the information boards in the various rooms in the museum, I had the tour of the palace and visited the different rooms.
Some of the rooms have the original mosaics, which are impressive.
Another part of the palace contained information during the Knights era in Rhodes where the Christain religion knights fought to keep away the intruders from the former Ottoman Empire. The purpose of the palace served as a hospital for the pilgrims from the Knights of Jerusalem to look after wounded pilgrims during the crusades. The members of the order of knights were from different areas in Europe.
Some of the stories during the different periods of the knights were told.
Overall, this is an impressive building with a lot of history, and the museum with the ancient items is particularly good to understand the life in Rhodes and th Mediterranian area.
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