| Actual Image
View to Rhodes Fortress (60)
Budapestman
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 4264 W: 0 N: 7790]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-n-g.gif) (28037) | I had already upload this shot yesterday Andreas (leo61) made a good WS for it which at first time seemed to be too vivid for me, but finally I think his version was the better. Present version is borne in this way to show Rhodos in the best quality.
Thank you Andreas.
WS – wrong (pale) version
Rhodes Fortress
The walls of the city were a work in progress for the 200 years the Knights ruled the island. Severely damaged in the first seige they were rebuilt bigger and stronger by Grande Master d'Aubusson after the seige of 1480. The walls are 12 meters thick and the moat more than 21 meters wide. The length of the walls is about four kilometers and each section was defended by one of the Langues or tongues which corresponded to the languages spoken where the particular group of knights came from. The Langues were England, Germany, France, Auvergne, Provence, Italy, Castille-Aragon. The leader of each tongue reported to the Grande Master. The entire area outside the walls is a green park of shade trees and flowers and the moats now have green grass and paths through them instead of water. A couple times a week there is a tour of the city walls and fortifications. But leaving through any of the gates and walking around the old city will give you an idea of just how impressive and formidable it was to the Turkish soldiers trying to take it.
History
The earliest known settlers were the Dorians c. 1000 BC. During the Classical period the island's affiliations vacillated between Athens, Sparta, and Persia in attempts to preserve a balance of power. A devastating earthquake c. 225 BC destroyed the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. In the medieval period Rhodes was occupied by the Byzantines, Muslims, and Knights of St. John (see Knights of Malta). The knights converted the island into a fortress and held it for two centuries until 1523, when the Turks took control. In 1912 it was taken from Turkey by Italy, and in 1947 it was awarded by treaty to Greece. A year-round tourist industry has brought prosperity to the island.
Knights’ period
In 1309 the island was sold to the Order of the Knights Hospitaliers of Saint John of Jerusalem. The Order was established in the 12th century in Jerusalem for the purpose of nursing pilgrims and crusaders, but soon enough it was transformed into a combat unit and acquired vast tracts of land.
Having retreated from Jerusalem and then Cyprus, the Order established its Headquarters on Rhodes, taking a leading role in the Eastern Mediterranean at this time.
During the Knights’ era the fortifications were extended, modernized and continuously reinforced. Α hospital, a palace and several churches were among the many public buildings constructed at that time, offering interesting examples of Gothic and Renaissance architecture. (Source: Encyclopædia Britannica and greecetravel) |
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