Day Four - Rhodes

The entire day today is being spent docked at the island of Rhodes, the fourth largest Greek island and home to two cities of great importance in the ancient world. This morning, our entire group participated in a 4 1/2 hour private excursion to Lindos and Rhodes Town. Our tour guide, Dafni, is a native of the island of Rhodes and has been giving guided tours of the island for 20 years - she has been one of the best tour guides we have had so far.

We began by traveling by bus along the eastern coast of the island to the town of Lindos, about 55 kilometers from where our cruise ship is docked in Rhodes Town. Lindos was one of the three most important cities of the ancient world and has a wonderful acropolis on a hill overlooking the town. The only way to reach the acropolis is by foot - climbing up over 300 steps - or by donkey. None of us road the donkeys, but 15 of us made the long, hot, tiring climb to the acropolis. The ruins of a temple to Athena and a medieval fortress are there, but perhaps the best reward to our climb was the view from the top of the Aegean Sea, the town of Lindos, and part of the rest of the island. But our reason to come here as pilgrims was to view St. Paul's Bay, which is only visible from the top of the acropolis. On one of his missionary journeys, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, St. Paul sailed to the island of Rhodes, into this very bay, and stayed for a short while. It is a beautiful, small bay - I can't wait until I can post some pictures! Most of us also had some time to shop in the town of Lindos before boarding our bus for the return trip to Rhodes Town. Along the way, we stopped at a pottery store where we were able to see local Rhodians making some of their famous pottery.

When we arrived in Rhodes Town, Dafni took us on a walking tour of the Old City. There are many layers of history in this city. In ancient times, it was home to the Colossus of Rhodes, an enormous statue of Zeus and one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. In medieval towns, the Knights of St. John οccupied the Old City where they built a beautiful fortress and palace. We walked the Old City and then returned to the cruise ship.