… into the Mediterranean to Rhodes, Greece …

… where the Colossus of Rhodes once stood, one foot on either side of the harbor. Pillars mark the spot where the giant bronze statue stood; after being destroyed in an earthquake, the statue was melted down for its metal. The Colossus was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World; of these, only the great pyramid in Egypt is still standing.

  

We hired a cab for a guided tour of the highlights of the city. A World Heritage City, the medieval part of Rhodes is surrounded by fairly intact walls, originally broken only by seven gates, and topped by a castle. It also boasts a very old shopping mall.

 

In the harbor, we visited a lovely Greek Orthodox Church, then drove along the beach, marveling at the public diving board in the ocean. North along the coast was a blooming oasis of an overlook over the city. We passed the acropolis of Rhodes, the ancient cemetery and stadium, and looked down on the castle and its moat. Our final request was a beach with beach glass, and our cabbie said he knew of just the spot, behind a glass factory that for many years discarded its rejects in the ocean. Unfortunately it had been awhile since he had been there, and we found only a few pieces. We bid a fond farewell to our cabbie Nick at the old city gates.

 

   

We explored old Rhodes on foot, peeking into all of its quaint little shops. The weather was perfect, cool and sunny. The shops displayed an unbelievable variety of creative handmade jewelry, pottery, leather goods and clothing.

     

At the top of the street of shops, we visited the Knights’ Hospital, a magnificent castle-like stone building that now serves as a museum. We smelled the wisteria and orange blossoms before we saw them. One of the most astonishing things we saw was a collection of ancient magnifying glasses from the first or second century BCE made from rock crystal, with the differing degrees of magnification marked on their silver holders. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed in that room. The Rhodes Venus, created in the first century BCE, is the most outstanding artwork in the collection. Subtle signs of the knights are everywhere, as are piles of impossibly smooth, round catapult balls.

 

   

On our way back to the ship, we had to walk along the beach, and decided to stop for a minute and look for beach glass. There, within sight of the ship, we filled a small bag quickly before we ran out of time for all aboard. A great end to a lovely day!