Travel Tips

The Rhodes Island is rich in fascinating sights and places to discover. The centre of capital of the island is a well preserved ancient town bordered by medieval walls and gates. It is the old town of Rhodes on Rhodes Island that serves as a living museum and attracts many tourists for their Rhodes Holidays every year.

Old Town of Rhodes:

Containing a mixture of historic, Ottoman, Byzantine and medieval monuments, the Old town of Rhodes on Rhodes Island has been declared as one of the UNESCO’s World’s Heritage sites.

This Medieval town of Rhodes is a distinctive place and contains some very impressive sites. The Turkish Quarter along with the Jewish Quarter and the Quarter of Knight’s composes the old town of Rhodes.

The Old Town’s Kollakio is the place where majority of the medieval landmarks are situated. The Old Town can be accessed by nine main gateways, known locally as ‘Pyles’, and the remarkable buildings situated inside these gates offer a pleasant mixture of Latin, Byzantine and also Turkish styles.

Therefore, when coming for Rhodes Holidays, visiting the Turkish Quarter is a must if you want to discover the historic treasures of old town.

Exploring the Turkish Quarter:

Innumerable Byzantine churches transformed into mosques in the west part of the old town makes the atmosphere of the place very oriental and you will also find small shops and stalls like the ones in old bazaars, the squares have vaulted houses since the front walls are embellished with arched bows and there is a fountain in almost every square.

From both the sides of the Socrates Street, narrow lanes take one right into the heart of the medieval town. You can reach the Turkish quarter by using the narrow road here called the Hippodamus Street. The 15th century’s Agia Paraskevi church is located on the right-hand side. You can reach the next street of Arhelaou by going a little further from here. Going farther leads one to the Arionos Square, the mosque of Sultan Mustafa and the Turkish Hamam.

Suleiman Mosque and the Hammam Baths:

The beautiful Suleiman Mosque recognized by a pink-dome dominates the Turkish quarter. Their Turkish legacies include the Turkish ‘Hammam’ baths that are still operated by the local municipals.

At the back of the Suleiman mosque is the Archelaou Street that provides access to Arionos square; the public baths (hammams) and the Sultan Mustafa Mosque are found here. These are the sacred Turkish baths (hammam) that have been fully restored.

Turkish library:

On the other end of Archelaou Street one can find the Turkish library. in 1794 Ahmed Hafuz, a Moslem Rhodian, build this library. This library contains some great selections of Arab, Turkish and Persian manuscripts. Amongst these manuscripts the important ones include

1. One richly ornamented Koran of 1412
2. One richly ornamented Koran of 1540
3. An anonymous chronicle of the 1522 siege

Kurmale-Medresse:

St. George church that is a Byzantine-Gothic church can be reached through the Apollonion Street which lies on the west of Suleiman Mosque. George. During Ottoman occupation this church was known with the name of Kurmale-Medresse which means the school with the date palm and was used as a medresse.

If you want to have a great time on Rhodes Island we recommend that you go for a Aparthotel Rhodes or check in to one of the Rhodes Town Hotels for your Rhodes Holidays

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