Rhodes, Greece 2025

Founded in 408 BC, Rhodes is the oldest inhabited medieval city in Europe,

Walled fortifications surrounded the old town.

Narrow streets are hundreds of years old.

Note the arch. Rhodes suffers from earthquakes and the arches help support the walls.

Here is the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes.The Knights of Rhodes, were a religious and military order that governed the island of Rhodes from 1309 to 1522.

We visited a Greek Orthodox church and were surprised how old the Jesus figure appeared in this painting..

Then we headed to the synagogue and Jewish museum. Rhodes is one of the oldest Jewish communities. According to The book of Maccabees, Jews had been living on the island since 142 B.C.

They have a Mikveh. A Mikveh is a Jewish ritual bath used for various purposes, including ritual purification and conversions.

This plaque was particularly poignant to me.  Given my Seattle upbringing, I have so many friends and family with these same names whose relatives came to Seattle a few generations ago. Unfortunately, all 2,000 of the Jews who remained behind were murdered by the Nazis.

We lingered over a delightful authentic Greek lunch in this charming city.

And to top off the day, we had a wonderful, special private dinner in the Captain’s quarters to honor us for our 90^th Crystal cruise.