Medieval town
One of the most cosmopolitan cities of Europe, with a medieval town surrounded by walls and the castle of Saint John’s Knights (castello) with the palace of the Great Magistrate looming over it. The medieval town, surrounded by a moat with suspension bridges, is divided in two parts, north and south. All of the gothic buildings in the medieval city are in excellent condition and any kind of intervention in the architectural layout is strictly forbidden.


DON’T FORGET TO VISIT
• The medieval town with the impressive fortifications dating back to 1275 and the wonderful outer decorations with the escutcheons. The medieval town has seven entrances in total, with the most important one being the Thalasini Pili (Sea Gate). The town used to be divided in two parts. The northern part was where the battalion quarters and the Magistrate’s palace were located and the northern part was inhabited by Greeks and Jews.
• The northern part of the medieval town, where you can see the impressive castle of Saint John’s Knights. The Great Magistrate’s palace was built on the northwestern side of this castle, during the 14th century. It’s actually the biggest building in the whole city, which was later turned into a prison by the Turks and finally destroyed. The Italians built it anew and decorated the floors with elaborate roman and byzantine mosaics brought from the island of Kos. It was a true gem in its time, with bas-reliefs, escutcheons and different quarters for the Knights of each country (France, England, Spain, Germany e.t.c.).

• The impressive entrance of the castle, with its two semi-circular towers and the emblem of the Great Magistrate. Besides the residence of the Great Magistrate there were many underground warehouses with food provisions and artillery. After climbing the imposing staircase you will come upon the hall with the trophy of the Mithridatic Wars (1st century) taken from the cemetery of ancient Rhodes. The floors of the hall are decorated with elaborate roman and byzantine mosaics brought from the island of Kos. Next comes the hall with the statue of Laokoodas and his sons, made by the local sculptors Agisandros, Polidoros and Athinodoros. Τhe following halls are dominated by the mosaic of Medusa, brought from Kos along with the mosaic of the tiger. Then comes the hall and  the study of the Italian governor of the Dodecanese and then the hall with the colonnades. The mosaics in this room also come from Kos. The halls with the dolphins, Cupid and the nine Muses are the last ones.

• The building of the Kastelania in the Ipokratous square, which houses the library of Rhodes.
• The mosque of Suleiman, near the Ipokratous square, built right where the byzantine church of Agion Apostolon used to stand.
• The mosque of Retzep Pasa, near the church of Agios Fanourios. Parts of the knightly quarters were used for its construction.
• The Turkish library, where you can admire rare manuscripts as well as an Illustrated Koran. It was founded by Chavouz Achmet Aga in 1794.
• The hospital of the Knights, one of the most significant buildings of its time (today it‘s an Archaeological Museum with exhibits of great importance). Over the imposing entrance looms a marble plaque, depicting two angels holding the escutcheon of the Great Magistrate. It has been said that the Great Magistrate had given 10.000 golden florins for the construction of this building (15th of July 1440). The rest of the population used to reside in the southern part of the medieval town.
• The avenue of the Knights, built on a medieval street of the old town. It’s six meters wide and has more medieval buildings than any other street in the town. There are different quarters on each side, belonging to the different home countries of the Knights that comprised the battalions. The most impressive quarters are the french ones with the emblem of the Great Magistrate.