Ancient Knossos, Crete, Greece.

Travel Date 14th July 2013

Knossos is only a few km out of town on the fringe of the suburbs and can be reached on the local inexpensive bus. I have always wanted to see it, ever since I first read about the ancient Minoans and the re-discovery of the ancient palace. 

I thought I would arrive early and avoid the crowds. I failed. The queue was very long in the hot sun. There was shade under this canopy, but it took quite a while to reach this point and even longer to reach the ticket office.

When I reached the front, after buying my ticket I repaired immediately to the nearby cafe for a cold beer. It was over 35C in the shade according to the weather report that day, and much hotter than that in the sun.

I will let the pictures tell most of the story, with a few words of explanation between them.

Arthur Evans, an English archaeologist, is responsible for the Knossos we know today. He was shown the site by a local man in 1894 and made excavation and reconstruction of parts of the palace his life's work after that. 

Unfortunately his work has led to controversy, because his reconstructions owe much to his own vision of how things were in Minoan times and many of his reconstructions have made deeper archaeological investigion of sections of the site impossible. An excellent description of Evans and Knossos history is here: Arthur Evans & the Minotaur.

 

 

Over the past ten years I have visited many ancient sites. When looking at Knossos it was hard not to compare with Mycenae, Pompeii, Rome, Petra, Jerash, Trier and Athens among others. To be honest, although I am very glad I went and I enjoyed the experience, I also have to agree with those who criticised Evans for his anachronistic attempts at reconstruction of Knossos as he imagined it. 

It is true that the use of concrete and paint make the ancient buildings easier to visualise, but the whole place took on the air of a Las Vegas version rather than the real thing. One is often left wondering how much is really as it used to be, how much is as Evans believes it was and how valid his imagining of Minoan life was.

The local tourism industry would disagree because the crowds at Knossos were greater than any I encountered at those other sites, with the possible exception of Petra. Hopefully the site will go through restoration rather than reconstruction over the next few decades.

 

 

 

There is archaeological evidence of human habitation on Crete going back nearly 10,000 years. For those interested in more details I found an excellent brief history of Cretan civilisation on this web-site: History of Minoan Crete. Knossos was built in the period known as Neopalatial around 1700-1400 BC.

Mid-way through wandering the site I sat for a while in the beautiful location imagining life for a Minoan.

 

They developed one of the most advanced civilisations of any ancient era, long before the time of Alexander. The Minoans were almost as ancient to him as he is to us.

Earlier I mentioned the early Cretan's development of indoor sanitation and water supply. I believe these pictures show part of the system. Possibly this is a section modern Cretans might benefit from studying more closely...

Their civilisation was eventually destroyed by Mother Nature when Thera exploded in volcanic fury about 1475-1450 BC with a resultant tsunami. That was followed by an invasion by Mycenaeans, a civilisation which had already embraced much of the Minoan culture through trade prior to that invasion. The Minoans never recovered from those events.

The queue waiting to see the Throne Room

Throne Room, left side

Throne Room, right side

The entry queue was even longer when I left in the afternoon. I am very pleased I saw Knossos but I left a little sad.

Cheers, Alan

Old Rhodes

Palace of the Grand Master

 Travel Dates 6th-12th July 2013 

Rhodes has a long and colourful history. Settlement first occurred in the neolithic period. After an early period of growing city states the cities amalgamated to become an independent island state. The island's strategic position close to the Turkish mainland has resulted in being invaded, occupied and controlled by every major civilisation in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East including, among others, the Persians, Greeks, Byzantines, Egyptians, Arabs, Genoese, Knights of St John, Ottomans, Italians, Germans and Italians again until it finally became part of modern Greece. 

The Old Town reflects all of the occupiers to some degree. Unfortunately each wave of invaders tended to remove or modify much of their predecessor's architecture. Some of the surviving buildings also suffered from earthquakes. There has been significant restoration and reconstruction work since Greek sovereignty was re-established.

The northern section of Rhodes Town is a modern tourist city of hotels, restaurants, souvenir and services shops surrounded on three sides by beaches. There are occasional old buildings in that section but not many. 

 

A short walk towards the south-eastern coast brought me to the older buildings and eventually the walled Old Town. Along the way I passed the Murat Reis Mosque, which dates back to the Turkish presence in the 17th century.

 

Nearby is the Turkish cemetery. 

The Prefecture building is not very old, but I liked the design.

The 14th century Fort of Saint Nicholas guards Mandraki Harbour.

 

I started my visit to the Old Town by strolling along the massive moat (now dry) around the walls.

Entry was via this tunnel to gardens near the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes.

The knights were also known as the Knights of St John and later the Knights of Malta. The order was originally founded in Jerusalem in the 11th century as a hospital caring for ailing Christian pilgrims to the holy lands. They became a military order during the Crusades. Muslim conquests of the region forced them to move to Rhodes in 1310. They ruled Rhodes under their Grand Master until 1523 when the Turks ejected them. Eventually they settled in Malta and ruled there until they were forced to move to Rome in the late 18th century as a consequence of the Napoleonic wars.

They ruled each land they occupied absolutely but also built a hospital each time and became renowned for their quality of care with the highest medical standards of their time. They are also known as the Knights Hospitaller, Fraternitas Hospitalaria.

The Grand Master's Palace is obviously reconstructed but still impressive. The rooms and courtyard are now a museum with exhibits ranging across the centuries, from classical Greek and Roman times until the mediaeval era of the Knights. 

 

 

This bas relief on a wall of the palace intrigued me. Apparently Fert is an acronym used by the Royal House of Savoy with several different interpretations according to the scholars. The version that seems most apt for the Rhodes inscription is a Sardinian motto: "Fortitu’do Ejus Rhodum Ten’uit", meaning "His firmness guarded Rhodes". This relates to Amadeus the Great, founder of the House of Savoy. He helped the Knights resist a siege shortly after they arrived in 1310.

 

In the narrow cobbled streets and back alleys it was easy to imagine stepping back several centuries as I walked around.

Wandering in places like that is one of my favourite pastimes when I travel, with no particular goal in mind, just looking at the old houses and differences in construction and styles. For example, in the pictures you will notice buttresses constructed across some streets to provide support during earthquakes.

Despite being a listed World Heritage site the Old Town is not a sterile museum; it is a thriving community with over 6000 people living and working there. There are several restaurants within the walls and a few rather expensive hotels.

The Roman ruins were sparse, with just a few sites preserved.

These windmills were used in mediaeval times to grind the grain straight off the ships in the harbour.

On my penultimate day I decided to visit the Acropolis. First, I needed to find a bus in the right direction. I did, but when the bus turned left when the sign to the Acropolis pointed straight ahead I alighted. I should have stayed aboard. It turned in the correct direction at the next corner. The next couple of km were a hot and dusty uphill trek through a fairly modern wealthy suburb on a cloudless 35C day. I plodded along at my usual slow pace, stopping to buy more water at a small shop along the way. 

 

The Acropolis, when I reached it, was a shadow of its former self but still interesting. It dates from the 5th to the 3rd century BC. Down-town the crowds were bustling but up on the Acropolis hilltop I was alone for most of the next couple of hours, with an occasional local family dropping in. I only saw one non-local family until a tourist bus arrived as I departed.

Various old sections are spread over a large area.  

From the Acropolis site there were spectacular views of the town. From the cliff-top path beside the road above it there are also marvellous views of the west coast; the title picture on my previous post was taken from that spot.

Departing took a while. I decided I had walked enough for that afternoon. I climbed up to the road but the only taxis to pass were occupied. The local Tourist Train passed, but refused to let me board because I had to buy a ticket down in the town. I should have been more thorough in my pre-trip research. If I had known about the Tourist Train's route in advance I would have happily taken it. Eventually one of the cabs which passed me earlier returned; he had noticed me wave as he passed before. I didn't really mind the long delay in a very pleasant scenic spot despite the heat.

Cheers, Alan