Weekend in Greece

By: Rebecca and Jason

This past weekend, we treated ourselves to a mini vacation. We spent 4 days on the Island of Rhodes. Although belonging to Greece, it is much closer to mainland Turkey (just 11 miles away) and an easy 1-hour flight from Israel. We stayed in a hotel on the northern tip of the island in the city of Rhodes. The island is incredibly dependent on tourism. We met people from all over the world, mostly Europe, but from as far away as Peru and Australia!

Lovely sunset from our hotel room

We spent most of Saturday exploring the Old Town. This fortified city (and world heritage site) is an amalgam of classical, Roman, Byzantine, medieval, Ottoman, and Italian architecture. Everywhere you turn there is something interesting to look at. From ruins of a temple for Aphrodite, to towering minarets, the city is reminiscent of Akko and Jerusalem, but more open and airy than either of them. The wide streets are "paved" with cobblestones and lined with shops selling everything from tourist trap shot glasses to quality leather goods and jewelry. The whole city is bright, clean, and welcoming.

Part of the Old Town wall

Winding street in the Old Town

We were pleasantly surprised to have stumbled upon the Hellenic Center for Marine Research Aquarium (say that 3 times fast) and decided to take a tour. The aquarium is a mix of a museum and live exhibits. The highlight was a series of subterranean aquarium tanks, built into the rock that displayed all sorts of local marine life. Jason's favorite was of course the...lobsters! They had the two species most common in the Mediterranean. 

Can you find all the lobsters?
Leave a comment with the # and win a prize.

On Sunday, we got up early and walked back to the center of town to catch a boat to the village of Lindos. We arrived one minute late to find the boat had already left. We were astounded. Island time? in the Mediterranean? We didn't think on-time was possible! Missing the boat ended up being a good thing. Instead, we took a local bus south about an hour to Lindos (the most important port on the Island prior to the founding of the city of Rhodes). Nowadays, Lindos is a quaint little village complete with whitewashed buildings, contrasted against both the turquoise water and sky. We walked along winding pedestrian paths through shops and restaurants and found the best frozen yogurt we've ever had!

The beautiful village of Lindos

The Aegean Sea is beautiful! The water was the perfect temperature for swimming and snorkeling. What struck us the most, however, was how absolutely clear the water was. The cove we swam in must have been at least 70 feet deep, but you could see the bottom even from the above the surface as clear as if you were diving. Jason is kicking himself for not bringing the waterproof camera! You could easily spend an entire day exploring just one small cove, there is so much to see!! It was so nice to be able to just go down to the beach, snorkel, swim, and hang out without needing permits, permissions, or worrying about trespassing (or any rules for that matter). It made the experience that much more relaxing!

Our swimming beach for the day

We would definitely go back to Rhodes and would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to have a relaxing vacation in a beautiful place, with lots of things to do! More pictures in our photo album!