Rhodes Medieval Town (June 2017)
The city of Rhodes is the capital of the island of Rhodes which is located in the South Aegean Sea (N36 26 49.992 E28 13 40.008). The Medieval Town occupies a 65 hectare portion of the city of Rhodes and is delineated by the fortification stone walls and integral moat.
The Order of St John of Jerusalem occupied Rhodes from 1309 to 1523 and set about transforming the city into a stronghold. It subsequently came under Turkish and Italian rule. With the Palace of the Grand Masters, the Great Hospital and the Street of the Knights, the Upper Town is one of the most beautiful urban ensembles of the Gothic period. In the Lower Town, Gothic architecture coexists with mosques, public baths and other buildings dating from the Ottoman period.
From 1309 to 1523 Rhodes, the largest island of the Dodecanese, was occupied by the Knights of St John of Jerusalem who had lost their last stronghold in Palestine, in Acre, in 1291. They transformed the island capital into a fortified city able to withstand sieges as terrible as those led by the Sultan of Egypt in 1444 and Mehmet II in 1480. Rhodes finally fell in 1522 after a six-month siege carried out by Suleyman II.
The medieval city is located within a 4 km-long wall. It is divided with the high town to the north and the lower town south-southwest. Originally separated from the lower town by a fortified wall, the high town was entirely built by the Knights. The Order was organised into seven “tongues”, each having its own seat, or “inn”. The inns of the tongues of Italy, France, Spain and Provence lined the principal east-west axis, the famous Street of the Knights, on both sides, one of the finest testimonies to Gothic urbanism. To the north, close to the site of the Knights’ first hospice, stands the Inn of Auvergne, whose facade bears the arms of Guy de Blanchefort, Grand Master from 1512 to 1513. The original hospice was replaced in the 15th century by the Great Hospital, built between 1440 and 1489, on the south side of the Street of the Knights.
The lower town is almost as dense with monuments as the high town. In 1522, with a population of 5000, it had many churches, some of Byzantine construction. Throughout the years, the number of palaces and charitable foundations multiplied in the south-southeast area: the Court of Commerce, the Archbishop’s Palace, the Hospice of St. Catherine, and others.
Its history and development up to 1912 has resulted in the addition of valuable Islamic monuments, such as mosques, baths and houses. After 1523, most churches were converted into Islamic mosques, like the Mosque of Soliman, Kavakli Mestchiti, Demirli Djami, Peial ed Din Djami, Abdul Djelil Djami, Dolapli Mestchiti.
The ramparts of the medieval city, partially erected on the foundations of the Byzantine enclosure, were constantly maintained and remodelled between the 14th and 16th centuries under the Grand Masters. Artillery firing posts were the final features to be added. At the beginning of the 16th century, in the section of the Amboise Gate, which was built on the northwest angle in 1512, the curtain wall was 12 m thick with a 4 m-high parapet pierced with gun holes. The fortifications of Rhodes exerted an influence throughout the eastern Mediterranean at the end of the Middle Ages.
These days approximately 10,000 people live and work within the town. It's the focal point of interest of all visitors to the island and is a mecca for trade, food and entertainment.
Reference: UNESCO Medieval City of Rhodes,
Music: Evgeny Teilor - A Morning In The City
Rhodes | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
00:01:16 1 Name
00:02:02 2 Geography
00:03:55 2.1 Flora
00:04:26 2.2 Fauna
00:05:05 2.3 Earthquakes
00:05:42 2.4 Climate
00:05:59 3 History
00:06:08 3.1 Early and classical antiquity
00:06:19 3.2 Prehistory
00:06:35 3.3 Minoan Era
00:07:02 3.4 Mycenaean Era
00:07:30 3.5 Archaic Era
00:09:16 3.6 Classical Era
00:10:30 3.7 Hellenistic age
00:19:05 3.8 Byzantine period
00:22:27 3.9 Crusader and Ottoman rule
00:24:26 3.10 Modern history
00:27:41 4 Archaeology
00:28:49 5 Religion
00:28:58 5.1 Christianity
00:29:32 5.2 Islam
00:30:16 5.3 Judaism
00:31:29 6 Government
00:33:13 6.1 Towns and villages
00:33:27 7 Economy
00:34:00 8 Transportation
00:34:10 8.1 Air
00:35:55 8.2 Sea
00:37:32 8.3 Road network
00:40:59 8.4 Bus
00:41:37 8.5 Cars and motorbikes
00:42:16 9 Sports
00:44:55 10 Culture
00:45:54 11 Notable people
00:48:43 12 Tourism
00:50:02 13 Panoramas
00:50:18 14 See also
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- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Rhodes (Greek: Ρόδος, Ródos [ˈroðos]) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the South Aegean administrative region. The principal town of the island and seat of the municipality is Rhodes. The city of Rhodes had 50,636 inhabitants in 2011. It is located northeast of Crete, southeast of Athens and just off the Anatolian coast of Turkey. Rhodes' nickname is The island of the Knights, named after the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem, who once conquered the land.Historically, Rhodes was famous worldwide for the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The Medieval Old Town of the City of Rhodes has been declared a World Heritage Site. Today, it is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe. The name of the U.S. state of Rhode Island is thought to be based on this island.
Rhodes | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Rhodes
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
You can upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Rhodes (Greek: Ρόδος, Ródos [ˈroðos]) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece in terms of land area and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the South Aegean administrative region. The principal town of the island and seat of the municipality is Rhodes. The city of Rhodes had 50,636 inhabitants in 2011. It is located northeast of Crete, southeast of Athens and just off the Anatolian coast of Turkey. Rhodes' nickname is The island of the Knights, named after the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem, who once conquered the land.Historically, Rhodes was famous worldwide for the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The Medieval Old Town of the City of Rhodes has been declared a World Heritage Site. Today, it is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe. The name of the U.S. state of Rhode Island is based on these islands.
Rhodes | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Rhodes
00:01:01 1 Name
00:01:39 2 Geography
00:03:12 2.1 Flora
00:03:38 2.2 Fauna
00:04:11 2.3 Earthquakes
00:04:42 2.4 Climate
00:04:57 3 History
00:05:05 3.1 Early and classical antiquity
00:05:15 3.2 Prehistory
00:05:30 3.3 Minoan Era
00:05:52 3.4 Mycenaean Era
00:06:16 3.5 Archaic Era
00:07:41 3.6 Classical Era
00:08:42 3.7 Hellenistic age
00:15:31 3.8 Byzantine period
00:18:13 3.9 Crusader and Islamic rule
00:19:48 3.10 Modern history
00:22:22 4 Archaeology
00:23:18 5 Religion
00:23:26 5.1 Christianity
00:23:55 5.2 Islam
00:24:32 5.3 Judaism
00:25:30 6 Government
00:26:55 6.1 Towns and villages
00:27:07 7 Economy
00:27:36 8 Transportation
00:27:45 8.1 Air
00:29:09 8.2 Sea
00:30:28 8.3 Road network
00:33:12 8.4 Bus
00:33:44 8.5 Cars and motorbikes
00:34:16 9 Sports
00:36:24 10 Culture
00:36:51 11 Notable people
00:39:07 12 Tourism
00:40:11 13 Panoramas
00:40:25 14 See also
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
You can upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Rhodes (Greek: Ρόδος, Ródos [ˈroðos]) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece in terms of land area and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the South Aegean administrative region. The principal town of the island and seat of the municipality is Rhodes. The city of Rhodes had 50,636 inhabitants in 2011. It is located northeast of Crete, southeast of Athens and just off the Anatolian coast of Turkey. Rhodes' nickname is The island of the Knights, named after the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem, who once conquered the land.Historically, Rhodes was famous worldwide for the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The Medieval Old Town of the City of Rhodes has been declared a World Heritage Site. Today, it is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe. The name of the U.S. state of Rhode Island is based on these islands.