Church of the Annunciation, Rhodes

“In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future.”
Alex Haley
Back to the tourism and sightseeing, and something of a first for me today – being invited to leave a church! We couldn’t come to Rhodes and leave without visiting the old town, so we all headed off after breakfast, K2 and R going snorkelling first, we oldies just headed straight for the rather older town. Amazingly, not everyone wants to wander around taking photos, so first stop breakfast to orientate ourselves and decide on ‘the plan’, then we all head off our separate ways, I get to do my own thing with G for company. At the early part of our wander I’d gone into the Church of the Annunciation of the Theotokos overlooking the harbour for my meditation to kick start the day. After a while things went quiet, which they often do as I sink into meditation. Then I felt a tap on my shoulder and looked up to see someone indicating it was time for me to vacate the premises, and the doors slammed shut behind me. No idea why, the opening time was given for a good couple of hours away, but they remained closed for the remainder of our visit.
Plenty of distractions and points of interest, from the deer at the harbour entrance which was once dominated by the Colossus (maybe), to the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes. I thought the palace looked a bit ‘new’, it was rebuilt in the 1930’s during Italian rule, having been all but levelled after a massive explosion in 1856; so not much historical accuracy – but it’s pretty enough. Quite a bit of the area around the Palace seems to have been rebuild in ‘medieval style’ so it could easily have passed for a Hollywood set. 
We all met up for a lunchtime meal just inside the old town walls, including K2 and R who’d come from their snorkelling trip on the west of the island. I really could get used to these shared meals outdoors although the heat in the middle of the day is a bit of a struggle for me at times – siesta definitely called for.
Straightforward journey back to Lindos, time to relax and prepare for yet another family meal, this time with another side of the family in a nearby village.