Rhodes: Rhodes City – Palace of the Grand Master
The Palace of the Grand Master of the knights of Rhodes is one of the most elaborate medieval fortresses in the Mediterranean, built by the crusading Knights Hospitalier aka Knights of Saint John (who tulles the island from 1309 to 1522) on the place of an old Byzantine and earlier Hellenic temple. In fact, it was built on the very same exact spot where the Colossus of Rhodes stood once. The centerpiece of the ultra-fortified fortress is the lavish and immense palace of the Grand Master of the Knights Order. The walls are made of different color stone bricks making them look like checkerboard. The knights pilfered all the nearby islands and brought all the treasures and the mosaics and layered them here, plus all the statues and wall decorations. The Palace looks spectacular from the outside as well with two magnificent turreted towers. It was greatly restored by Mussolini during the days of Rhodes being Italian (he liked vacationing here). There are about 150 total room but only 20 are open for tourists. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
