The coats of arms
Fleurs-de-lis and dates carved on the inns' fronts.
Bernard Gagnon โ CC BY-SA 4.0 ยท Bernard Gagnon โ CC BY-SA 4.0 ยท Bernard Gagnon โ CC BY-SA 4.0 ยท Julian Lupyan โ CC0
A paved stone street climbing some six hundred metres from the harbour to the Palace of the Grand Master, and **the most completely preserved medieval street in Europe** โ no signs, no shopfronts, no cabling, only honey-coloured sandstone on both sides. It was built by the **Knights Hospitaller** (the Knights of Saint John), who ruled Rhodes from 1309 to 1522 after leaving the Holy Land. The knights were divided into **"tongues"** according to their languages and homelands โ France, Spain, Italy, England, Germany, Provence, Auvergne and Aragon โ and each tongue had its own **inn** on this street, housing its knights. Those inns still stand, their frontages carrying the carved **coats of arms** of each country โ French fleurs-de-lis, bishops' arms, dates. Walking it, you read a map of medieval Europe off the walls. โ Note that what you see is **carefully restored**: the Italians rebuilt much of it in the 1930s during their rule of the island, on original foundations and with close documentation. The street is part of the **Old Town of Rhodes**, inscribed by UNESCO.
Fleurs-de-lis and dates carved on the inns' fronts.
The street ends at the Palace of the Grand Master.
No signs, no cables โ as close as you get to a street of 1500.
The **Knights of Saint John** were a military order founded in Jerusalem in the eleventh century to care for sick pilgrims, which became a fighting force during the Crusades. After the fall of Acre in 1291 and the crusaders' expulsion from the East they moved to Cyprus, then took **Rhodes in 1309** and ruled it for **two hundred and thirteen years** as an independent state, fortifying it with enormous walls that withstood two Ottoman sieges before falling in **1522** to Suleiman the Magnificent. They then moved to **Malta** and became known as the Knights of Malta. Everything you see in the old town of Rhodes is their building.
**Before eight in the morning** โ the only realistic answer. Rhodes old town depends on **cruise ships** that dock in the morning and unload thousands into a small city, and the Street of the Knights is the first stop on virtually every guided tour. Between ten and four it becomes a queue. โ Check the day's **cruise schedule** โ it is published โ and plan around it. The alternative is **after sunset**, when the walls are lit with warm lamps and the town empties completely โ far and away the loveliest time on this street.
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