Channeling Game of Thrones in Rhodes, Greece

plane2port

Level 2 Member


When we were scheduled to debark from Venice on our latest Med Cruise, gale-forced winds picked up and closed the port. We left eight hours late and were not able to visit our first scheduled port of Dubrovnik, Croatia. It had been years since my last Dubrovnik visit, and I had wanted to wander around the medieval city and see if I could recognize filming locations for the TV Series Game of Thrones. We had two sea days before we arrived in Rhodes, Greece.



It was a perfect Greek island day with sun and temps in the low 70s. When you dock in Rhodes port, you can see the medieval walled city from the ship. As you gaze over the harbor, you can't help but wonder where the Colossus of Rhodes stood in ancient times. It was a short walk to enter through the Marina Gate into the old city.



I think that they could just as easily filmed Game of Thrones here. The order of the Knights Hospitaliers came here in the 1200's and established a base of operations for pilgrims and Crusaders. The knights fortified the city to make it a base of military operations. The resulting walled city has been designated a World Heritage City and like Dubrovnik is a perfect jewel of medieval walled city. It makes a perfect cruise ship stop as you walk off the ship and tour the old town in one day. Preservation is wonderful in most parts of the Old Town.



I am addicted to Greek ruins, so we just had to make a pilgrimage up to the old Greek Acropolis at the top of the hill. "See and Be Seen" was the motto followed by builders of Greek Temples, and indeed the view was spectacular from the Acropolis hill. We could see our ship in port from the site--it looks like the Starship Enterprise has landed just to the left of the standing columns.



After we walked down from the Acropolis we spent the rest of the afternoon wandering through the city back to port. It was a perfect port day!
 
Top