Discover Turkish Quater – A Worth Seeing Place in Old Town, Rhodes

Tourists find the Rhodes Island very fascinating and attractive to explore. The centre of capital of the island is a well preserved ancient town bordered by medieval walls and gates. The medieval town on Rhodes Island provides the visitors a live medieval age setting and atmosphere that attracts them for Rhodes holidays.

Old Town of Rhodes:

The old town architecture contains a mixture of several civilizations and cultures’ including the Turkish, medieval and Byzantine ones and it is therefore, one of the World’s Heritage sites in Rhodes Island declared by UNESCO.

This Medieval town of Rhodes is a distinctive place and contains some very impressive sites. The Medieval town of Rhodes comprises of three areas: Kollakio (the Knights’ Quarter), Jewish Quarter and the Turkish Quarter.

The Old Town’s Kollakio is the place where majority of the medieval landmarks are situated. The Old Town can be accessed by nine main gateways, known locally as ‘Pyles’, and the remarkable buildings situated inside these gates offer a pleasant mixture of Latin, Byzantine and also Turkish styles.

Therefore, when coming for Rhodes Holidays, visiting the Turkish Quarter is a must if you want to discover the historic treasures of old town.

Exploring the Turkish Quarter:

Innumerable Byzantine churches transformed into mosques in the west part of the old town makes the atmosphere of the place very oriental and you will also find small shops and stalls like the ones in old bazaars, the squares have vaulted houses since the front walls are embellished with arched bows and there is a fountain in almost every square.

From both the sides of the Socrates Street, narrow lanes take one right into the heart of the medieval town. A congested street here known as the Hippodamus Street will take you to the Turkish Quarter. The 15th century’s Agia Paraskevi church is located on the right-hand side. Arhelaou Street is a narrow lane that you will reach when you go a little farther. Going farther leads one to the Arionos Square, the mosque of Sultan Mustafa and the Turkish Hamam.

Suleiman Mosque and the Hammam Baths:

The eye-catching pink-domed Suleiman Mosque in particular dominates the Turkish quarter. Their Turkish legacies include the Turkish ‘Hammam’ baths that are still operated by the local municipals.

If you want to see the famous public baths and the mosque of Sultan Mustafa in Arionos square, you can take the street called Archelaou which is located behind the Suleiman mosque. These are the sacred Turkish baths (hammam) that have been fully restored.

Turkish library:

The Turkish library is located on the other side of the Archelaou Street. in 1794 Ahmed Hafuz, a Moslem Rhodian, build this library. Some great selections from the Turkish, Arab and Persian literature and documents can be found in the library. Amongst these manuscripts the important ones include

1. An anonymous chronicle of the 1522 siege
2. One richly ornamented Koran of 1540
3. One richly ornamented Koran of 1412

Kurmale-Medresse:

On the west side of the Suleiman Mosque is situated the Apollonion street that leads to the Byzantine-Gothic church of St. George. During Ottoman occupation this church was known with the name of Kurmale-Medresse which means the school with the date palm and was used as a medresse.

For memorable Rhodes Holidays we suggest that you avail all the entertainment and leisure opportunities as well as get a Aparthotel Rhodes, or one of the top Rhodes Town Hotels