Going Up the Wall

I grew up with Pink Floyd music. Loved it all, except for the simply awful "Final Cut" and about 60% of the Wall. After all, by then it had reached the point where it was all about Roger Waters being determined to make the rest of us suffer because he lost his dad in the war. Mind you, The Wall is worth having if only for Comfortably Numb, which, interestingly, was co-written with David Gilmour anyway.

But this post isn't about Pink Floyd. I simply couldn't let the opportunity pass though, since it's primarily about going up the Old Town Wall. I know, pathetic excuse to mention my favourite band...

For years people have been asking me "Can we walk the wall?" and I've, in all sincerity, told them that I didn't think they could any more. I'd even asked a couple of Greeks in the Old Town, who'd told me that they weren't sure either.

However, wonder of wonders, when I went up the 'Roloi' (see the post "A Room With a View") I was able to see people quite clearly walking along a large section of the Old Town perimeter wall from that elevated vantage point and, thus, I got to find out the truth of the matter. Go into the Grand Master's Palace, at the top of the Street of the Knights (Ippoton on all the maps, helpful eh?) and on the far left of the paved courtyard you'll see a few steps going up through an arch. This is the entrance to the wall. You have to first pay the princely sum of €2 at the ticket desk just inside and immediately to the left of the entrance to the Palace itself. Once you have the ticket, you then exit the Palace and swing right and trot over to the arch, where a nice young chap in a uniform will tear your ticket in half and off you go.

So, here are the photos I took as I walked the wall. Take my tip though, don't do it at 12 noon on an August day, when the temperature is mid-30's and there is precious little breeze. I suffered, so you don't have to!

One of the first sights you see is Orfeos St. from above

Orfeos, the other direction, leading back to the Amboise Gate

Most of the wall is wide enough for two vehicles to pass. How they managed to construct this immense fortification in a couple of hundred years still boggles me.

Much of the wall has no parapet on the Town side. There are signs warning you of this when you first enter, but it's worth being aware, especially if you take children on to the top. 

Once again note the lack of parapet on one side. You can see in this one how far I've come from the Grand Master's Palace. It's quite a long walk. You don't however, have to go back to the Palace to climb down. See a little further below.

The views over the Old Town are incomparable.

The furthest point visible from here is where you can descend. There was a lady staff member sitting just a little further along from here who was able to confirm this when I asked her. Since I wasn't sure if I'd have to walk back, an experience which, in the conditions, I didn't relish.

OK, it is a bit far away, but you can click for a larger view, and you'll notice that the Grand Master's Palace is built at the highest point for quite some distance around. Small wonder that this is the most likely site for the ancient Colossus to have stood. One or two of the photos further above also show this. See the page "Rhodes Trivia."

The further along the wall from the Palace I went, the less company I had!

Approaching the area around the Gate of St. John, where you can find the stairway to descend back into the Old Town.

Those steps on the right are the ones you can go down to exit the wall. It's just opposite the select Kokkini Porta (Red Door) Hotel.

Back on ground level. There is a staff member at the door up top checking tickets, in case you thought you could go up this end and get away without paying. One can't really begrudge €2 now, can one?

I can thoroughly recommend doing the walk for the views alone. Only it's wise to select the appropriate time of day to avoid sunstroke!