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! 

Putting the 'Ram' in Ramblings?

Time for another in my occasional series of interviews with writers on a Greek theme. This time it's Katerina Nikolas who's in the hot seat. Katerina's "Greek Meze" books, which now number six in the series, carry a decidedly caprine flavour, since three of the books have the word 'goat' in their title. Others, though, do share it out a little with donkeys and roosters also featuring on the rather fun front cover designs. Reflecting the way the industry is changing, Katerina's books are only available in electronic format (primarily Kindle) at present, which has now become the largest market for on-line book purchases anyway.

Katerina Nikolas lives in a small Greek village with her teenage son and cat. She is considering acquiring a goat.

By and large Katerina's book receive a very enthusiastic response, and so I decided it was time to see if she'd like to explain herself! She agreed, and so, off we go then...

An apparently still goat-less Katerina.

About Me

I live with my teenage son, a cat, and a couple of resident pensioner tortoises in the olive grove. I keep threatening to get a goat and really ought to, as I spend so much time writing about them. I have a degree in English literature and spent years working for a finance company. Before I turned my hands to novels I spent a decade writing for a living, with finance as my speciality, and three years writing for a bridal company.

Where Do You Live?

Just outside Stoupa in the Mani, close to the fishing village of Agios Nikolaos. It’s blissfully quiet here in the olive groves, but only five minutes drive to the sea and only an hour over the mountain to the bright lights of Kalamata, a great town steeped in character. Modern life is creeping in but it often feels as though this area is in a time-warp. 

What Do You Write About?

The Greek Meze Series is farcical humour set in a fictional Greek fishing village with a cast of quirky characters. I’ve lots of other ideas for books but have a natural bent for humour when pen hits paper, or rather when fingers hit the keypad. Astakos is visually inspired by Agios Nikolaos.

Why Greece?

Well, it’s inspirational and full of quirky characters I can draw on. 

How long does it take you to write a book?

Three months from beginning to publication, with my self-imposed deadlines. I don’t write terribly quickly but am methodical in always spending the first part of the morning going over everything written in the last few days, making changes and adding things. When I’m satisfied with previous chapters I send them off to the editors as I go along.

What do you enjoy most about writing?

Who said anything about enjoying it; it’s a torturous process and one has to be in the mood for comedy. Half the time I have no idea if something I’ve written is funny or not, as I’m too close to it. Seriously, I do enjoy writing when I’m in the flow. I love self-publishing as it allows the author control over all aspects of the book, from cover choices to publishing deadlines, which is important to me as I’m terribly impatient. The best part by far is when readers notify me to say they love the books and enjoyed some laugh-out-loud moments. If I’m having an uninspired moment then a bit of fan mail revives the mood. 

What, in your view, has been the greatest gift from Greece to the world? 

Greek olive oil, pure nectar, and of course our local stuff is the absolute best. 

Fresh, new, virgin olive oil, straight out of the press. One of the best things on the planet (IMO - Ed)

How do you come up with the idea for a book?

The Meze series originated as some humorous short stories set in Greece, some of which were published in an American magazine. I ran with the idea and turned it into a book. I’d actually been intending to do it for several years before I sat down and finally got on with it, but once I started I realised I had enough material for a series. I often think of new plot lines when I’m writing and file them away for the next book. My series is inspired by many real life things, though often exaggerated, whether it’s the body under the chicken coop or the fisherman being too shy to ask a woman out until he could afford to replace his teeth. One recurring feature of the books, for instance, is the hideous old lady dresses as sold in the village hardware shop. 

Caption hardly needed!

How do you go about writing? Are you organised, do your research, disciplined, are you a messy sort who gets it done on way or another?

I’m extremely disciplined, though it was much easier to stay focused on bridal fashion or finance, than conjuring up farce. I like to write very early in the morning and hope the inspiration hits. I start a book with a few plot lines in mind, but rely on my characters springing to life and taking over as I write. If, for instance, I decide in the next chapter the characters will have an evening in the taverna, I have no idea what they’ll get up to until I start writing. On really good days the books write themselves when the characters just take over.

What other authors do you read?

Among my favourite writers are Margaret Yorke, Douglas Kennedy, Tom Sharpe & Douglas Murray. Recently I’ve been reading through Paige Dearth’s books. My all time favourite books are Eleni by Nicholas Gage, Hand Me Downs by Rhea Kohan, and Replay by Ken Grimwood. I enjoy a lot of non-fiction and love biographical accounts of people fleeing repressive regimes and pretty gloomy stuff such as factual accounts of Japanese prisoner of war camps. I’ve shelves full of Holocaust literature.

What’s your preferred kind of music?

I need total silence when I write but love to have something to sing along to in the car: Motown, Nina Simone, Leonard Cohen, Bryan Ferry, or a bit of opera. My son is always threatening to throw my music stick out of the car window as it’s stuck in a time warp. (I'm firmly with you on that one Kat!! - Ed)

Do you like Greek music and if so which kind?

Yes, the older stuff such as Kokotas and Bithikotsis. I love it when the old men play the bouzouki. 

(Stamatis Kokotas was my mother-in-law's favourite singer back in the seventies. He's still performing nowadays, still with a very distinctive voice, not to mention exceedingly darkly dyed hair! - Ed)

Favourite Greek dish?

Grilled octopus, and Greek yoghurt with honey, but not together obviously. I end up gutting and cooking a lot of fish, often with hooks still attached, when I’m gifted some of the catch. 

Favourite place in Greece and your reasons?

Limeni, a tiny village further south in the Mani and my favourite place to swim. It’s my dream place to live, but would probably be a bit isolated in the winter as it doesn’t even have a shop. This area is very lush but when you head further down the coast it becomes more barren and rocky: I like the contrast between the two.

Limeni.

Links to books: 

At some point I ought to do a blog but I have no patience with computer stuff, so for now it’s just my Amazon UK author page, Amazon US author page.

And my Facebook author page.

Finally, Reading device or a real book?

These days it’s the kindle every time. The house is already stuffed full of books so the kindle is a great space saver. I love being able to adjust the font size and it’s my go-to device in the power cuts since it can be read in the dark. Since putting my books in KU I’ve been a big fan of the Amazon library. It’s great value with lots of new writers to discover.

Thanks for inviting me to do this John, it’s an honour to be part of the Ramblings from Rhodes Greek lit scene.

My pleasure Katerina. I'm sure a lot of readers will enjoy not only hearing a bit about you, but seeing the photos too.

Light Corners and a Dark Horse

First, some more photos (do they ever stop coming? No...) from a wander around Mandraki and the Old Town yesterday...

Nice to see that the Kontiki is finally open for business again, because it affords unrivalled views across Mandraki. Seems to me like it's been closed for a couple of years.

The steps in the corner of the main square do make for a nice snap or two. The Old Town was very quiet yesterday though, rather unusual for the third week in August. Mind you, a strike by some of the coach drivers may have been a factor.

This little corner, by rights, should have been occupied by a few tourists and sightseers, because it's a great vantage point to sit a while. The reason, I suspect, for its emptiness, is the overwhelming smell of human pee that pervades the place. I can only put that down to ignorant people using it as a urinal late at night. Would be good for the local cleansing department to whack some disinfectant around up there from time to time.

I didn't stay here long, I'd have needed a face-mask. But what a nice vantage point for a snap or two.

And the other direction.

Just a nice vista that caught my eye whilst wandering.

"Oy!! You!! Clear off and leave a puss in peace!"

•

Now John, our landlord, has three boats. He has a jetRIB that seats four, a rigid inflatable with a beast of an outboard that will take up to eight and a speed-boat that does 60+ knots. When he's out here on his hols, he frequently suggests that we might like to invite some of our local friends over for a meal and a ride out on one of the boats. As it happened, earlier this season our friends Pavlos and his wife Athanasia (both thirty-somethings) were coming down from town on a Sunday and so we suggested they come to the house for a meal on the terrace with John, his family and ourselves. They accepted the invitation and we told them to bring Pavlo's parents too, who are of a similar age to my better half and I, only sadly, they're not in such a good state of health. 

Pavlo's mum, Soula, has battled on two occasions now with breast cancer and her husband Dimitris has very bad nerves and is quite frail physically. John said: 

"Tell them to bring swimming gear and we'll get a boat out."

I called Pavlo and relayed the idea, to which he replied, "OK, that would be nice, but mum and dad will more than likely prefer to go and have a lie-down after lunch, rather than do anything strenuous. Would that be possible? I mean, is there somewhere they could take a nap during the afternoon?"

I replied that I was sure we could work something out and that they must come anyway, even if only he and Athanasia went out on the boat with John.

They arrived, took a light lunch with John and Wendy next-door (we'd planned to eat a sumptuous dinner all together [about 20 of us] later, after they'd been out on the boat for the afternoon), and thus began the preparations for the expedition with the boat in tow behind John's Jeep Commander.

Once the Jeep, with the jetRIB in tow, had headed off down the lane in a cloud of dust at somewhere around 2.00pm, we were surprised to find that no one was left behind next-door at all. Soula and Dimitris had gone off to the beach as well. Ah well, no doubt they'd sit sedately on a sun bed while John stormed around the bay with Pavlo and Athanasia.

Soula has really been through it with her cancer. She went into remission a few years ago and was fine for a while, before it returned and she was back on Chemo, which resulted in the loss of all of her hair. She's what they'd call in Wales a "Dut" of a woman, not much over five feet tall and built for comfort, if you get the idea. She has a bubbly, positive personality and I'm sure that's been one of the factors in her beating the cancer yet again.

But she's still recovering from the last round of treatment and so it was only to be expected that she'd probably want to take it easy after lunch, while her son and daughter-in-law charged around the bay behind John, who likes to elicit screams from his passengers before he's happy about the ride he's given them.

Around 5.00pm the sound of the Jeep trundling back up the lane with the trailer bouncing along behind could be heard as we were busy setting two large tables together on the terrace and laying places for everyone to enjoy the feast that was to follow that evening. John's friend and mine, Nick, (also on hols with John and Wendy this time) jumped out and swung open the gates and in they drove, faces and arms hanging out of all the Jeep's windows. Once John had pulled to a halt and begun setting about washing the salt water off the jetRIB, the others were all pouring on to the terrace with tales of their exploits during the afternoon.

It soon became apparent that Soula, far from crashing out sedately on a sun bed under an umbrella to let her lunch go down gently, had instead accepted John's invitation to take a spin on the jetRIB. Not only had she thoroughly enjoyed it, but she'd taken a turn driving the thing and half-scared even John to death with her daring!! Here was this Greek woman, who, to many who know her, was only recently back from staring her mortality in the face, raving about what a great afternoon she'd had and how fantastic was that jetRIB. 

Needless to say, me and the beloved were astounded, alarmed, amazed, but predominantly enthused by our friend's account of her afternoon. To call 60+ year old Soula a dark horse would be rather an understatement.

When we'd all eaten our fill and were sitting around the table later in the evening, with the twilight creeping across the terrace and the moonlight beginning to reflect on the waters of the bay a couple of thousand metres down the valley from us, bonhomie ruled and anecdotes were flying this way and that, it was time for Pavlos, Athanasia, his mum and dad Soula and Dimitris to get on the road back to Rhodes Town.

Lots of double-cheek-kissing ensued, hugs, wishes for safe journeys and thanks for a lovely afternoon and all the usual farewell banter, all of that, as one would expect. The Greeks climbed into Pavlo's car and he started the engine whilst John opened the gate for them to drive away.

As the car drove toward the gate, the rear window opened, Soula's head popped out and she shouted:

"You be sure and let us know the next time you're over John!! I want another go on that jetRIB!!"

And they were gone, tail lights lighting up the darkening lane.

A Room With a View

You're never too old to learn, eh? Only last week a guest on the Rhodes Town excursion gave me a leaflet advertising the "Roloi" (pronounced, 'rolloy', with the emphasis on the 2nd syllable), in the Old Town.

The word 'roloi' is quite versatile. It can mean a watch (as in the timepiece that you strap to your wrist), an electricity or water meter, or indeed a clock, whether it be the one on your grandmother's mantlepiece (remember those?) or a stone tower with a clock set high into each of its four faces. In the case of the one I'm referring to in this post, it's a Byzantine clocktower toward the top of the Old Town. It looks like this from below...

And before last week I'd never even noticed it. On August 23rd I'll have lived here on Rhodes for 13 years, too. There are probably a whole lot of other things I've yet to discover about the island I now regard as home, no doubt.

Thus it was that, a couple of days ago, again with five hours to kill while the guests on the coach went off to do their thing, I decided that I'd better go and investigate. The cost of entry to the Clock Tower is €5, but that does include a drink of your choice in the very attractive bar area that's available to all visitors. I paid my cash, received my ticket (plus the voucher for the drink at the bar, where they also have wi-fi BTW), and made my way up the stone steps to the tower's front door. Here's a photographic record of what you can expect to see (not in any particular order)...

Not a bad vista of the Grand Master's Palace from a higher vantage point. The building undergoing restoration in the foreground is a former Muslim School, which, once completed, is going to be used to host cultural events.

Quite a large section of the Old Town wall that can be walked is in shot here. I've wondered for years how to get up there. I finally found out (see below)

Another view of the 19th century Muslim School restoration project.

Looking South, across the roof of the mosque at the top of Socratous and down to the harbour area.

From here I could see people walking out on to the wall. This was how I eventually discovered, with a visit to the gate of the Grand Master's Palace, that the only way to get on to the walls is to buy a ticket inside the museum itself.

View from the Tower's doorway toward the café-bar area.

The 'new town' area above the trees is roughly the area known as Analipsi.

The bar area from the top of the tower, also with a great view of the commercial harbour.

The only way is up.

Nice scale model of the whole place under glass in a quiet corner of the courtyard.

One of the two ways you can access the entrance to the Clock Tower. This one is in Panetiou, which runs directly from outside the Grand Master's Palace entrance to the top of Socratous. The other is in Orpheus St.

Almost back down again.

Once I'd be up to the top and back down again, I retired to the bar area and ordered an orangeade with my voucher. All in all I really enjoyed the visit and the view from up-top was stunning.

•

A couple of days ago I was reading something on a Facebook group for Grecophiles that really riled me. It was a caustic comment from someone who'd visited Rhodes and had a bad meal at a restaurant in the Old Town, which resulted in the individual concerned vowing never to come back to Rhodes. They also cited the manners and behaviour of the staff as one of the reasons why they felt they had the right to try and influence thousands of others to steer clear of an entire island, full of excellent restaurants and bars, sites to visit and friendly local folk, on the basis of one bad experience.

Now I'm not normally one to pull rank, but I've been visiting Greece (all over the country) since 1977 and I've lived here on Rhodes for 13 years, come the 23rd of this very month, and I can say from my experience that I've had some less-than-ideal meals and not-very-exemplary treatment from here, there and just about everywhere in Greece (add to that the UK, USA, Portugal, Spain and France if you like).

I'm not, however, stupid enough to lump the entire island, village or seaside town into one huge generalisation as a result of such experiences. I say 'stupid enough', but I could equally well have written 'conceited enough', because that's about what such a comment on a popular Facebook group's page amounts to. It's like saying to anyone who'll listen: "I know better than you and, if you take my word for it, you'll also steer clear of that island from now on." 

What? I mean, WHAT? 

Rhodes, like Corfu, Crete and lots of other islands and 'resorts' the world over, is home to thousands of people, most of whom are extremely welcoming to holidaymakers. It's home to thousands of restaurants and tavernas, most of which are of superlative quality and the staff at which are very welcoming. Were all of us to demonstrate the attitude shown by the individual to whom I refer above, there would be small-minded individuals boycotting destinations countrywide (nay, worldwide) and all of them trying to influence others to do likewise because of their say-so.

Ooh I get so livid sometimes! I need something nice to end with. Oh, yes, here's another photo of the 'Roloi' in the Old Town, taken from the top of Socratous...

The Human Bungee

I'm sure we've all had occasion to make use of the old 'spider' bungee, if only on a bicycle, right?

Image courtesy of http://boxertiedown.com/

I well remember getting smacked in the face by just such a beast whilst trying to strap something to a bike rack in the days of yore when I was a school-kid. You know the scenario, you're trying to stretch that last piece around the package and you're just not quite getting that hook to engage and  - thwack! the flippin' thing slips out of your grip and whips back over the top and, hey presto, you have a shiner.

Well as we were coming back past Lindos last evening after an excursion to Rhodes Town, I couldn't resist photographing this from the front of the coach as we followed this plucky little pick-up laden with drinks along the road toward the Kalimera Café, or Lindos Reception as it's also known. 

This chap was clinging on for dear life as the load he was trying to secure lurched first this way, then that. I couldn't help wondering how much it might have cost him if he'd let it all drop...

Half, Why That's almost 50%!

Couldn't let this pass - this blog has just passed 500,000 page views. Thanks everyone. I so hope you'll keep coming back.

Regarding the title "Half, why that's almost 50%!" - that's a reference to half a million, just in case anyone out there doesn't see it. The "That's Almost 50%" is an oblique reference to a dim character in an old British sitcom BTW!!