In Lindos, the old town in Rhodes in Greece when we arrived at the top of the hill where the Acropolis was, we could see the magnificent view of the sea.
On one side, we saw a lovely beach with many parasols and on the other side, there was an inlet which was like a natural swimming pool, which was very interesting.
Probably the water temperature at that inlet would be high and it would be very nice for bathing.
We had only 2 hours in Lindos, which was a shame.
The colours of the sea was so beautiful, from emerald green to cobalt blue.
I could not tell which one, but at one of the inlets, Apostle Paul anchored in 57 AD apparently.
According to mythology, grandson of sun-god Helios colonised Lindos.
In fact, Helios was a fan of natural beauty of Rhodes Island and he loved it so much so that he asked Zeus for him to be the protector of the island.
And that is why Rhodes is always nice and sunny.
Scientifically, they know that people were living here in Lindos in the Neolithic age.
Dorians arrived here in the 12th and the 11th centuries BC and developed here.
Between the 8th and the 6th centuries BC, Lindos was an important commercial centre for this region.
After that, the decline of Lindos started in the 5th century BC, but it was always regarded as a sacred place.
In the medieval time when the Knights of St. John ruled the island, 12 Knights were living in the Lindos Acropolis and during Ottoman Turkey’s rule, the Acropolis was used as their stronghold.
What we saw now seemed the result of the restorations and those pillars looked quite new.
The scene with tall pillars on the hill was quite picturesque.
We were satisfied after reaching the top and went down, but apparently there is an ancient theatre on the western side of the Acropolis which is worth visiting.
Now, on the way back down the hill, we rode on donkeys.
It was an exciting experience which I could say the highlight of our holiday this time.
They were real donkeys, thought the ones we rode on on Santorini were bigger mules.
At that time on Santolini, once we got on them, we were left alone, so the mules ran as they liked, but this time in Lindos, we were with a packhorse driver.
And the ride cost €7 per person, which was very reasonable.
Even though there was the driver, my donkey walked very close to the side walls, so my leg nearly hit them.
According to the driver, a donkey lives about 40 years.
And ours were about 7 years.
Driving the donkeys in Lindos is his summer job and in winter, he works as a carpenter.
He was lamenting, “Too many tourists who come to Rhodes are poor”.
We arrived down at the square safely and when I got off the donkey, my legs were shaking.
We bought one T-shirt with a face of a donkey for our memory and left this lovely Lindos.
[ Sept.2019 ]
