Picturesque views, Deep-fried Saganaki and Motorbikes
As a frequent traveller, holidaying in Greece was a must. It was a place I had been looking forward to visiting for a very long-time, admittedly because of the positive image that I had concocted in my head from movies and TV shows. Obviously it’s a fictional image, but my trip managed to live up to certain aspects of it in reality.
From The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, Lena Kaligaris’ trip to Greece made me expect donkey-rides as a form of transport, beautiful views, white buildings, cobbled streets and historic architecture. This was immediately apparent from the hotel balcony (situated at the top of a hill), where a stunning view in the evening light was present upon my arrival. In the following week I concluded that different areas of the island displayed different aspects of my pre-conceived ‘Greek image.’ The city of Rodos had both, a ‘New Town’ and ‘Old Town’. I preferred the latter of the two as the maze-like set-up of the narrow intertwining cobbled streets, rusty walls and repetitive archways mixed with almost absolute silence (excluding the meowing of stray cats) created an atmosphere that allowed me to really appreciate and absorb the historic beauty of my surroundings. I particularly liked that the area hadn’t been transformed or built upon for tourism but instead was left stripped down. In contrast, ‘New Town’ was jam-packed, which in hindsight was not surprising considering the culture, architecture and religious influence there. Medieval architecture was apparent through the Palace of the Grand Master, as was the influence of the Ottoman Empire shown through the Islamic library and museum, not to mention the ruins of the Temple of Aphrodite amongst many other remains of the past. My most ‘Lena’ moment was definitely in Lindos, my favourite part of the island. Here I experienced both serenity and peace whilst standing at the top of the Acropolis of Lindos. Whilst walking down, I saw picturesque views of white buildings and the blue ocean along the coast below, the hustle and bustle of the busy streets, and donkeys transporting people up to the Acropolis alongside me. Finally, the village of Afantou was full of natives who were actually very familiar with us by the end of the week, allowing me to experience and observe a small-town community, very different to the feel of Rodos and Lindos.
From my Big Fat Greek Wedding, I learnt that the Greeks love their food and this was definitely the case in Rhodes- never was there an empty restaurant or café anywhere! The fact that all that seemed to happen was eating may have also been inspired by my foodie tendencies but on a small, quiet island like Rhodes, I assume it gives the locals something to do – eating only for pure enjoyment. I immensely enjoyed the feta cheese and Greek salads, along with the strongly brewed Greek coffee (Yes, I’m a coffee chick- a disappointment to Britain I’m sure) but my favourite item was the newly discovered side of deep-fried Saganaki. The perfect Greek delicacy for a cheese lover- this mound of hot, crispy gooeyness is definitely a must-try. Needless to say, it was re-ordered numerous times. My second-favourite ‘Pitaroudia’ (Chickpea fritters as explained to us by our lovely waiter friend, actually happened to be the delicacy of Afantou, the village in which I resided. Again it is a definitely another must-try. All in all, food was definitely a huge part of my Greek experience.
Our lovely waiter friend brings me on to the people and atmosphere of Rhodes as a whole. Unlike London, my hometown, Rhodes is not very cosmopolitan. Primarily Greek people occupy the island, and most of the residents we encountered could only speak Greek. Many of those we met, especially those in Afantou, were also intrigued by my sister’s headscarf, often enquiring about religion, revealing that they were only familiar with Christianity. Others were used to the amount of tourists on the island and most people I conversed with were generally hospitable, but not overly friendly. Another noticeable difference was the mode of transport used. Motorbikes are the main vehicles used by locals, and there are often up to three people piled on one bike, including babies! Although it sounds crazy, the roads are very empty, and there are few cars to be found. Most of the time, the roads are only populated by other motorbikes.
Rhodes was an interesting island and at least somewhat met the fictional image that I had created beforehand, but due to its size there wasn’t much to do after the first few days – it is the first place I have visited where I have wanted to cut my stay short! However, it is definitely worth a short stay. I would love to visit Greece again – perhaps with more time in the country, I will be able to evaluate it as a whole!
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