Rhodes - Discover the Unknown Rhodes

C H A P T E R 2
The imposing complex
of the Knights church
and monastery
In the tenth century the Byzantines
founded a monastery here, but in
1306 the acropolis was conquered
by the Knights of the Order of St
John and in 1522, during the
Ottoman siege of Rhodes, it was
here that Suleiman the Magnificent
established his residence.
Three millennia of history lie layered
one atop another at Ialysos: from
the Mycenaean necropoli to the
great Doric fountain ornate with
lions heads, from the imposing remains of a
third- or second-century B.C. temple
dedicated to Athene Polias to the gothic
Basilica of the Knights built over a monastery
of the Byzantine era, then amplified with
cloisters and courtyards. The entire complex
has been restored with great care and has
become one of the most visited places on
the island.
In front of the basilica, on the slope of
the hill and almost invisible, the little Byzantine
church of Ayios Georgios Chostos is to be
found. Even if the frescos have rather faded,
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