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view of cruise ship beyond Panayia tou Kastrou church, Rhodes Town

Looking out towards a cruise ship in the ocean beyond the round tower of St Nicholas Fort (housing a small lighthouse), the old city walls and the windows of Panayia tou Kastrou church. The masts of boats moored in Mandraki Harbour can just be seen on the left.

 

The church of Panayia tou Kastrou - Our Lady of the Castle - was originally a Byzantine cathedral and was built in the late 11th century.

 

It was converted to a Roman Catholic cathedral after Rhodes was taken over by the Knights of St John of Jerusalem in 1309, and then into a mosque after the Ottoman Turks took over in 1522. When the Italians captured Rhodes in 1912 the additions made by the Turks (e.g. the mihrab and minaret) were removed.

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Uploaded on April 24, 2009
Taken on August 28, 2008