Thursday, August 22, 2013

Knights of St John Castle, Kos. Greece, 2013

22 August 2013
One of our reasons for coming to Kos was to visit the castle which was built by the Knights of the Order of St John of Jerusalem. The Knights captured the island of Kos in 1314 and held it until 1522 when it was taken by the Turks. Even though the castle had massive outer walls, recycled from Hellenistic and Roman ruins it was still severely damaged by an earthquake in 1495. Some restoration was attempted in the early 16 century. 
Today the ruins of the castle are a major tourist attraction. We spent a few hours wandering around the site photographing the ancient bits and pieces that are strewn around.
(Remember to click on the photos to enlarge them)









We were, however,  more fascinated with the huge tourist ship which was moored on the dock beside the castle, than the castle itself.



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