Almond Blossoms and a Brief History Lesson

Wendy took this photograph of Pedi recently while walking Sandouri.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with Symi, the bump in the middle of the photograph is the Kastro, where the |Knights of St John built a castle.  There was an even older fortification and church up there before that.  The old medieval town was clustered around its walls.  There wasn't much left of the castle  when the Germans used it as a munitions store during the Second World War and blew it up in the retreat, destroying many of the surrounding houses in the process.  The sprawl of buildings up the slopes of the Vigla to the left of the Kastro is a very old part of Chorio, around Agia Trianda church.  The original access to this ancient area of habitation was a footpath running from the back of Yialos, the neo-classical harbour, up behind the Kastro to Chorio.  It still exists and is referred to as the Kataraktis (Cataract) as it runs up the side of a deep gorge - part of the convergence of water courses that floods the harbour in winter downpours. The green belt between the sea and the houses is the Pedi valley, once a major fruit and wine producing area on the island.

Grey skies seem to be dominant at the moment as southerly winds bring haze and dust.  Yesterday's southerly was so strong there was a shipping ban and even Rhodes airport was closed for a while.  Things are a lot calmer today and it looks as though we have a hazy, possibly drizzly, mildly windy week ahead with temperatures around 18 degrees. 

Now that the summer ferry schedules have been released by Dodecanese Seaways and Blue Star Ferries people are seriously planning their holidays.  For flight tips, check Andy's travel blog.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana