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14 September 1879 — Rhodes | |
Sunday. 14th September [1879]. Abt 7 oclock, before any of us were dressed the Consular Agent (Mr Biliotti) & the Governor of Rhodes came on board to call on Henry. They did not stay long. After breakfast we went ashore & were recd by the Govr & a guard of honor & several functionaries. Then we proceeded in solemn procession to the house of a certain Suleiman Bey, the Viceroy’s agent. The Govr took us there as there was no Kanak. We had the usual coffee, sweets & water, & sherbet & all the principal people came to be presented. There were Turks, Greeks & Jews & they all sat in a row at a respectful distance while Henry sat on a sofa alone opposite them, smoking his chibouque. We sat on a side sofa as we thought it looked more imposing to let the Elehi Bey be all by himself. Sir Alfred Sandison was busy running abt whispering & interpreting. Before we left Suleiman B. presented me with an old terra cotta Greek vase wh he said had been found in the town. We then took leave of him & sallied forth to see the town. We went thro’ the old gates & the fortresses & then to see the remains of the Palace of the old Masters of the Knights of St John. The Palace itself what remains of it is now used as a prison for the convicts & from an upper terrace we cd look down upon them. They were a wild looking lot—some had huge chains on their ancles wh were tied up to their waists—some had none– Some were Greeks & some Turks—Zeibeks & there was one Jew. There were very wild looking creatures who had lately been taken as pirates—very desperate characters. They all make the most beautiful inlaid boxes & clay cigar cases &c for sale. From here we went down the famous street where are the houses of the Knights. It was most wonderfully picturesque. The carvings & designs on some of them were wonderfully curious and picturesque. At the end of this street is a splendid building the old hospice. It is used as a barrack. There still remains the fine old kitchen & up on the 1st floor an open cloister runs round from wh opens a splendid refectory or dormitory with a fine gothic bay window & a row of columns supporting the roof. The Turks have partitioned off half the room as it is too large for use. At one end is a large fireplace. We sat in the colonels room a while to rest & take coffee & then went to see a mosque wh was the English church of the knights. Then we went to a shop full of Rhodes plates & bought some Greek silver coins & then on thro’ the bazaars. At every turn we saw fine bits & remains. At one mosque we saw a fine renaissance carved marble door way. We saw the remains of the church of St Helena wh has been blown up a short time ago by lightening striking some powder stored there. It appears 500 people were killed. It was 1.30 before we got back to Suleiman Bey’s where we were given an excellent Turkish lunch. From here we went to the Consulate & Henry had another audience with the functionaries of the town. Abt 4.30 we went on board again & found the ship in a dreadful state from coaling. The Govr came to take leave & gave us presents of grapes, figs—an old Roman amphora, inlaid boxes & clays &c Then we took leave, Sir Alfred did a deal of kissing & salaaming & we set off for Jaffa. There was a little swell & wind but we got up a sail– | |
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