August Newsletter - Travel

Rhodes, Continued

So, last month, we sent you the whole story about our June trip to Rhodes.

Almost the whole story.

We left out one place that we visited, because it was too much to add to that post that was long enough already. Therefore, here is “Rhodes, Continued,” at…

The Cultural and Geological Palace of Rhodes

On Tripadvisor, we saw this place that was not far from our hotel and decided to check it out. When we got there, the place looked gaudy on the outside, so much so that we almost turned away, but figured, “What have we got to lose?”

We walked up the path to the front door and saw a sign – open from 10:00 to 13:00, and again from 17:00 to 19:00. It was 15:30. But underneath the sign, it said that if we arrive when it is closed, to call this number. So we did. The guy answered promptly, and excitedly remarked, “What, you’re at the museum?! I’ll be right there!” and within a minute, the man walked quickly up to us. And he told us that we were the first visitors to the museum THIS YEAR! No wonder he was so excited.

A very eccentric man, a professor of archeology, history, geology (and later we found out a retired senior manager in a large bank), Spyros Katsouris is also an author, a collector, an artist… and just a fascinating fellow to spend some time with. He took us around his museum/home on a TWO-HOUR TOUR. The stuff he showed us blew us away… but we’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

The building has three floors – each one a separate museum. Entrance level – art. Paintings (floor, ceiling, and framed on the wall), mosaics, sculptures, statues, unique furniture, diplomas, photographs, traditional attire, old currency from all over the world, pottery, books… the list goes on and on.

In the attic was an amazing compilation of items that his family had been collecting for generations – plus tons of stuff that he amassed himself from all over the Island – and the world. Mostly cultural articles – clothing, books, paintings, statues, household items throughout the ages, and so on.

In the basement is a whole museum of science – geological and natural objects. Unbelievable stuff – fossils, rare gems, coral, taxidermy, snake skins, stones with prehistoric drawings on them, and so on. Remember, this is not a government-backed museum, but the work of one man! We asked him how he got all these specimens – his answer was that some people have a lot of money, and some people have a lot of friends. He has a lot of friends.

One of his friends lives in Haifa. He taught our guide a bit of Hebrew, and during the tour, he said (more than once!) to Mindy:

"את יפה. אני אוכל אותך."

(“You’re pretty. I eat you.”)

We hope he was somehow mistaken with what his friend tried to teach him.

To see all our pictures, please click on the image below to open a “Google Photos” album shared with you:

By the way, that picture above is a genuine fossilized seafloor bed – unbelievable!

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Also, click on the photo below and scroll through pictures that others have taken at the museum – more of the amazing collection he has: