Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes, Rhodes (must see)

At the top of the Street of the Knights stands the Palace of the Grand Master, which once served as the administrative core of the Order of the Knights of Saint John and the centerpiece of the Knights’ Quarter. Neglected during the Ottoman era and used as a prison before being nearly destroyed by an explosion in 1856, the palace was later restored by the Italians in a renovation that remains contentious. The rebuild did not adhere to the original floor plan and introduced modern elements to the interior, including statues and mosaics from other Dodecanese islands, much to the chagrin of those islands that still mourn their loss.

Despite these controversies, the palace continues to awe visitors with its regal presence at the highest point in Rhodes. The use of columns and capitals from ancient sites throughout the interior, and the exterior's stone cladding, illustrate the architectural grandeur of the Knights’ Quarter at its peak. Notable features include the splendid wooden ceilings and the onyx window panes that cast a soft light inside. Many of the main rooms display magnificent Hellenistic and Roman mosaics, sourced from nearby Kos, and while their presence here raises ethical questions, they are nonetheless well-preserved.

Visitors enter the palace between two grand semicircular towers and are greeted by a large marble staircase that leads to the spacious upper-story rooms, deliberately kept sparsely furnished to highlight the architecture and mosaics. These mosaics include depictions of the Nine Muses, a nymph on a sea-horse, and Medusa's head, with motifs of fish and dolphins also prevalent.

The ground floor, once used as stables or as storage for grain and munitions during sieges, now encloses a courtyard adorned with Classical statues and houses a permanent exhibition that spans the first 2,400 years of Rhodes' history. This includes a medieval gallery up to the time of the Ottoman conquest, along with temporary exhibitions. The collections are exceptionally well-organized and labeled, even more so than those of the Archaeological Museum.