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Bettany Hughes' Treasures of the World Season 4 Episode 5
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00:01I'm on the trail of wonders to treasure.
00:05Precious clues from the past.
00:07She's full of sensuous promise.
00:10With unmissable experiences.
00:14We're afraid why your door's open so much and they're playing with us.
00:18Hidden sites in unexpected destinations.
00:22No way. I've never seen anything like that before.
00:25Four.
00:28Amazing. Good.
00:31I'm on a global voyage of discovery to explore our shared heritage
00:35and how our past shapes all of our lives.
00:39This time, the Greek island roads.
00:42I'm heading to an island with an action-packed, star-studded history.
00:47Meeting friends old and new.
00:49Yamas. Yamas. Yamas.
00:52Witnessing the latest discoveries.
00:54That's where the body would have been.
00:56On an island of pirates, knights and heroes.
01:00Those people must have felt on the top of the world.
01:04Welcome to the treasures of roads.
01:07In the South Aegean, there's a group of islands called the Dodecanese.
01:17Roads, the largest, is blessed with 300 days of sunshine every year.
01:18At a pivotal position between three continents, Europe, Asia and Europe.
01:20In the South Aegean, there's a group of islands called the Dodecanese.
01:22Roads, the largest, is blessed with 300 days of sunshine every year.
01:29At a pivotal position between three continents, Europe, Asia and Africa.
01:35Roads' strategic location made it a cauldron of colourful intercontinental activity, proving that islands do not have to be isolated.
01:50It's been luring seafaring tourists since antiquity.
02:11My first treasures are the attractions that made roads the original Roman holiday.
02:26A week's sail from Rome's port Ostia, Rhodes was a cosmopolitan haven for Roman high society and celebrities.
02:36The island nourished body and mind.
02:41But these were choppy waters in every sense, even for future Roman emperors.
02:47When he was sailing to Rhodes, Julius Caesar, no less, was actually kidnapped and the pirates asked for a ransom of 20 talents.
02:57Brilliantly, he said, do you know who I am? I'm worth at least 50.
03:04And we're told that he hung out with them for around 40 days, sort of acting almost a bit like their military leader,
03:10but telling them that if he were released, he would have them killed.
03:13By this time, they'd sort of become friends, so they thought he was joking.
03:18But the minute that he got his freedom and was released, he ordered their brutal execution.
03:30Caesar was drawn to this island, famous for its cosmopolitan statecraft and its command of the seas.
03:38The Rhodians were considered to be such expert sailors that some of their ideas about how people should basically behave in international waters were codified into something called the Lex Rhodia,
03:54which was a kind of ancient guide to maritime affairs.
03:58And a Roman emperor said, I might be master of the world, but the Rhodian laws make them masters of the waves.
04:05The Rhodians became the iron-fisted pirate police of the Mediterranean.
04:08Given the very real dangers of these waters, you might think that the Romans would avoid Rhodes, but they actively flocked here.
04:26Roman tourists would head to Egypt to see marvels like the lighthouse of Alexandria and the pyramids.
04:43Rhodes was the perfect stop off.
04:45They were drawn here by its heritage, myths and sensuous lore.
04:56I'm arriving, like them, at the island's ancient harbour capital.
05:01One adventuring author, Strabo, declared, I'm unable to speak of any other city as equal to it.
05:16Many came on themed retreats or business trips with a bit of fun thrown in.
05:22The first monument to tick off their cultural bucket list was the Colossus of Rhodes.
05:31Built around 280 BCE and often shown straddling the harbour in later artworks,
05:37it stood 32 metres tall.
05:41Made of radiant bronze, this vast statue revered the island's patron, the sun god Helios.
05:47One of the reasons that the Romans loved coming here is that they'd go on these sightseeing tours,
05:57in particular of one of the seven wonders of the ancient world,
06:01the Colossus of Rhodes, which was here.
06:04By the time the Romans were in charge, it was actually in bits
06:07because it had been collapsed by an earthquake.
06:10But we have these brilliant descriptions about it.
06:12So we hear from a man called Pliny the Elder that the thumbs were so big
06:18that some people couldn't even put their arms round them,
06:21that if you explored inside the broken limbs it was like going into caverns,
06:26and that this was the monument most worthy of admiration anywhere in the ancient world.
06:32Another draw was Rhodes' reputation for persuasive public speaking,
06:42attracting ancients keen to learn the art of rhetoric.
06:47Eager students flocked to this Odeon,
06:50where the likes of Caesar and superstar author Cicero learnt delivery, delivery, delivery.
06:58It's not just what you say, but how you say it.
07:03Rhodes really became a sort of finishing school for the Roman and Greek elite,
07:09and people would travel for thousands and thousands of miles to come to learn from the oratory teachers here.
07:15And you know, there's a really fascinating theory that because the Rhodians were so cosmopolitan,
07:21because they had to communicate with lots of different nations and cultures,
07:24they had to get their message across in really clever ways.
07:29This is why they were so good at spin, so good at rhetoric.
07:33So the lessons learned here would play out in world events,
07:38and Rhodians, or people trained here on Rhodes,
07:41would end up being used as arbitrators right across the Roman Empire.
07:46So what happened here definitely affected world events.
07:54The island also boasted exquisite, unforgettable art.
08:03Treasures you can still find in the Archaeological Museum.
08:06Including this fabulous sculpture of Aphrodite, Venus for the Romans, made over 2,000 years ago.
08:19There's lots that's special about this gorgeous goddess of love.
08:25First of all, her marble skin has been really highly polished,
08:29so there's a sheen to it, so it almost looks as though she's just stepped out of a bath,
08:35or the sea and her skin is lovely and wet.
08:39And also, if you think about it, Aphrodites or Venuses are often shown with their hands,
08:45covering their breasts and their sex as if they're a bit kind of embarrassed.
08:49Not this gorgeous creature.
08:51She's liberated and open and just full of sensuous promise.
09:05Surrounded by all this abundant art, culture and nature,
09:11it's easy to see why the Romans loved this island.
09:14There are yet more pleasures, if you know where to look.
09:23Hello!
09:25Classicist Spiros Siropoulos has secured me special access to a real treat.
09:34The Nymphaeum.
09:37A secluded grotto, hidden away at the posh edge of the ancient town,
09:41dedicated to nymphs, mythical sprites of pleasure and the natural world.
09:48Isn't this nice?
09:49We go through this nice, dark tunnel.
09:53Yeah.
09:54And at the end, we see the light.
10:01That's awesome.
10:02Isn't it?
10:03That is awesome!
10:05It is. It is impressive.
10:06It is impressive.
10:07So impressive!
10:09So all, it's like a kind of natural cave they've made even more amazing by sculpting on Earth.
10:16We see the nieces.
10:18Yeah.
10:19Obviously, they were purposed to host decorative figurines or lambs, things like that.
10:26There is a water cistern to collect rainwater associated with the cult of the nymphs.
10:33There's something sort of mystical about it.
10:37It's that thing when myths are real and live and just part of everybody's daily life.
10:44But owned by one person or by the public?
10:48Because it's huge!
10:49The interesting thing is that all this has been very close to the residential area.
10:56Yes.
10:57Which is only 90 metres down the road.
10:59So it must have been part of a very rich late Hellenistic Roman housing block.
11:05So a private, a private home.
11:11Noble Romans were known for their elegant villas.
11:15So you can imagine this being the ultimate place for a wine-soaked, mythically-themed dinner party.
11:22I love the fact that they were here in the Hellenistic times, the time just after Alexander the Great.
11:28And then the Romans are here.
11:30And the Romans are loving, loving this place, aren't they?
11:35It became a very popular resort for the Romans.
11:39The Romans came here to study oratory and philosophy, mathematics, even astronomy.
11:45The big schools were here and they just fell in love with the place.
11:51They still feel they see you.
11:53It's just dropped on your shoulder.
11:55A little bit of purification ritual.
11:58I love it.
11:59That's what I like about roads.
12:01You can never escape the past.
12:08So it was like a good Roman holiday coming here.
12:11Ferrier, as the Latin word for holidays, that's what the Romans said, so this is what they had here.
12:17Yeah.
12:22It's so magical following in the footsteps of the ancients here.
12:30What's great about getting access to a place like this is you can really feel why roads mattered so much to the ancients.
12:38Because just imagine coming in here on a ferocious day with a boiling sun and just kind of getting a bit of respite and having a moment to take breath, to learn from people from right across the world.
12:53So this is somewhere that you could recharge your batteries and open your mind.
12:59I'm exploring the rich Greek island of Rhodes.
13:14This place is all about connection and links to the world beyond its shores.
13:33Mastery of the waves was key to the island's success.
13:40Now, if this doesn't tell you that sailing and command of the sea is in the lifeblood and the identity of the Rhodians, I don't know what does.
13:59Isn't it totally exquisite and this which is physically carved into the rock face was left here 2,200 years ago.
14:11Rhodes' maritime dominance was nourished by its environment.
14:22Hills thick with pine and cypress yielded timber for ancient Rhodian ships, vessels that stitched together the sea roots of the eastern Mediterranean, trading Egyptian grain and exporting the island's own natural bounty.
14:38My next treasure shows how hyper-connectivity made life here good.
14:45There's an amazing site that's being excavated up here.
14:5170 kilometres south-west of Rhodes Town is Kimisala, an ancient settlement slowly yielding its secrets.
15:03Including a city of the dead.
15:09For two decades, archaeologist Monolis Stephanakis and his team have been piecing together the lives of the islanders buried here.
15:18We've got us on action.
15:19And we're the first film crew to be invited.
15:22Calimera, guys. Hi, yeses. Hi, Calimera.
15:25This is Bethany.
15:26Hi, somebody in the zoo.
15:28That's where the body would have been, is it?
15:31That's a built bench inside the chamber where the body was lying.
15:35Wow.
15:36And not the only one, I'm guessing.
15:38No, I have so many more to show you.
15:40Oh, lovely.
15:41Please come with me.
15:42Nice to see you.
15:45So far, the team has studied bone evidence from just ten individuals.
15:49Hi, Calimera.
15:51Calimera.
15:52To try to understand their lives.
15:56This is obviously where it's all studied and analysed.
15:59I've just got to tell you this.
16:00This was the old police station village and they're looking after the work.
16:04It is amazing how much material there is here, isn't it?
16:08Yeah, of course.
16:11Bountiful finds, wine jars, jewellery and honey pots
16:16prove Kimisala was home to a thriving mountainside community.
16:22Oh, lovely. It's part of a handle, is it?
16:24Yeah, lovely little handle.
16:27It's that kind of moment when you're literally puzzling all the info together.
16:34Dating goods from the graves, we know Kimisala thrived from the 7th century BCE
16:42to the 6th century CE.
16:45That's more than a thousand years.
16:48To flourish for so many centuries, the outward-looking islanders
16:53had to take every advantage of this abundant valley
16:57with a seaport and rich plateau where vines still grow.
17:04Manolis, this is an awesome sight.
17:10Isn't it?
17:11So magical here.
17:13And this section of it, what are we walking through now?
17:17We are passing through the central necropolis of Kimisala,
17:22which is a vast area.
17:24We estimate about 500 tombs in the whole cemetery.
17:28500?
17:29Yes, some of them have been excavated, most of them are not excavated yet.
17:34Right.
17:36And as you see, they're all dug in the rock.
17:39Yeah, in the rock face, yeah.
17:41I mean, who are they?
17:43What were these people doing when they were alive here?
17:45These are the people living in the so-called demos of Kimisalis.
17:49Yes.
17:51So these are, let's say, villagers.
17:54It's so rich, Rhodes as an island, in terms of natural resources.
17:59So these are probably people who are making their living from farming
18:04and sort of olive oil production.
18:05Yes.
18:06We know they had bees living through beekeeping.
18:09Yeah, yeah.
18:10Apparently producing a lot of olive oil.
18:12Yes.
18:13A lot of evidence of olive presses.
18:15I've seen quite a lot of goat poo.
18:16There are still goats.
18:18Yes.
18:19Goats and sheep.
18:20Hundreds of goats around.
18:21Look at this.
18:23This is our best and largest so-far tomb.
18:26Yeah.
18:27Can I go down?
18:28Yeah.
18:29Definitely.
18:31So what they do, they dig a corridor.
18:33Yeah.
18:34Or a four-room, as we call it.
18:36Yeah.
18:37To go to such a depth, then they can penetrate the rock and create a chamber.
18:42Right, right.
18:43Now, in this case, because they accidentally found a cave, a natural cave in the rock,
18:49they built the front of it.
18:52They left a small entrance.
18:53Yeah.
18:55You can see the big stone that was shutting the entrance.
18:59Yeah.
19:02We think family groups were buried together.
19:05And a hundred-metre clamber up the mountainside brings you face to face with the sacred heart of Kimisala.
19:17Aha.
19:19Wow, look at this.
19:21Ah.
19:23You didn't tell me about this.
19:24I didn't.
19:25You didn't.
19:26A little...
19:27Now you discover it.
19:28Yeah.
19:29A little cheeky surprise.
19:31That's incredible.
19:32So these are the...
19:33We're just beneath the walls.
19:35Yeah.
19:36The fortification walls of the city.
19:38Ah.
19:39Of the Acropolis, actually.
19:41Mysterious carvings are yet to be analysed.
19:45Very impressive.
19:48And this goes all the way round, does it?
19:49It goes all the way round, about 560 metres.
19:57Acropolis means highest point of the city.
20:03And there's another treat up here.
20:06Wow, look at that.
20:07On the very top of the Acropolis.
20:08Yes.
20:11Top of the world.
20:12Little temple.
20:14But to whom?
20:15Do you know which god or goddess?
20:17We assume it could be Apollo or Artemis, his sister.
20:22It feels like it could be Apollo, though, doesn't it?
20:24Up here, up on the sun.
20:26And they love Apollo and Helios and sunlight here.
20:30The Acropolis connects all the settlements around,
20:34connects the port, connects the island cross,
20:37connects everything.
20:42The Acropolis.
20:43You just think, standing up here,
20:57those people of the ancient past must have felt on the top of the world.
21:03They could see their beautiful ships made here on roads,
21:08setting out across the oceans to kind of trade and bring wealth back in here
21:13and defend them if there was an enemy navy arriving.
21:18And you've got connection to three continents, to Europe, Asia and Africa.
21:22I think it was Apollo who was worshipped up here because there's light all around.
21:27They loved light on this island.
21:30And Apollo is the god of reason and possibility.
21:34So, you know, you feel like lots of things are possible up here.
21:38So, yeah, I reckon this was Apollo's spot.
21:40In Apollo's honour, Manolis and Spiros have invited me, and the whole team, for a Rodian nightcap.
22:01Cheers, Yamas.
22:02Yamas.
22:03Yamas.
22:04Yamas.
22:05Yamas.
22:06Thank you so much.
22:07To our health.
22:08Kimisana's wine is name-checked on Egyptian papyri,
22:12and Rodian wine jars have turned up in every ancient site around the Med.
22:18Drinking together, this is what symposium means.
22:21It's a true fact that the ancients loved Rodian wine, and they wrote about it, Manolis, didn't they?
22:27They exported it everywhere in the known world from the first century BC.
22:33And we have testimonies of more than 100,000 Rodian amphora handles around the world in the museums
22:43that bring the stamp of Rhodes.
22:46So I've actually seen this stamp from Alexandria, and it's this head of Helios,
22:52and that means that people were thinking about Rhodes and talking about the island.
22:57I mean, Egypt is actually quite close, but as far away as places like Britain.
23:01That's because of the Roman soldiers who were using the Rhodian wine.
23:07This was the biggest propaganda of the Rhodians around the world, selling their wine with their badge on it.
23:14Yes.
23:15So everybody would know it was the best advertisement they could ever get.
23:19Of course.
23:20Why is it so good here? Is it the soil or the climate?
23:24If you think about it, it's still the same soil, the same kind of soil which contains limestone.
23:30They had here that made three distinct kinds of wine.
23:38The red wine, they called it black.
23:40The white wine, which was either dry or sweet.
23:43Mm-hm.
23:44And sour wine, for which they collected the unripe, yet grapes, and they turned it into something very strong.
23:53And I've got another fact, which I love, is that particularly here on this island, they used to use seawater sometimes as a preservative.
24:01As a preservative.
24:02Because salt is a very good preservative anyway.
24:04What do you think?
24:05I mean, this is a kind of big question, but why was Rhodes so special in ancient times?
24:13I would say because it was really a land of opportunities.
24:19Those who came to be part of this society and those who were willing to invest in work and businesses here in Rhodes soon became part of this island.
24:33They became part of this society, they became successful, and they returned this investment to the island.
24:38Yeah, yeah.
24:39I would add that it's the geographical position of the island that also played a great role in this.
24:46Because it's between three continents, so accepting all this commerce and returning it back, and accepting all these people to stay on the island and hug them.
24:58Yeah.
24:59Led to a superb mixture of economy, trade, politics, everything.
25:09The Rhodian spirit besides this.
25:11The Rhodian spirit.
25:12This is a Rhodian spirit anyway.
25:14It is, it is.
25:15Of all kinds.
25:16Yama.
25:17Yama.
25:18Yama.
25:19Yama.
25:20Yama.
25:21Yama.
25:22Across the ages, Rhodes maintained its status as a jewel of the Aegean, a perfect foothold between East and West.
25:41No surprise then, that in the early 14th century, it became the home of my next treasure, an order of warrior monks.
25:54Yama's
25:58Perijo.
26:00N ils de plis dopo.
26:01E помощьюatie Thopathes.
26:03Peopleop
26:07Thiness D ambisco, j am Ali
26:11Rd CN名, er The Knights of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem, or the Knights Hospitaler, as they came to be called, ushered in a new chapter in the story of Rhodes.
26:13The Knights, a Catholic military order of the Crusader age,
26:23held sway in the Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1099 until 1291,
26:29when Muslim forces kicked them out.
26:37After the Kingdom of Jerusalem fell,
26:40the Knights found themselves on the run.
26:43For a while, they ended up in Cyprus,
26:46but they really wanted a permanent home.
26:48So they set sail across the Mediterranean, heading for Rhodes.
26:53And in 1310, after tricky campaigns, they finally took the island.
27:02The Knights were known for offering protection to pilgrims,
27:05and one of their main initiatives on Rhodes was to build a hospital.
27:11It offered care for the sick, poor and injured, without distinction between faiths.
27:18Today, it's home to one of my favourite places on the island,
27:22the Archaeological Museum of Rhodes.
27:25The hospital had separate wards for infectious diseases and maternity care.
27:34A fireplace warmed the rooms, and each patient got a servant,
27:39their own bed, a woollen hat, fur-lined coat and slippers.
27:45Linen sheets and covers were changed three times a week.
27:49Its gardens were a medicine chest,
27:56growing herbs and plants for the treatment of various ailments.
28:01A dedication to care still embodied in their most enduring international legacy,
28:08the first aid service, St John Ambulance.
28:11It wasn't only the hospital the Knights built.
28:19A massive construction campaign left Rhodes Town
28:22as one of the best-preserved Gothic cities in Europe,
28:26enclosed within four kilometres of impenetrable walls.
28:30This feels a bit like travelling in time,
28:40because this is one of the most complete medieval streets in the world.
28:48The Odos Ipoton, or Street of the Night,
28:52would have been bustling with men ready to join the order.
28:57Drawn here by promises of land and wealth,
29:00however, membership was open only to the high-born,
29:10and proof of nobility was a prerequisite.
29:20Young men would travel here from right across Europe,
29:24and they'd take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience,
29:28and promise to look after the poor and the sick.
29:31And they'd stay here in these things called inns, or auberge,
29:35that were divided up, depending what language you spoke,
29:38into different tongues.
29:44Imagine, each with their own coat of arms,
29:48arriving as soldiers from what's now France,
29:51Germany, Italy, England and Spain.
29:54The knights were drawn into Rhodes' melting pot of cultures.
29:59Sometimes enemies at home,
30:01but brothers on this island.
30:04The international rhythm of Rhodes still exists today,
30:08with February's carnival season,
30:10a wild festival with roots in antiquity.
30:14Despite its pagan origins,
30:16it's believed some knights secretly indulged in its revelry.
30:33Medieval enthusiast Anna Acciola is joining me at the celebrations that have been revived today.
30:40Anna's been looking after us here on Rhodes,
30:43and she's passionate about the medieval world.
30:45Yes, of course, it's part of them,
30:47because, you know, all the medieval buildings,
30:49the medieval city there is, they live inside it.
30:52So it's a live heritage.
30:54The carnival is a multicultural event.
30:57You know, besides Rhodes has always been multicultural,
31:00and the time of the night,
31:02there were so many different lungs, the nations.
31:05They met here, and they lived all together,
31:07from England, from Portugal, from France, from Italy.
31:11Yeah.
31:11All these people here, along with the Greeks.
31:13Yeah.
31:13Yeah, they were united,
31:16and they would live very connected to each other,
31:19the different communities.
31:21And the knights were very friendly with the locals here,
31:25especially after the first 10 years of they being to the island.
31:30They organized a hospital that would accept the poor and the nobles,
31:37the same, you know.
31:38They would take care of them the same.
31:41That was not very common in medieval Europe,
31:44and that helps us understand that we share some common roots,
31:50a common culture.
31:52We are not separated from each other.
31:54We have managed to live together,
31:57in a small island, all these nations.
31:59After a long night, I'm up early to immerse myself
32:20in the medieval world of the knights,
32:23in Rhodes' old town.
32:25This gorgeous bird's-eye view of the city was made in the 1400s.
32:36Bits of the old city are still pretty similar today.
32:39You know, you can see some features like this.
32:41This, for instance, this is the street of the knights.
32:43And this is where I'm heading now.
32:51Dominating the city,
32:53this huge castle embodied the knights' power
32:57and was home to their big boss.
33:01Welcome to the palace of the grandmaster,
33:04described by one English pilgrim
33:06as the most beautiful under heaven.
33:10The labyrinthine building housed the knights' council chamber,
33:20dining rooms, chapels
33:22and the apartments of the grandmaster himself.
33:27The castle we see today was reconstructed,
33:31but you can still feel its original domineering presence.
33:35This picture-perfect fantasy palace
33:40was actually built back up by the Italians in the 1930s.
33:44They even planned for it to be a holiday home
33:46for the Italian king.
33:50Having taken control of the island in 1912,
33:55the Italians spared no expense
33:56in preserving the medieval spirit of this architectural gem.
34:01Even Benito Mussolini's left his mark.
34:05For the holy knights who originally built it,
34:11the palace wasn't just a fortress.
34:13It was a spiritual haven.
34:16Its halls and courtyards, chapels and sacred spaces
34:20were used for worship, rituals and inductions
34:23to strengthen the knights' international bonds of brotherhood.
34:27In 1522, a massive Ottoman fleet assembled in the bay,
34:46controlled by the Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.
34:49The knights and the islanders were outnumbered
34:53and fought really valiantly,
34:55but they just could not win.
34:58After the Ottoman victory,
35:00the holy Roman emperor, Charles V,
35:03said nothing in the world was ever so well lost as Rhodes.
35:09The knights and their supporters fled,
35:19ending over 200 years of rule.
35:23The palace would become an Ottoman fortress.
35:25One of the churches was used to store gunpowder
35:30with disastrous results.
35:33Over 300 years later, in 1856,
35:37the gunpowder exploded,
35:39wiping out the church and destroying the castle
35:43until it was restored by the Italians.
35:47More than just soldiers,
35:49the Knights Hospitaller of Rhodes
35:51were architects of an era.
35:54They defended the island,
35:56blended diverse cultures,
35:58and their legacy stands in stone.
36:13Exploring its history,
36:20it's clear Rhodes has long been a beacon of hope,
36:25a crucible of opportunity and enlightenment
36:28for many cultures all learning to live together.
36:34There's another group of people who arrived here by boat
36:38and were a vital part of the island
36:41for over 2,000 years
36:43before they were ripped from these shores by force.
36:52My next treasure is the Jewish quarter of Rhodes Old Town,
36:57the heart of a community that thrived here for two millennia.
37:03Mentioned in the biblical Book of the Maccabees,
37:11a Jewish settlement was established in Rhodes
37:13right back in the 2nd century BCE.
37:21The Christian Knights Hospitaller
37:23ordered the Jews here to convert or leave.
37:29But once the Ottomans were in charge from 1522,
37:33Jewish islanders were allowed to re-embrace their faith.
37:38This neighbourhood became home
37:40to a vibrant Sephardic Jewish community.
37:50Expelled from Spain and Portugal,
37:54settlers brought with them Judeo-Espanyol,
37:57a language that gave this place its pet name,
38:01La Juderia.
38:02So this is the oldest synagogue in Greece.
38:14It's one of the oldest in the whole of Europe
38:17and it was built in 1577.
38:20So just think what lives,
38:23what experiences this building's witnessed.
38:26By the end of the 19th century,
38:30the streets of La Juderia were home to a Jewish population
38:34of close on 4,000.
38:40The Jewish community was allowed to thrive here under Ottoman rule.
38:45So that's 400 years of peaceful co-existence.
38:53But in the early 20th century,
38:56everything changed.
38:58The Ottoman Empire's power was waning
39:00and Italy seized the Dodecanese Islands.
39:04By 1938 under Mussolini's fascist regime
39:09and with anti-Semitism on the rise,
39:12a sinister situation was evolving
39:14and thousands fled.
39:16Tragically, worse was still to come for those who remained.
39:25During World War II,
39:28Hitler's Germany took control.
39:30From July the 18th, 1944,
39:35orders were given for Jews on roads
39:38to report to Nazi headquarters.
39:41The Turkish consul general,
39:44who was Muslim after all,
39:46suspected this was a trap.
39:49He confronted the Nazi commander
39:51and insisted that any of the population here
39:54who had Turkish citizenship should be spared.
39:57He managed to smuggle them out
40:00with friends and family
40:02on boats across the water to safety.
40:06And he said he was simply doing his duty
40:09as a human being.
40:17Sela Hatim,
40:19arguing that the arrest of Turkish Jews
40:22and their families
40:22would trigger an international incident,
40:25successfully saved 42 people.
40:31But just five days later,
40:34the remaining Jewish community,
40:37all 1,673 of them,
40:41were forcibly gathered
40:42to start a terrible journey
40:44to the death camps of Eastern Europe.
40:47Carmen Cohen is director
41:00of the remaining Jewish community in Rhodes.
41:04You know, Carmen,
41:04it is,
41:05it's so moving and haunting
41:09walking through these streets.
41:10The Rhodes was called
41:12a small Jerusalem.
41:14What's that?
41:14There were five synagogues
41:16in this quarter
41:17and two yeshivot.
41:20That means places
41:21that they were studying the Torah.
41:24And do you think
41:25when they were asked
41:26to gather in these streets,
41:28those women and men and children,
41:31do you think they knew
41:32what was happening
41:33when they were being asked
41:34to leave by the Nazis?
41:36I don't think so.
41:37They thought that they were
41:38sent somewhere for work.
41:40They asked in the beginning
41:42from the men
41:44and the boys
41:46up to 16
41:47to go to the headquarters
41:51of the Air Force
41:52in Rhodes.
41:53After a couple days,
41:55they were taken
41:56to the port
41:58after having the alarm
42:01to ring
42:01so everybody
42:03of the rest of the people
42:05living in the island
42:05to be in the houses
42:07so they don't see
42:08what was happening.
42:10Right.
42:11And I didn't realise
42:12that as well.
42:12So the other islanders,
42:14they were told
42:16to stay in their homes
42:17so they couldn't come out
42:18to protect them.
42:19Yes, they couldn't see
42:20what was happening
42:21as they were taking them
42:23to the port.
42:25And there's this
42:26incredible story
42:27about the Turkish consul
42:29who helped.
42:30Yes.
42:30At that time,
42:31Turkey was neutral,
42:33I think.
42:34Yeah.
42:34And he had good relations
42:36with Germany,
42:37let's say.
42:38Yeah.
42:38So these people,
42:40they had or they managed
42:42to get Turkish passports.
42:45So he asked
42:46Yes.
42:48not to be deported
42:49as citizens of Turkey.
42:51Turkey.
42:52And that is the thing
42:53that even through
42:53these really dark days,
42:56you have to remember
42:57as well
42:58those few people
42:59who helped.
42:59Yes, there is always
43:00light sometimes.
43:02Always light.
43:03And that is something
43:06that's special
43:07about Rhodes too
43:08because you have had
43:09all faiths
43:11living here peacefully
43:12together.
43:13For such a long time.
43:14Yeah.
43:15All the,
43:17you know,
43:17people believing
43:18in three monotheistic religions.
43:21Yeah.
43:21Christianity,
43:23Muslims and Jews.
43:25And why do you think
43:26that is?
43:27Why do you think
43:27the island
43:28helps that to happen?
43:30I think because
43:32of the position
43:33of the island.
43:33It's in the middle
43:34between Eastern Europe
43:37and Eastern.
43:39Yes.
43:39And it just proves
43:40that if we need
43:42to get on together,
43:43we can get on.
43:44Yes, of course we can.
43:45That's for sure
43:45because we are still
43:47living now all together.
43:49Yes.
43:49The same.
43:50Walking through
43:55the Jewish quarter,
43:57it's poignant
43:58to envision
43:59the vibrancy
44:00and hope
44:01that once filled
44:02these streets.
44:04And how vital
44:06it is
44:06for the small
44:07Jewish community
44:08still here
44:09to preserve
44:10those memories.
44:11Yes.
44:11sitting here
44:32just makes me think
44:33of the extraordinary
44:35bravery
44:36of that single
44:37young man
44:38here on the
44:39island of Rhodes
44:40who came from
44:40Turkey
44:41from just over there
44:42at the time
44:43of World War II
44:44when terrible things
44:45were happening
44:46to so many people.
44:47But he risked
44:50his life
44:50and the life
44:51of his family
44:51to save others,
44:53people he didn't know.
44:54So although
44:55it's an utterly
44:56sorrowful story,
44:59there are these
45:00tiny, tiny
45:01glimmers of hope.
45:04There's so many
45:05stories here on Rhodes
45:06of people
45:07managing to live together.
45:09This is a place
45:10place where
45:11different religions,
45:12different faiths,
45:13different cultures
45:14have managed
45:15to work out
45:16ways of respecting
45:18one another.
45:19So it's an island
45:20of light
45:21and hope
45:22in lots of ways.
45:23This island is a wonder
45:42because it's been
45:43a melting pot
45:44through time,
45:46witnessing valuable
45:47harmony between
45:48cultures and communities.
45:50roads has seen
45:54so much history
45:56and it's a reminder
45:58that even if you live
45:59on an island,
46:00you don't have to be
46:01isolated
46:02because for centuries,
46:04people have come here
46:05from across continents
46:06to trade
46:07and to find out
46:09about each other,
46:10to live
46:11and to live well.
46:13because of course
46:14it can be true
46:15that if you spend time
46:17in faraway places
46:18and with other people,
46:20whether they're strangers
46:22or friends,
46:23that you can learn
46:24not just about the world
46:26but about yourself.
46:29or cannot but i'll be
46:34I'll be
46:34I'll be
46:35I'll be
46:35I'll be
46:35I'll be
46:36I'll be
46:38Transcription by CastingWords
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