Why go
A walk through Rhodes city can show how different communities shaped the island across Byzantine, Hospitaller, Ottoman and modern periods. The Jewish quarter gives this history a human focus: Kahal Shalom survives from the Ottoman era, and the nearby museum preserves the memory of a community devastated in the Holocaust.
The full story
Greek Orthodoxy remains central to religious life on Rhodes. Catholic communities also formed part of the island's history, including during and after Italian rule. The Ottoman period left a Muslim community and visible religious landmarks in Rhodes city. These traditions have different histories; a single walk through the Old Town should not blur them together. The Jewish presence on Rhodes reaches back many centuries. Kahal Shalom Synagogue was established in 1557 in the Old Town's Jewish quarter and is often described as Greece's oldest synagogue. The Jewish Museum of Rhodes beside it records local culture and the fate of Rhodian Jews during the Second World War. German forces deported most of the community, and most of those deported were murdered in the Holocaust. Visiting these places alongside the city's churches and former mosques helps explain the depth of Rhodes's history while giving the Jewish story its own attention.
Useful to know
- Allow time for the Jewish quarter and museum as a distinct stop within an Old Town walk.
- Check current visitor access before entering an active religious site.