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The morning after my trip to the Church of St. Stephanos the breakfast hall of my hotel in Tabriz is occupied by two tour groups from Germany, each with maybe fifteen people. These are not adventure tourism types. All appear to be in their seventies or older, retirees checking Iran off their  list while they are still able to ambulate without walkers or motorized carts. They dutifully line up for cold cereal and bowls of prunes. All the women are wearing head scarves. I tuck into comb honey, clotted cream, dates, and flat bread while reviewing the day’s itinerary. Today will be devoted to Tabriz itself. As mentioned, Tabriz was the Il-Khanate capital from 1265 to around 1305, when Ölziit Khan moved the government to  Sultaniyya . Even after the capital was transferred to Sulṭaniyya Tabriz remained probably the most prominent city in the Il-Khanate. Unfortunately, there are few if any physical remains of the Il-Khanate period left in Tabriz. Devastating earthquakes that periodically l

Like most of the Greek islands Rhodes has numerous layers of history dating back several thousand years. The oldest visible layer dates to the pre-Christian Hellenistic period. Ruins of Temple of Aphrodite , Goddess of Love, dating to probably third century B.C. (click on images for enlargements) Starting around the fifth century the island became part of the Eastern Roman, or Byzantine, Empire. Islamic Arabs and Turks seized the island at various times, but the Byzantines were able to regain control and remained the dominant force on the island until the beginning of the fourteenth century, when the Knights Hospitaller took over.   Byzantine ruins  Ruins of the Byzantine Church of the Archangel Michael Byzantine Church of Ag. Paraskevi Byzantine Church of Ag. Spyridon Detail of Byzantine Church of Ag. Spyridon  The Knights Hospitaller Period of Rhodes history began in 1308 and lasted to 1522.    Knights Hospitaller Era Church of the Holy Trinity. As you probably know, the Christi

The wall build around the Old Town of Rhodes by the Knights Hospitaller is about 1.8 miles in circumference. There are eleven gates in the wall.  Old Town Wall (click on image for enlargements) One of the Gates in the Wall One of the Gates in the Wall One of the Gates in the Wall One of the Gates in the Wall Detail of the Gate One of the Gates in the Wall Detail of the Gate One of the Gates in the Wall One of the Gates in the Wall Detail of the Gate Wall on the seaward side Fortification built into the wall Fortification built into the wall Fortification built into the wall The outer wall to right, in from of the higher outer wall A section of the outer wall Inner wall on right The outer wall to right, in front of the higher outer wall One of the bastions in the wall Stone cannonballs left from over various sieges of Rhodes by the Ottoman Turks. The city was finally seized by the Ottomans in 1522.  Turkish cannonballs