Page:Travels & discoveries in the Levant (1865) Vol. 1.djvu/243

Rh is beautifully situated on the base and side of a rock, on the summit of which the ancient Acropolis stood, and which is now crowned by a mediæval castle, built by the Knights. This rock is joart of a headland jutting out towards Egypt, and makes a very conspicuous sea-mark on the southern coast. From the centre of the castle walls rises a tall palm-tree, the feathery lightness of which forms a striking contrast to the stern and massive battlements from which it springs. In the castle are some apartments ornamented with the remains of landscapes painted in fresco, and inscribed with Gothic legends; the fleur-de-lys of France is sculptured over one of the chimney-pieces. On the walls of one of the rooms are the arms of the Order, and of the Grand Master D'Amboise.

Lindos is full of specimens of the architecture of the Knights. The streets are most picturesque, with. arched passages thrown across them. The houses, though more than three centuries old, are fresh as if built yesterday; and it is curious that in this obscure corner of the Turkish empire we have as well pre- served specimens of the military architecture of Europe in the 15th century as perhaps anywhere in Europe itself. The Turks have here, as at Rhodes, done little injury to the buildings left by the Knights. The principal church is Byzantine, with a cupola. At the west end is a bell-tower added by the Knights of St. John, with the arms of one of their Order sculptured on the wall; the walls and vaulted roof inside are covered with frescoes representing Christian legends. On the