t John of the Collachium
The largest, loveliest and most magnificent of the western European architectural type churches was the church of St. John of the Collachium, which stood to the south of the Grand Master’s Palace. Scant remnants are all that can be seen today, since it was totally destroyed in the explosion of 1856. A few dozen meters south of this church, on the wide street of the market – place another church, traditionally said to be that of the Holy Apostles, has recently been revealed.

Churches of Byzantine architectural types

ur Lady of the Castle
The church “Our Lady of the Castle’ (Panayia tou Castrou), which is perhaps also the earliest example, dates back to at least the 11th c. and was the Orthodox Cathedral of Rhodes in Byzantine times, becoming the Latin cathedral under the Franks.

The Fortification and the Moat

In the year 1500 or thereabouts, most section of the fortifications of Rhodes, with their combination of old and new elements, were arranged as follows (from the inside outwards);

• The wall descended vertically or at an angle into the moat. The wall-walk was protected from outside by the parapet with its battlements and loopholes (meurtrieres) for small artillery weapons and bows, and embrasures for cannon.
  
  
• In many places a low parapet or outwork had been constructed in front of the fortification wall. Since it was lower its fire only played a part in the battle within the moat after the elevation of the latter’s retaining wall.