12 Fortified Port Cities Where History Meets the Ocean Waves

6. Rhodes, Greece: Citadel of the Hospitallers

The Old Town of Rhodes, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is one of the best-preserved medieval fortified cities in the world. For over 200 years, it was the headquarters of the Knights Hospitaller, who transformed it into an imposing fortress with massive walls, a deep moat, and the famed Street of the Knights leading to the Palace of the Grand Master. Its strategic position in the Aegean made it a crucial Christian stronghold against Ottoman expansion, its stones saturated with tales of epic sieges and chivalry.