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COINTEST! (my First)


Highland Horde

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Ok....here is my strange experiense....

 

One night I had seen a strange dream! I was in a place that a church was! I could see that there were some stairs and a metal pipe that was used to hold and go up! It was not high but...

 

I entered the church and I had seen a beautiful fresco of a saint on the wall! it was dark and I had to light a candle... something like that!

It's been many years so...I do not remember all the details, but I remmber that my dream was so detailed!!!!

 

I amso remember the name of the saint who was actually a profet!

Profet Amos!

 

To tell you the truth... I have never heard of him! I didn't know any church with that name.... so I was confused!

 

when I woke up, I told my mother about it! she was surprised! She knew about the Profet but she didn't know if there was a church here with that name! So... I went to my father who was born in Rhodes!

 

He was surprised too and he told me that there was a small and old church in Faliraki, here in Rhodes! I asked him to take me there to see the church, and he agreed!

 

When I went there the sock was huge and the surprises were coming one ofter the other....

 

the stairs were the same with my dream.... the metal pipe too.... when we went close to the church, my father saw an old friend of his! He was from the village there! He started talking to him and I was examing the church! The door was not the one I had seen in my dream! The man saw that something was wrong and asked us about it! I told him my dream and he was socked! HE told me that the door that was open now was not the one that was open in the old times! He showed me the other door and that was the one I had seen!!!! I entered and the guy showed me the icon of the Profet!

Now, I haven't seen any icons... (the icon was not so old) but I told him that I had seen a fresco on the wall with the profet (huge fresco with all the body of the profet), and in my dream I had to light a candle to see it! The man's eyes were brighten!!! He went to a covered with a cloth and laces wall and under these I saw the fresco I had seen in my dream!!! that was it!!!!

 

The man told me that it had been so many years since t was covered and none was looking at it... He also told me that he came to me to free the fresco, and I had pure soul.... I do not know.....

 

why all these happen to me??? I dodn't even know his existance... so??

 

The next time I went the villagers had uncovered the fresco and now anyone can see it! :P

 

I do not know what was all that.. Really!!

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Ok.... do you want a small story from Leros.... for treasure now?? :P

 

There was a shepherd there and my uncle (and Godfather) knew him! The man is dead now!

 

He was a very good man but very poor! One day while he was walking near a very old church, he heard a strange sound behind him!!! it was like millions of gold coins were falling..... he turned to see what it was and he got "blind" from the light of the gold!!! He managed to grab some with hands.... 3-4 gold byzantine cup coins and then everything dissapeared!!! He was feeling dizzy but when he was ok again he saw that he was holding the coin and they were real!!! My uncle saw these coins!!! It was strange that he grabed as many coins as his children were! So now each of his children got one!! He passed many times from there again but nothing!! Many tried to find one there... nothing again!!! Strange???

 

 

I know many ghost stories too but.... ;)

Edited by GATOULIS
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Ok... here is a story about the 2 sieges Rhodes had during the medieval times! the story is extremelly long so I will only say a few lines!

 

In 1480, The Ottomans tried to take Rhodes from the knights but they didn't make it! they were bombing and bombing the city walls, in some parts the walls had turned into just pieces of rock but the knights were keep defending the city! ottomans tried to make tunnels under the walls and then explode them so the walls would fell but the knights understtod them and they were killing them!

 

Ottomans realised that they had to control the port! If they could do that, the knights couldn't receive any food etc from other ships, and sooner or later... the city would fall!

 

the main tower was the St. Nikolas one who was defending both ports, Mandraki and the comercial port! Later, in was turned into a fortress and in the ottoman times it had a light house! This lighthouse is still in use!

 

DSCN8667.jpg

 

the tower is not connected to the city!!! on the road to go there, you will see 3 (there were more but...) windmills from the medieval times! when it was peace, they were normal windmills, but during a war, the knights were making gunpowder there!

 

IMG_0109.jpg

 

anyway.... the tower was very very strong! Ottomans couldn't take it and hundrents were dead around it!

 

since they couldn't even come very close and the tower was very close to the sea, the had an idea! They created a wooden flooting bridge and connected the land on the other side (where now is the swimming pool and the Elli beach), and the land the tower was! there was a battle that lasted the whole night! For a moment the knights were losing but the grandmaster went there to help too! The gand master knew that if this tower was lost, the city would fell!

They kept their posts and finally managed to break the bridge and won the battle! there were not many knights but manage to hold some thousands of the enemies!!

The next morning the sea was red! Emeny bodies were flooting and they were so many that it is said that you could walk on the sea and go to the other side!!! even after a month of the battle, dead bodies were coming out from the sea water!

 

the siege of 1480 was not succsessfull and the Sultan didn't manage to take the island! Do you know who this sultan was??? Mohamed the second.. the sultan who took Konstantinople in 1453!!!!

 

The sultan from the time he had to leave from Rhodes without a victory, was sad and when he was hearing the grand master's name (Pierre D'Aubusson) he was desperate and overwhelming!

Guillaume Caoursin, who lived at that time in rhodes gave us a strange way of the Sultan's death! while he was passing from a forest in Bythinia, a young man who was dressed in white and somehow... his face was superhuman, came out of the forest, stood in front of him and with an ugry voice and while he was holding a sword of fire, he said to the Sultan... Disrespectfull among the humans I will hunt you with this sword!

 

The sultan fell from his horse and he was tremling like a thunder hit him! at the same time he felt a huge pain in his chest and started screaming and died saying bad words for Jesus and Rhodes!!! Of course we do not know if this was just an illusion but he wanted to destroy Rhodes and the knights so much!! He died the day we celebrate the found of the holy cross, and while he was dying he mentioned the name of Rhodes many times! It is also said that between his pains, he ordered to write in latin on his gravestone: My porpuse was to take Rhodes and Italy!! I think he was 53 years old when he died! I do not know if that inscription was added in the gravestone!

 

After the war, the walls were rebuilt by the rhodians! Money were coming from europe and mostly from the Pope!

Of course... the years of peace were not many! In 1522, Ottomans came again! they made a new siege and this time they had about 200,000 soldiers.... and the knights had about 6000 to 7500 to defend the city, and from them.... the knights were only 290!!!

Ottomans were in larger number from 1480 (they were 100,000 at that time), and they followed a different tactic!

 

Once again they were fighting without susccess for about 6 months! In one battle ottomans had lost 20,000 men! that made the Sultan Suleyman the great to think to leave but a trador told him that things were not good in the city so he stayed! the knights caught the servant of the trador sending messages with an arrow to the Ottamans! the punishment was death! they cut him in pieces and put the pieces in the tower that nowdays is called the clock tower, so both Rhodians and ottomans to see them!

 

I forgot to mention that in the trial the knights learned that the tradors had agreed to pen a gate so Turks will come in the city! Both were executed! The trador's name was D'Amaral!

 

The war was not good at all! Both knights and ottomans were fighting like animals and they were using tactics that were not human! what I mean.... Ottomans used to throw dead bodies in the moat so it will be easier to pass, and later they were trwoing pieaces of human bodies or animals in the city so deceases can start, to poison the water etc! they were throwing messages for the people that they will not harm them they will respect them, they will give them food.... and the food was less and less because of the siege... If they were helping the knights... they would be slautered all! See now what I mean?? :(

 

things were not good for the knights so at the end of December the grand master and the Sultan started the nagotiations!

 

They agreed that the knights could stay to make Christmas in Rhodes and in 12 days to leave! None would harm them, they could take with them anything they could carry, the ottomans would not harm the rhodians the churches would not be damaged, Rhodians could keep their religion etc...

With the knights, 5000 rhodians left too!

 

According to a report of the battle that was writen a month before the surrender, Turks had lost about 50,000 men and the knights about 2000!

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there is a small story about a woman of rhodes and the 1522 siege! Her name was Anastasia! She was married to a european knight but he was not in the high ranked ones of the order! He fell in the battle so Anastasia took his armory and wear it, killed her 2 children so they will not fell in Turkish hands (it was better to die than to be a prisoner of an ottoman...) and went to fight! She died fighting! There are other women of Rhodes who did tha same! An other name we know is Maria from Archangelos village!

 

Anyway.... there is a poem about Anastasia and it is in a plaque in a wall near the entrance for the grand master's palace! (I am talking about the outer entrance that there is a well too... you will see it... it is like a book on a wall!)

 

Here is a photo to see it and I will translate the greek version for you! Some words are.... well I will give you the general translation to see the meaning...

 

Anastasia1.jpg

 

A Greek woman hugged her 2 beautiful and beloved children,

With the care of a mother kissed them for the last time and made the cross to their forehead, while they were crying the without destiny and future, with a knife the strong woman killed them... and while they were shaking and both their blood and their soul were coming out, and everything else that loved, she throw them in the fire so their bodies will not fell in the hands of the enemy she was saying.. dead or alive..

 

and with these words she wore the red mantle that was already saturated with blood, rushed to fight the enemies! and then the excellent warrior, the hero who her memory really deserves to be mentioned in all centuries, between the thick phalanx of the enemies, like a man fought with bravelly and fell! (died)

 

sorry if I "killed" the poem with my translation!

 

As you can see, the ancient greek drama still lives even in medieval times! anastasia found the strength to kill her own kids so they will not fell in the hands of the enemies, and fought like a man! She fought for her city.....

 

I believe that Anastasia's story had to be here so all can learn about her! many do not even stop to see this monument... many locals do not even know her existanse!!! I am proud to be able to post and tell you this story to honor her...even a little!

 

I salute a great hero, a great woman.... a great Rhodian Greek lady worrior!

Edited by GATOULIS
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Marit!!! My dear Marit!!! :( I am so glad that you like my stories!

I hope to see your stories here too! :D

 

I know many stories! I know many from Leros island and has to do with WWII! amazing battles happent there and notmany know them! Except that... not many know how the locals were feeling and how they were seeing the war!!! My mother is from Leros, but my father remembers more! He was there too!!! If I get the ok, I can post some stories that are unknown!!

 

My grandfather had writen a poem about the battle of Leros! It had 100 distich but I managed to save only the 86 of them!

 

The local museum asked me to give them there and my name and my grandfather's name to be writen, but... it is the only thing I have left from him!! :( I can not give it! I told them if they wanted a copy but...

 

anyway.... if I can get the ok, I can write some stories about it!

 

I am sure you all know about the Colossus of Rhodes, the huge statue that was one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world... (even if many have false info...like the place the statue was...), or about the greatest Olympic winner and athlet in the ancient world, Diagoras from Rhodes!

 

So... how aobut tell stories that they are not so well told? :lol:

But since the stories are from Leros my second home island... I do not know if I am allowed to post them! :lol:

 

Of course in case anyone doesn't know about Colossus or Diagoras, I will be happy to post the stories too! :D

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Oh! :laughing: I won!!! Thank you!!! :huh:

 

I hope everyone enjoyed the posts with the stories! there are many strange stories! Some couldn't be writen... like ghost stories...! Some were from WWII and believe me they were interesting!!! But I didn't know if they were ok to post them here!

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:) Thank you Joe! and thank you firefly too! :huh:

 

Joe... you know... this cointest made me think of something about the online geocacher magazine! How about create a column and post htere stories and the history of the area a cache is? I do not mean generall stories... but for the exact area the cache is!

Some may be in places with archeological interest, or paleontologic interest... maybe it was a place that native americans were using to live or to hunt... (for USA), or a battle took place.... and maybe to give info on what the cachers who are there to find the cache actually see or what not to miss... and stands nearby... :laughing:

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:) Thank you Joe! and thank you firefly too! :D

 

Joe... you know... this cointest made me think of something about the online geocacher magazine! How about create a column and post htere stories and the history of the area a cache is? I do not mean generall stories... but for the exact area the cache is!

Some may be in places with archeological interest, or paleontologic interest... maybe it was a place that native americans were using to live or to hunt... (for USA), or a battle took place.... and maybe to give info on what the cachers who are there to find the cache actually see or what not to miss... and stands nearby... :D

Sounds good to me Nikos, would you like to start it off? :)

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;) Thank you Joe! and thank you firefly too! :huh:

 

Joe... you know... this cointest made me think of something about the online geocacher magazine! How about create a column and post htere stories and the history of the area a cache is? I do not mean generall stories... but for the exact area the cache is!

Some may be in places with archeological interest, or paleontologic interest... maybe it was a place that native americans were using to live or to hunt... (for USA), or a battle took place.... and maybe to give info on what the cachers who are there to find the cache actually see or what not to miss... and stands nearby... :rolleyes:

Sounds good to me Nikos, would you like to start it off? B)

 

Congratulations, Gatoulis,have really enjoyed reading your stories. I hope we can have more. :(

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today I received the beautiful Oak island geocoin! WOW!! IT is very pretty and heavy! IT is thick! Inside the letter I also found an amazing wooden nickel, signature itam of the Highland Horde! WOW!!! Extremelly pretty and well made nickel!!!

 

Thank you so much for the coin, the nickel and the cointest my friend!!! :)

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