RHODES SCHOLAR

摘要

MANY WESTERNERS know little about Rhodes in the Greek isles, save for its Colossus, which once ranked among the seven wonders of the ancient world. (An earthquake toppled the 105-foot-tall statue about 2,240 years ago.) Archaeologist PortokaleniaVratsali is out to change that. "We have beautiful beaches, an amazing medieval city, very diverse nature, a long cultural heritage, great nightlife," she says. "The list is too long to narrow down." f Vratsali leads tours around this island that has been a magnet for the moneyed class of the Mediterranean for millennia. She knows its wonders well. Her father's family is from Rhodes, where she gravitated when following her mother's footsteps into archaeology. Two decades of fieldwork have attuned her to the fine details that bring Rhodes' history and architecture to life, such as the pebbled mosaic paths at the popular Kallithea Springs. She takes special pride in leading guests around the Archaeological Museum of Rhodes. It's inside a 15th-century hospital built by the Crusader Knights of Rhodes in the medieval city, a UNESCO World Heritage site. She wrote many of the display descriptions and cataloged the collection for a digital database. "It was a great experience," she says, "to hold discoveries from the past 50 years of excavations in my hands."