The Greek island of Rhodes certainly has plenty of history to call upon when it comes to creating festival events and a recent Medieval Festival that started in 2005 is repeated this year at the end of June.

The Medieval Rose will see the old town of Rhodes welcoming Knights, wizards, musicians and ladies in period costume. It celebrates the period of 1300 to 1500 AD when Rhodes and other islands nearby were under the rule of the Knights of St John. There were 500 Knights from seven different nations and in order to boost the population on the island people were invited to come and live there from other parts of Europe. The order ruled the island for just over 200 years until it fell to a second attack by the forces of the Ottoman Empire than had tried, but previously failed, to take the island 100 years earlier.

The festival this year takes place between June 19th and 28th and the organisers are welcoming anyone to participate. The only condition is that period costume should be worn. This may seem difficult but the organisers are providing a selection of costume patterns on their website to help. Events during the festival will include a performance of the play "Chase of the Dragon" followed by an opening ceremony in Rhodes on June 19th , a reproduction town fair with street performances and traditional bazaars on June 20-21 and closing ceremony spectacle at Kristinia Castle on June 28th.