Rhodes Medieval Clock Tower

The Medieval Clock Tower, known locally as the Roloi, occupies the highest point of the Old Town of Rhodes. While its roots stretch back to a seventh-century Byzantine defensive structure, the tower is a nineteenth-century reconstruction that rose from the rubble of a catastrophic event. In November eighteen fifty-six, a violent lightning strike hit the nearby Church of Saint John, detonating a hidden stockpile of gunpowder stored within its crypt. The resulting explosion leveled the church and severely damaged the existing tower, forcing the Ottoman statesman Fethi Pasha to rebuild it around eighteen fifty-seven.