Almost everyday, we would pass Astero Old Things, a little shop with all kinds of trinkets and antiques, on our way from our hotel. On our last day we stopped in and met the owner, Mihalis Hatzis and he was kind enough to show us around his shop and a few of his treasures. Every winter, Mihalis travels around Rhodes island and collects all kinds of goods from the townsfolk. He then spends some time polishing the bronze, copper, gold or whatever else it may be and puts it up for sale. Many of the things he sells have been in Greek family homes for several generations. We found out he's been doing this for 37 years. Every piece he picked up had a story and we had a great time browsing and letting him show us around. He also took us into his workshop next door, where he had even more trinkets, hanging from the ceiling, on every bench and all over the floor. In the workshop, the stuff was grimy and dark because it hadn't been cleaned yet. The light came from a couple of bare light bulbs hanging from the ceiling and the place looked like a dungeon. We watched Mihalis buff and shine a bronze ring for Julia with his machinery.
It was hard not to buy anything from Mihalis, there were so many great things that would have looked very nice in our home but the fact that we have to lug it around for another 4-5 months made us think again. If you're ever in Rhodes, in the Old Town, we highly recommend you stop by and take a look. If you have a chance to meet Mihalis, you'll be in for a treat. He will show you his workshop and tell you a little more about some of his treasure.
His shop is right off of Sokratous in the Old Town. The address is Ayiou Fanouriou 4.
-Yuriy
The store:
The workshop:
