Katerina Manousou-Ntella studied Architecture at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Greece. She has a master’s degree in Geography and Spatial Planning from the Institute of Geography, Sorbonne University, Paris and a Doctorate from NTUA, Laboratory in History of Architecture, on “The Town of Rhodes during the Medieval Ages. The early development of the fortifications from late antiquity to the fortified knight’s town (7th c.-1480)”. Dr. Manousou-Ntella has written and co-edited 6 books and up to 65 scientific articles in Greek, English and French. Since 1985 she has worked at the Ministry of Culture on Rhodes, as an architect of historical monuments in charge of restoration projects for the restoration of medieval monuments, the monumental ensemble of the fortifications and the archeological site of the moat. She was deputy chairman of the “Restoration of the monuments of the medieval town of Rhodes scientific committee”. Since 2022 she was heading the department of restoration projects and works of monuments, museums and cultural buildings of the “Service of Monuments and Technical Works of Dodecanese”. Since her retirement in 2024 she is the honorary supervisor of the same service - Ministry of Culture.

“The fortified island city of Rhodes stood as a strategic crossroads in the eastern Aegean, serving as a vital conduit for the exchange of ideas, people, and goods across the Mediterranean. At the heart of its identity was a vibrant, multicultural society, where Greek Orthodox Christians, Latin Catholics, Jews, and Muslims lived side by side—coexisting with remarkable resilience despite religious differences. As a port city, Rhodes flourished into a major commercial and transit hub. Its lively marketplace—later transformed into an Ottoman bazaar—became the economic pulse of the city. From the 16th to the 18th centuries, this bustling center was concentrated in the eastern sector of the medieval city, near the heart of the commercial harbor. A pivotal moment in the city’s urban development came in 1793 with the establishment of the Hafız Ahmed Agha Library. Positioned west of the bazaar in what had been open land, the library marked the beginning of a westward expansion of civic life. Soon after, a grand mosque was constructed, which by the mid-19th century replaced the imperial Mosque of Suleiman. Educational buildings followed, gradually reshaping the area from a religious center into a lively hub of learning and culture. The addition of the Clock Tower, built atop the corner Byzantine Guard Tower, introduced the symbolic presence of time into the cityscape. This striking landmark became a visual and cultural anchor, reinforcing the growing significance of the complex within the urban fabric of Rhodes. This volume, Conversation in the Library, sheds new light on this transformative era—an enduring chapter in the layered and dynamic history of Rhodes.”

Katerina Manousou-Ntella