"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity," Einstein is said to have once remarked—though he wasn't really sure about the universe. Whether this statement is true or not—or perhaps just a clever invention, as sung by the band Erdmöbel—you can actually see evidence of it just about everywhere on vacation. I found the ultimate confirmation of human stupidity on Rhodes, but the story doesn’t actually start out that stupid.
There is, in fact, an old plane tree in front of the Agios Nektarios Monastery. It is so old that experts are at odds over its age based on tree rings. A sign on the tree itself states that this magnificent tree is 1,500 years old. In the generally quite reliable Müller travel guide to Rhodes, author Hans-Peter Siebenhaar adds another thousand to this figure and claims to know that the Apostle Paul himself once stayed “here.” Informants also disagree on the trunk circumference of this Oriental plane tree (Platanus orientalis), with the owner of the Krioneri tavern across the street listing the “circumference at the base” as 12 meters on the signboard, while user Christoph on Monumental Trees lists the “trunk circumference at a height of 1.30 m as more than 5.50 m.” I did not measure it myself, neither at the base nor higher up.
