GREECE

The Greek capital of Athens is one of those golden, photogenic cities the world covets, crowned with the Acropolis and its famous marble temples including the Parthenon. Below this high plateau, though, the urban landscape is bustling and hazy, with crowded streets and markets, colleges, and a brand new Olympic campus. The hotel industry here has greatly revitalized itself in the past year, and tourists may now find themselves enjoying longer stays, exploring restaurants and museums, outlying islands, and local archaeological sites with greater ease than ever before.

Mykonos is the resort capital of the Cyclades, a chain of beautiful islands in the Aegean Sea. Home to some truly fine hotels and host to festivals and galas of all kinds, Mykonos is one of the more welcoming places in the Mediterranean. This is one place where you can actually see some sandy beaches in addition to cliffs, and the nightlife is nonstop in the cities.

Santorini, referred to in Greece as Thira, is a stunning volcanic island accessible by ferry or flight from Athens. Whitewashed villas and houses are dramatically stepped up the interior terraces of the dormant caldera of the former volcano, and wonderful restaurants, museums, and art galleries complement the spectacular views around the island's rim very nicely.

Crete is the largest of the Greek Isles, and was home to a civilization of its own long before the rise of Athens. The vestiges of the Minoan civilization have been proudly reclaimed by the modern Cretans, and are used in local arts, crafts, and architecture along the full length of the island. Several top sea resorts are located among the rich vegetation of the isle, and the cities Khania and Iraklion are centers of excellent art, culture and food.

The Peloponnesus peninsula was once home to the city-state of Sparta and its proud warrior culture. Cities founded by the Spartans and the earlier kingdom of Mycenae produced some of the most beautiful art of Greece, and picturesque towns like Patrai, Corinth and Kalamata continue to welcome visitors with warmth and beauty. A stay on this peninsula southwest of Athens means nature and ruins to explore, and very authentic food and culture.

Thessaloniki, beautiful port city of northeastern Greece, has survived the rule of many empires competing for its great situation and resources. Also called Salonika, the town is home to one of Greece's most prestigious universities and several stunning early Christian churches. It is also the hub of mountain roads leading to Olympus itself, and to the clifftop monasteries at Athos and beyond.

TURKEY

Istanbul is a romantic, exotic metropolis combining the best of East and West. Famous for its mosques and churches like the Suleiman and Hagia Sofia, and for the rich artifacts brought to the city by the Byzantine and Ottoman empires, the modern city is also alive with markets, luxury resorts and hotels and nightlife. Views from the Golden Horn, an inlet of the Bosporus straits, are truly moving, and the city can be comfortably navigated by boat or on foot. Citizens of Istanbul are generally very well-educated and friendly to a fault, making this an excellent introduction to the country and a very comfortable place to take in the joy and mystery of the East.

Izmir, known until very recently as Smyrna, is one of Turkey's largest and wealthiest cities. An expansive seaport with a lovely harbor on the central Mediterranean coast, Izmir is quickly accessible from Istanbul via air, and houses museums, waterfront promenades, markets, and some of the more heralded seafood restaurants on the Mediterranean. It is a great base for exploring countryside ruins and farms further inland, as well.

Ephesus figured proudly in the histories of the early Christian and Islamic faiths, but was a thriving center of trade even before its religious prominence, and home to many wealthy Romans at the height of the empire. Some of the best-preserved Roman houses, temples, and public buildings are found in Ephesus and nearby Pergamum, the sites of which have been long abandoned, though newer towns have grown up nearby to farm the fertile land and welcome archaeologists and tourists alike. The ruins are easily accessible from Izmir.

Bodrum has long been known to Turkish and German tourists as a classy refuge, and with new hotels and a revitalization of the port is coming into the international spotlight. Located south of Izmir on the Mediterranean, Bodrum has been called the Mont-Saint Michel of Turkey for its dramatic sea-cliff-top castle and churches, venerable townhouses, and great restaurants and art scenes. More laid back than the businesslike Izmir.

Cappadocia was the late-Roman heart of Turkey, with great hilltowns, cultivated fields, and mines, and a proud local people tracing their ancestry to the Hittite empire, which flourished at the same time as the high Egyptian kingdoms. Today, with most of Turkey's population living near the coasts for fishing and trade, it is most notable for its ruins and the natural beauty of its hills, mountains, authentic town life, and mysterious volcanic formations which house tiny rock-cut churches and even full underground cities. An active explorer's dream, this beautiful region is best accessed from Ankara, Turkey's busy, modern capital city.

 

 

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