Day 1 ~ Depart USA. Overnight flight to Athens.

 

Day 2 ~ Athens
After arrival in Athens you will be transferred to your hotel, close to the Acropolis and Plaka which will give you the opportunity to wander a bit by yourself or to rest. Surrounded by mountains with its seaport to the west, this is an ancient city with a tumultuous history.

Day 3 ~ Athens
In the morning we will visit the National Archaeological Museum, which is perhaps the nation’s finest, home to a fascinating collection of Greek antiquities, and the Benaki Museum In the afternoon we will visit another famous site, the Acropolis and its Museum. This monument, crowned by the Parthenon, is considered the defining aspect of Athens and is visible from virtually everywhere within the city

 

Day 4 ~ Athens
This morning we will board a short  flight to Mikonos, one of the most picturesque islands of Greece, from where we will take a boat to visit the island of Delos, the birth place of Apollo and Artemis.  We will return to Athens same evening.

Day 5~ Nafplio
Today we leave Athens and cross the Corinth Canal which links the Ionian and Aegean Seas. A major engineering feat, work on the canal was originally begun by Nero in 67 AD. After many interruptions, the canal (which cuts through solid rock) was completed in 1893. Arriving in Peloponnese, we will visit the ancient cities of Corinth (St. Paul spent many months here) as well as the famous Theater in Epidaurus. Then we will travel to Nafplio to spend the night.

Day 6 ~ Olympia
Nafplio, the first capital of Greece after its independence, is also one of the country’s prettiest towns. Its strategic seaside location made it a major port which required three fortresses for defense. We will tour the sites here before heading to Olympia, stopping in Mycenae (described lyrically by Homer in the ‘Iliad’ and ‘Odyssey’) with its ruins and museum, before heading for Ancient Olympia. This was the site of the original Olympic Games, and although the magnificent temples and complex that made the games famous have been largely destroyed by earthquakes and war, it remains a romantic historical attraction .

Day 7 ~ Delphi
We leave the Peloponnesian today, traveling via Patras using the newly built bridge and along the beautiful coastline to Delphi. A place of spiritual history, the setting of this city is spectacular. It is the site of the Temple of Apollo from which the ancient Oracle of Delphi was believed to speak for the gods.  The ruins are impressive and extensive.

Day 8 ~ Meteora
This is the most unique site in Greece, with its incredible architecture and the location of its monasteries (remember the James Bond movie “For Your Eyes Only”?)  The rock landscape itself is unusual, creating a retreat for the clusters of monasteries with their chapels, courtyards, and monks’ cells.

Day 9 ~ Crete
We will cross Mt. Olympos this morning en route to Thessaloniki, the capital city of the Macedonia area and the second largest city in Greece, for our flight to Crete. We will stop along the way in Vergina, the ancient capital of the kings of Macedonia. There are fascinating temple tombs here, including the one of Philip II (the father of Alexander the Great), and the famous theater where Philip II, without arms and escorts at his daughter's wedding, was assassinated.

Day 10 ~ Crete
This southern island, the center of the Monoan capital, is Greece’s largest, and many consider it to be the most beautiful. It is mountainous, but surrounded by sandy beaches with a wide variety of plant life; many visitors come just to view the wildflowers. Its island status allowed for an independent traditional culture different from the rest of Greece. The famous ruins at Knossos are best known for the magnificent frescoes which depict a powerful and happy ancient civilization, and the Archaeological Museum with its great collections about Minoan history. If time permits we will visit the ideally located Agios Nikolaos, Elounta and the charming village of Plaka, where we will have a magnificent view over the island of Spinalogka with impressive ruins opposite us.

 

Day 11 ~ Crete
This morning we will take a cruise to Santorini, formed by nature through volcanic eruption in prehistoric time. Plato once called this island "Atlanta", and its volcano is still active today. We will visit the town of Thira with its picturesque architecture and dramatic location in the volcanic hills above the sea, before returning to Crete for the evening. 

 

Day 12 ~ Rhodes
After a leisurely breakfast with free time to do some additional exploring, we will board a late afternoon flight to Rhodes, the largest of the Dodecanese. From the harbor you can view the walls of the medieval CrusaderCastle of the Knights of St. John.  The old port town is the largest inhabited medieval city in Europe. It has impressive fortifications, with eight separate gates in the walls surrounding the town. On arrival we will have a city orientation tour before checking in at our hotel.

Day 13 ~ Rhodes
Rhodes is home to the famous Colossus of Rhodes. This bronze statue of Apollo, almost 100 feet high, was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World but was destroyed by earthquakes.  This is an attractive, fertile island with much fragrant vegetation and wild herbs in abundance. The port city of Rhodes is divided into 2 distinct parts, old and new. The old city is close to the harbour; the newer portion was largely constructed after World War I. The city walls are impressive, starting at the magnificent 4th century Palace of the GrandMasters. Wandering down the Avenue of the Knights, you will see seven different sections into which the medieval knights were divided based on their native “tongues”: England, France, Germany, Italy, Aragon, Provence, and Auvergne. The Archaeological Museum has a famous exhibit of the statue “Aphrodite of Rhodes”.

Day 14 ~ Bodrum
We will take a morning ferry to the Turkish Mediterranean city of Marmaris, and then travel to Bodrum (ancient Halicarnassus). We will stroll the lively harbor on our way to visit the Museum of Underwater Archaeology, which is housed in the impressive Castle of St. Peter. The Museum contains many fascinating artifacts and restored shipwrecks which were retrieved from the dangerous waters along the peninsula. Then we will visit the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, another of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Day 15 ~ Kusadasi
Traveling further north along the coast today, we will stop to explore Euromos, which has a very picturesque Temple of Zeus, followed by three famous ancient cities that were once a part of the Ionian League: Didyma, the religious center; Miletus, the business and cultural center; and Priene, the political center. Then we will continue on to Kusadasi, a favorite location with a splendid harbor and fortress, to spend the night.

Day 16 ~ Kusadasi
Today we will explore the fascinating Hellenistic and Roman city of Ephesus including its beautiful theater, Celsus Library, and intriguing ruins. In the nearby charming town of Selcuk we will tour the Museum of Ephesus where, among many artifacts, we will see a well known statue of Artemis.

Day 17 ~ Canakkale
We will stop in Pergamum, which has an interesting ancient medical center and acropolis and is especially famous for its library, once one of the most extensive in the country. Pergamum is also famous as the originator of parchment, from which we derive our modern writing paper.  Then we will continue on to Troy, the site of Homer’s classic epic “the Iliad” and where nine different layers of civilization have been uncovered and partially excavated. 

Day 18 ~ Istanbul
Today we cross the famous Dardanelles by ferry for Gallipoli, where we will visit some of the memorials to those who died in World War I during the Battle of Gallipoli. Then we will continue our drive through Thrace along the Sea of Marmara to Istanbul, where we will have a city orientation tour on arrival.

Day 19~ Istanbul
This morning we will walk to the Hippodrome, an arena for political, cultural, and sports activities during Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman times. We will visit the Blue Mosque, famous for its Iznik blue tiles; St. Sophia, the largest Christian church in the world for more than 1,000 years; and  the Basilica Cistern or Underground Palace, with its mystical atmosphere and marble columns surrounded by water. Finally we will visit the legendary Topkapi Palace, home to the Ottoman sultans for more than 400 years.

Day 20 ~ Istanbul
Today our motor coach follows the ancient city walls of Istanbul to the Chora Museum, which has the most beautiful mosaics in Turkey. Afterward we will have a ferry cruise on the Bosphorus, where we can view the impressive palaces and villas that line the shore between the continents, followed by a tour of the old and new sections of Istanbul including the Galata region where you will have a beautiful view of the city from the top of the Galata Tower.

Day 21 ~ Depart for the USA.