Trip: The World (Part II)
There are [389] stories from my trip: The World (Part II)
CYPRUS | Friday, 6 Feb 2015 | Views [1334]
TO SAY THAT UNDERSTANDING CYPRUS IS COMPLICATED is the understatement of the year. The island, which has been coveted for thousands of years for its strategic location, has had three main suitors since 1878 — Greece, Turkey and Great Britain.... Read more >
CYPRUS | Friday, 6 Feb 2015 | Photo Gallery
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CYPRUS | Wednesday, 4 Feb 2015 | Views [538]
WE COMPLETELY MISSED ANCIENT KOURION during our stay in Lemeso, concentrating instead on the Byzantine painted churches around Troodos. So we made amends on our way back from Pofos to Nicosia.
Christian Basilica
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CYPRUS | Tuesday, 3 Feb 2015 | Views [511]
WHETHER YOU ARE TRAVELING FOR FIVE YEARS OR TWO WEEKS, it is important to take a break once in a while, a vacation from your vacation as it were. Which is how we found ourselves 40 kilometers north of Pafos, near Polis for a three-day R&... Read more >
CYPRUS | Sunday, 1 Feb 2015 | Views [759]
IT ISN’T VERY LIKELY WE WILL EVER HAVE THE CHANCE to see the Roman mosaics in Syria or Iran. But we have been fortunate to see four of the best Roman mosaics — Madaba in Jordan, Ravenna in Italy, Bardo in Tunisia and today, Pafos.
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CYPRUS | Saturday, 31 Jan 2015 | Views [468]
WE FIRST BECAME INTERESTED IN BYZANTINE FRESCOS in Turkey and Serbia, and Cyprus, we learned, has its share, too, the “painted churches of Troodos.” This World Heritage Site consists of ten difficult to reach villages scattered in ... Read more >
CYPRUS | Thursday, 29 Jan 2015 | Views [541]
THE NEOLITHIC FOLKS WHO BUILT CHOIROKOITIA DIDN’T have an Arthur Evans to dream up a sexy name for their civilization like he did with the Minoans. What they did have was the first human settlement on Cyprus, complete with a hillside village ... Read more >
CYPRUS | Wednesday, 28 Jan 2015 | Views [411]
VISITING A COUNTRY FOR THE FIRST TIME IS ALWAYS an adventure. Especially when you know virtually nothing about the place. We were not certain if Cyprus was a country and not part of Greece. We even had to check at the airport to ... Read more >
CYPRUS | Tuesday, 27 Jan 2015 | Photo Gallery
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GREECE | Monday, 26 Jan 2015 | Views [497]
WE VISITED EIGHT GREEK ISLANDS IN SIX WEEKS from Corfu in the Adriatic to Rhodes on the Turkish coast and each had its own special charm.
Old world Adriatic Corfu
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GREECE | Sunday, 25 Jan 2015 | Views [629]
EASTERN CRETE IS A DIFFERENT WORLD FROM THE WEST, the snow-capped peaks replaced by dry hillsides and deep, rocky gorges reminiscent of New Mexico. Only the vast olive groves and the blue sea are the same. It took us most of the day to ... Read more >
GREECE | Thursday, 22 Jan 2015 | Views [518]
CHANIA, TOO, HAS A VENETIAN PAST. And Roman, Genoese, Turkish, Egyptian and even German, from when Nazi paratroops occupied Chania during WW II. We are using the Christina Hotel Chania as a base to explore the western part of the island ... Read more >
GREECE | Monday, 19 Jan 2015 | Views [572]
THE VENETIANS REALLY GOT AROUND. Take Rethymno, for example, dominated by the 16 th Century Venetian Fortesta. Just a stone’s throw away is the Venetian Harbor and the 13 th Century lighthouse. Even the Sohora Boutique ... Read more >
GREECE | Saturday, 17 Jan 2015 | Views [582]
ROMANS ON CRETE? WELL, DUH, THEY DID REFER TO THE MED as “Our Sea,” after all. Gortyna had its heyday in the 5 th Century BC, long before it was occupied by the Romans, it was as important as Knossos. When the Romans ... Read more >
GREECE | Friday, 16 Jan 2015 | Photo Gallery
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GREECE | Friday, 16 Jan 2015 | Views [671]
ARCHEOLOGY WAS A GENTLEMAN’S GAME in the late 19th Century with few rules. It took money and good contacts to mount an expedition and Arthur Evans had both, plus a bit of lucky timing. Crete had just won independence from Turkey and ... Read more >
GREECE | Thursday, 15 Jan 2015 | Views [562]
A FLIGHT FROM RHODES TO CRETE, VIA ATHENS of course, costs a bit more than the ferry but takes a only a few hours rather than a full day. We are staying at the Kastro Hotel, well-appointed and centrally located in Heraklion or Irákleio, ... Read more >
GREECE | Tuesday, 13 Jan 2015 | Views [564]
SUNDAY WAS THE FIRST DAY WE’VE BEEN WARM since Santorini. It wasn’t quite shirtsleeve weather but our polarfleece vests were enough as we headed off for Old Town Rhodes. The history of Rhodes goes back 2500 years. It was ... Read more >
GREECE | Sunday, 11 Jan 2015 | Views [575]
AFTER ANOTHER NIGHT WITH JACOB IN PATMOS we took the five-hour ferry ride to Rhodes. We are splurging at the Best Western in the New City, four stars but still only $50 a night with a great breakfast spread. The location is perfect. ... Read more >
GREECE | Thursday, 8 Jan 2015 | Views [477]
“IT NEVER GETS THIS COLD ON SAMOS,” everyone kept telling us. But there it was, a few degrees below freezing with blustery winds from the north. Despite the weather we zipped up our parkas, pulled down our hats and set off on ... Read more >
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