eastern mediterranean: star-clipper-cruises

On shore, a group of light-hearted Star Clippers’ travellers follow a twisting alleyway to a small taverna where the strums of the bouzouki and a glass of ouzo are the perfect accompaniments to the evening’s catch. Long ago, these Eastern Mediterranean islands and ports were the landing places for an endless tide of invaders from far off lands. From ancient Phoenicia, Persia, the Peloponnesus, Imperial Rome and Constantinople they came. Followed by waves of European Crusader knights, Genoan mariners, Venetian merchants and turbaned Turkish troops of the Ottoman Empire. They stormed ashore to conquer, only to be vanquished by time and absorbed into the dry volcanic earth. All that remains are their stone ruins, ghostly shapes wrapped in myth and mystery. Today the sun-spangled seas bordered by Greece, Turkey, Italy, Croatia and the Dalmatian Coasts are inviting playgrounds for pleasure seekers. Join us as we explore a yachtsman’s paradise on forgotten islands where white-washed sands invite sun worshippers to bask under Helios’ gaze, or fortress-like rocks where ancient monasteries cling like mountain climbers on towering cliffs. Or stand where battling armies fought hand-to-hand in Troy and Gallipoli. Walk through iron doors of medieval Kastros where tales of pagan rites and knightly rituals are told. Inhale the balm of almond and lemon at the place where Hippocrates taught his healing arts. The Dodecanese, the Cyclades, the Sporades, the Dardanelles - islands and places that fairly sing on the tongue. And no one knows these favoured lands and seas as well as Star Clippers.

• GREEK ISLES & TURKEY »
• THE CYCLADES »
• ATHENS AND VENICE - 10 NIGHTS »