On Santorini, the village folk tell stories of ghosts. Old men sipping ouzo in the tavernas say they’ve heard the music of Pan’s pipes and the clicking of little hooves in the branches of the plane trees. There is a feeling that something mysterious lingered behind after the great explosion that destroyed Santorini during the …
Most people who visit Greece have made a pilgrimage to Delphi, the most important oracle of the ancient world on Mt. Parnassos. However, not many people know about Dodoni, the country’s second most important oracle, tucked away in the mountains of Epirus, in north-east Greece. I’ve visited Dodoni on several occasions. The best way to reach …
The great city of Athens, Greece is made up of numerous small villages that have melded together over the years. Plaka is the most ancient, original part of the city where most of the archaeological sites are located. Just up on the hill above Plaka, under the flank of the Acropolis (“the high city”) there …
In 2014 Swansea, Wales is celebrating the centenary of the birth of one of the English languages most distinctive voices. The year-long celebration will honour the works and legacy of Dylan Thomas. My father was Welsh, and I have traveled frequently to Wales. I’ve been a fan of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas for years, …
Along the rail track near Monastiraki train station in Athens, a team of young archaeology students are digging for treasures. I was told they had discovered a ‘painted stoa’, a popular meeting place during the time of Plato and Socrates. I stand by the fence and watch in fascination as they dust, scrape, and carefully …
On a recent visit to London, I only had a morning to spend sight-seeing so I chose a visit to Kensington Palace. I had no idea when I went there how much I would learn about the romance, tragedy and scandals of the royalty who had occupied the palace over the centuries. Kensington Palace has been …
I’m sitting in a beautiful garden surrounded by classical sculptures and exotic foliage. Brazilian jazz is playing as I sip my glass of sangria. Who could imagine I am in the middle of downtown Athens or that this garden is at the former home of the explorer Heinrich Schliemann. This “Garden of the Muses” is …
One fascinating era of Greek history is the Medieval period during the occupation by the Venetians. One of the Venetian strong-holds in Greece was on the Cycladic island of Naxos. The Venetian Duchy of the Aegean ruled here from 1204-1537. At that time the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas were beset by pirates who invaded the coastal …
The Jewish Ghetto in Venice Even as far back in the 1300’s the Jews of Europe were being persecuted. Jews began settling in Venice in the 16th century. They were mainly moneylenders, physicians, artisans and traders. Though the republic valued their services, to placate the Catholic Church they were confined to live on this walled …
The Bay of Laganas on the south west coast of Zakynthos is considered to be the largest nesting ground in the Mediterranean for the Caretta Caretta loggerhead sea turtles . They are commonly called “loggerheads” due to their large heads with a horny beak. They are the largest hard-shelled turtles in the world and the …