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DAY 1
ARRIVAL IN ISTANBUL
Welcome to Istanbul! After
you are transferred to the hotel we make a short
tour around the ancient Hippodrome area to see the
Egyptian Obelix (1540 BC), the Serpent
Column (479 BC), the German Fountain (1895 AD) and the Blue Mosque (1616 AD).
Depending on
your arrival time and energy, we may visit the great
church of Haghia Sophia or
Grand Bazaar. Dinner at a decent restaurant.
We overnight at
Erguvan
Hotel or a similar lodging in
Istanbul’s fascinating Old City.
DAY
2 ISTANBUL / BODRUM
 
In the morning, we check out the hotel and tour the TOPKAPI PALACE,
the
home of the Ottoman sultans and administration center of the
empire for nearly 400 years. We visit the Harem, the Treasure and the other
sections of the Palace. We are then
transferred to the airport to take the early
afternoon flight to Bodrum. We board our gulet and
our captain does the exit formalities. We
overnight in a quiet cove outside the town.
DAY 3 KOS /
PSERIMOS
In the morning we sail
into the Kos harbor
(1 hr 45 mins) and after entry formalities start exploring the
town of Kos . We visit the Asclepieion, one of
the medical centers of the ancient world, the
Agora and the Castle. Island of Kos is believed
to have been the birthplace of Hippocrates. He
is also supposed to have taught medicine on the
island. In the afternoon we sail out of
Kos and anchor at
Pserimos island to spend a quiet night
(Kos to pserimos
: 1 hr 40 mins).
 DAY
4 LIPSI (LEIPSOI)
We take a morning hike on Pserimos and
sail to Lipsi
(3 hrs 45 mins). Lipsi is a small
and beautiful island, also known as the Island of
Churches since there is one church for every 39
people here. Depending on the
weather condition, we either take a short hike
to the cove south of the town or hike as far as
Arefousa, at the north-eastern end of the island.
Overnight in a natural harbor of Lipsi.
DAY
5 PATMOS
A morning
sail brings us to the Skala town of Patmos
island
(2 hrs).
Patmos is known for the
Book of Revelation of St. John who was exiled to
the island where he saw and recorded a vision
from Jesus.
We visit
the cave where John supposedly saw the
Revelation and the Monastery of St. John.
The Monastery crowns Scala and it is one of
the most charming and impressive monuments
of Orthodoxy and the Byzantine civilization.
Inside the Monastery is the old library, one of
the most important and surviving Byzantine
libraries in the world. Dinner is on own. Overnight in the harbor of Skala.
DAY
6 LEROS
We
sail to the Lakki Bay
of Leros
(2 hrs 50 mins) and have breakfast there. Leros
was the island of Artemis in antiquity. We hike
up to the medievel castle and see the
breathtaking view of the island. We get back the boat, swim and have lunch
on board. Dinner is on own. We overnight in the
Lakki Harbor.
DAY
7 NISYROS
We sail the
longest distance
of our trip
to the volcanic
island of
Nisyros
(5hrs ).
In the
geological age Nisyros was a
part of Kos and
became a
seperate island
after volcanic
activities. We
first anchor in
a cove to swim
and have lunch.
We enter the
Mandraki Harbor
in the afternoon
and drive to the
beautiful
village of Nikia.
We
hike down into
the Nisyros
Caldera that
still has active craters:
Stefanos and
Alexandros. Later
we take another
short hike up to
Paleo Castro,
the acropolis of
Mandraki to see
the achaic city
walls. Dinner is
on own. Overnight
in the harbor of
Mandraki.
DAY 8 TILOS
Tilos
claims the ancient poetess
Erinna,
whose poems were ranked with those of Homer. We
sail to Livadhia harbor
(2 hrs 40 mins)
for logistic supply
and then move to Plaka beach,
swim, kayak and have lunch there. In the
afternoon we either hike to Megalo Chorio to visit the
Museum which has fossils of dwarf elephants or
to the
Monastery of Agios Pandelemion, 2 miles from
Plaka. We have dinner on board and
overnight in the bay of Plaka.
 DAY 9 CHALKI
Ancient geographer Strabon calls this island
"Chalchia" because of the copper mines it
possessed.
The name Chalki, is derived from
Χάλκός
(chalkos)
that means copper. In the 19 C
Chalki florished
from sponge diving but it was almost deserted in
the beginning of 1900's when most of the
inhabitants migrated to Florida. We first sail
to Trachia
(2 hrs 30 mins)
to swim and relax in the cristal clear water of
this beach. In the afternoon we enter Emborio, the only settlement
on the island. Emborio is a nice small village
with beautiful houses, sleepy cafes and tavernas
built in 1850's. We hike to Chorio, the old
capital, and Kastro, the castel
overlooking the town. Overnight in the harbor of
Emborio.
DAY 10 RHODES
We leave Chalki early in
the morning and set off for Rhodes, sailing the
second longest
distance of this trip
(4 hrs 15 mins).
In ancient times Rhodes was noted for the
Colossus, one of the Seven Wonders. In 227 BC an
earthquake destroyed the island and Colossus of
Rhodes. The most impressive monuments we see
today were built by the Knights Of Rhodes after 1309. We visit
the Kollakio section of the town: the
Palace of the Grand Masters, the Street of the
Knights and the Archaeological Museum housed in
the Knight's hospital. Lunch on own in the old
town. Later we sail to the quiet Agios Giorgios cove of
the Symi
island (2 hrs 30 mins) to overnight. Dinner on board.
DAY 11
SYMI / DATCA
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This morning we sail to
the Gialos harbor of Symi island. With neo-classical
buildings, Gialos is one of the most beautiful
harbors of Greece with many sponge shops along
the water. We walk up to Chorio, the
upper town to see the small museum and some of
the churches and view
the whole picture of the main settlement of the
island. In the early afternoon we sail to
Datca, Turkey
(1 hr 40 mins)
for entry formalities. We have dinner on board
and overnight in Kargi bay.
 DAY
12 CNIDUS
After breakfast we sail to Cnidus
(2 hrs
40 mins)
situated at the
isolated end of the Datca peninsula.
Cnidus was famous for it’s nude Aphrodite statue
by Praxiteles (360 BC), which later became the model
of Aphrodite for the ancient world. Sostratus of Cnidus designed and constructed the Pharos, the Lighthouse of
Alexandria in 279 BC. The site had a very strategic position in antiquity as
a shelter for ships going northward. Two
beautiful ancient harbors are still
serving the boats today. We tour the site and swim in crystal-clear
water of Cnidus. We later sail to
Adabogazi
Bay
(3 hrs)
and
anchor at the “Aquarium”. Located at the end of
a long headland, hidden coves faced by a
sheltering island create an area of such
pristine waters that the locals named it the
“Aquarium”.
DAY 13 BODRUM
This morning we sail to Bodrum and leave our gulet there. We
visit the famous medieval CASTLE,
which shelters the best ancient nautical museum
today.
The Castle was built in the early 1400's by the
Knights Hospitaller whose headquarter was Rhodes.
Depending on the time, you may also visit the remains of Mausoleum,
one of the seven wonders of the world on your
own. We fly
to Istanbul in the afternoon. Farewell dinner at a
decent restaurant and overnight
at
Erguvan
Hotel or a similar lodging in
the old quarter of Istanbul.
DAY 14
DEPARTURE
RETURN TO TOP
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Hotels only :
90 euro - US $141
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