Greek Isles of the Dodecanese

DAY 1. Fly from the USA to Istanbul overnight.

DAY 2. Arrive Istanbul and connect with flight to Izmir. Mid-day pick-up in Izmir and continue on to Ephesus. Afternoon visit to the nearby site of Ephesus, with its expansive theatre, commercial and State agora, Celsus library, bath houses, temples and colonnaded streets. Drive the short distance to Kusadasi and embark our yacht ORFEUS. Overnight ON BOARD.

DAY 3.

After the completion of Turkish customs and immigration formalities, leave Turkey for the Greek island of Samos arriving in the harbour of Pithagorion. After completing Greek immigration, afternoon at leisure in Samos. Dinner and overnight ON BOARD in Samos.

DAY 4.

Morning sail west to Patmos, a beautiful island and most northerly of the Dodecanese. Afternoon visit to the Monastery of the Revalation, where St John the Divine wrote "Revelations". See the Chapel of the Theotokos and the Refectory which houses a fine Byzantine library, including Codex Porphyrios. Return to the harbour for dinner and overnight ON BOARD in Patmos.

DAY 5.

Cruise south past the islands of Leros and Lipsi to the island of Kalymnos. Moor on the eastern corner of the island in the beautiful deep-set inlet of Vathi. Time to expore the monasteries above the village. Overnight in Kalymnos.

DAY 6.

Morning cruise to Kos. Afternoon visit to the Aesclepion, a religious and medical centre dating to the 4th century BC, which was one of the most famous centres of healing in the ancient world and where the physician Hippocrates, of Hippocratic Oath, practised. In the town of Kos are the remains of the classical city. Dinner and overnight ON BOARD in Kos.

DAY 7.

Leaving Kos, sail south to the volcanic island of Nisyros and moor in the harbour at Mandraki. A huge cone last erupted in 1873 and today tiny Greek villages cling to its rim. The island is very fertile and the delightful village of Mandraki nestles at its western foot. The village of Nikia is set dramatically on the rim of the volcanic crater, while nearby is the monastery of Agios Ioannis From Nikia a path descends to the crater floor, where there is still volcanic activity. Subterranean rumbling noises, according to legend, are the groans of the giant Polyvotis, who was crushed when Poseidon threw at him a huge lump of rock wrenched from the island of Kos. After a visit to the crater return to Mandraki, a is a lovely harbour with fine whitewashed houses and brightly colored wooden balconies. The narrow streets are overlooked by two castles: the highest, Palaiokastro, is a magnificent 6th-century BC Doric bastion with thick Cyclopean walls. Below it, the Castle of the Knights contains the monastery of Panagia Spiliani, with its much--venerated icon of the Virgin.

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