(B, L, D denotes breakfast, lunch, dinner)

Friday, June 13        
Depart United States
Group flight departs Minneapolis.

Saturday, June 14    
Athens  (D)
We are met by our guide, Stella, and our driver, who will accompany us in a private coach throughout the program. Transfer to the hotel. Welcome dinner in a local taverna.

Sunday, June 15      
Athens — Limnos (B, D)
Guided tour of the Acropolis, also known as the “Sacred Rock,” and the site of  the Parthenon, the Erechtheion  and the Temple of Athena Nike. The monuments on the Acropolis reflect the successive phases of the city’s history, going back to the Neolithic period. Time permitting, we also visit the Agora, the heart of ancient Athens, the focus of political, commercial, administrative and social activity, the religious and cultural center, and the seat of justice.

Afternoon free with an optional visit to the National Archeological Museum. Transfer to the airport for a late evening flight to Limnos. Transfer to our hotel in Myrina, the capital of the island. Group dinner at the hotel or a local taverna.

Monday, June 16      
Limnos (B, D)
Excursion to Nea Koutali to visit the sponge divers museum. Fishing and sponge diving were the mainstays of island commerce. Continue to Kaveiros, an ancient oracle sanctuary, and the village of Kotsinas for a lunch stop. Return to the hotel for afternoon free. Group dinner at the hotel or a local taverna.

Tuesday, June 17     
Limnos (B, D)
Excursion to Poliochni, settled during the third millennium B.C.,; Fanaraki on the coast; and Moudros for a lunch stop and visit to the World War I memorial. Moudros was an embarkation point for troops, and the site of the signing of the armistice between the allies and Turkey. Group dinner at the hotel or a local taverna.

Wednesday, June 18           
Limnos (B, L or D)
Visit the town of Myrina, sitting on a bay, a Venetian castle on the hill. Guided tour of the archaeological museum, displaying numerous excavated hidden treasures from the city’s past. Afternoon free. Lunch or dinner included.

Thursday, June 19    
Limnos — Lesvos (B, D)
Transfer to port for the six-hour boat ride to Lesvos. Departure time is variable depending on the day and on schedules not yet published. On arrival in Lesvos, transfer to the hotel. Group dinner on board, at the hotel or in a local taverna.

Friday, June 20        
Lesvos (B, D)
Lesvos is home to traditional villages, countless varieties of birds and wildflowers, pine forests, medieval castles, scenic harbors dotted with cafés, and stellar museums. We start with a guided city tour by coach with visits to the archaeological museum, housing beautiful mosaics which serve as stunning examples of the fashionof the time; the Theofilos museum, a tribute to perhaps Greece’sbest-loved painter; and Agiassos, a stunning village on the pine- and olive-covered slopes of Mount Olympos, known for its pottery and wood carving. Afternoon free. Group dinner at the hotel or a local taverna.

Saturday, June 21    
Lesvos (B, D)
Excursion to the village of Molyvos on a small mountain topped by an impressive medieval castle. The current castle replaced the original conquered by Achilles himself. Ancient ruins are sprinkled throughout the village.

After lunch on your own, we continue to Sigri to visit the Petrified Forest and the museum. Volcanic activity covered the  remnants of a sub-tropical forest that existed on the northwest part of the island around 15-20 million years ago, fossilizing the plants. Afternoon free. Group dinner at the hotel or a local taverna.

Sunday, June 22      
Lesvos — Assos (B, D)
Transfer to the port for ferry (about 1-½ hours) to Ayavalik, Turkey and from there to Troy for a guided tour. Troy is perhaps the best-known site of ancient times, but never fails to impress. Also known as Ilium or New Ilium, the city thrived about 4,000 years ago. Archeological excavations have revealed nine separate periods of settlement at this site, including ruins of city walls, house foundations, a temple and a theater. Troy was once a sacred city attracting pilgrims by the fame of its wars, its woes and its ancient sanctity.

Transfer to Assos, an ancient Greek town on the coast. Group dinner at the hotel or a local taverna.

Monday, June 23      
Assos — Chios (B, D)
Guided tour of Pergamum, an important city in New Testament times. In the centuries before Christ, Pergamum was the capital of an independent kingdom. Its impressive temples, library, and medical facilities made Pergamum a renowned cultural and political center.

We continue to the town of Cesme for the ferry to Chios. Transfer to the hotel. Group dinner at the hotel or a local taverna.

Tuesday, June 24     
Chios (B, D)
Visit the archaeological museum; Daskalopetra (“Homer’s stone”), where, according to tradition, the famous author of Iliad and Odyssey used to teach his students; and the Nea Moni Monastery, where we see the golden mosaics, currently under restoration. Group dinner at the hotel or a local taverna.

Wednesday, June 25           
Chios (B, L or D)
Excursion to the villages Pyrgi and Mesta. Nearly all of Pyrgi looks as it did when it was constructed. The town is strikingly unique because the façade of nearly every house exhibits xysta, a technique of hand-engraving geometric motifs in black and white on plaster. Mesta is a perfectly preserved village dating from the 14th and 15th centuries. Lunch or dinner included.

Thursday, June 26    
Chios — Samos (B, D)
Transfer to the port for one-hour boat ride to Cesme, where we are joined by a Turkish bus driver and guide to visit Ephesus, one of the best-preserved ancient cities on the Mediterranean and a significant site in the birth and evolution of Christianity. Transfer to Samos. Group dinner at the hotel or a local taverna.

Friday, June 27        
Samos (B, D)
Tour of the island with a visit to the archaeological museum, the site of the Heraion, Eupalinos Tunnel and St. Spylinani Monastery. Group dinner at the hotel or a local taverna.

Saturday, June 28    
Samos — Athens (B, D)
Transfer to the airport for a one hour flight to Athens. Transfer to the hotel. Farewell dinner at the hotel or a local taverna.

Sunday, June 29      
Return to the United States (B)
Transfer to the airport for flights home.

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