Vacationing in Greece and Italy (and a little of Turkey)

Ever watched that PBS show hosted by Rick Steves, "Europe through the back door"? Always found the shows to be pretty good. He also has a few books out as well. Definately geared more towards "off the beaten path".
 
RussSchultz said:
Kusadasi, Turkey
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Kusadasi ( literally "bird island") is a bit over developed (I didn't really like it) butit is only about 3km away from the ruins of the ancient city of Efes/Ephesus, and that is well worth visiting. I've been to it twice.

Efes had a library that (apparently) was second only to Alexandria's and the facade has been restored. The amphitheatre is also quite good with a vioew of what was the harbour (but it silted up which kind of killed the town). The museum in nearby town of Selcuk (?) has a lot of the sculptures etc from the site, including some amusing, anatomically impossible ones :)
 
Interestingly enough, the ruins of the Library at Alexandria has just been found it appears! If true, this is truly a great discovery, equal to finding King Tut, perhaps more, if they can find any intact materials from the library!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3707641.stm

Archaeologists have found what they believe to be the site of the Library of Alexandria, often described as the world's first major seat of learning.
A Polish-Egyptian team has excavated parts of the Bruchion region of the Mediterranean city and discovered what look like lecture halls or auditoria.

Two thousand years ago, the library housed works by the greatest thinkers and writers of the ancient world.

Works by Plato and Socrates and many others were later destroyed in a fire.

Oldest University

Announcing their discovery at a conference being held at the University of California, Zahi Hawass, president of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, said that the 13 lecture halls uncovered could house as many as 5,000 students in total.

A conspicuous feature of the rooms, he said, was a central elevated podium for the lecturer to stand on.

"It is the first time ever that such a complex of lecture halls has been uncovered on any Greco-Roman site in the whole Mediterranean area," he added.

"It is perhaps the oldest university in the world."

Professor Wileke Wendrich, of the University of California, told BBC News Online that the discovery was incredibly impressive.

Alexandria was a major seat of learning in ancient times and regarded by some as the birthplace of western science.

Birthplace of geometry

It was a tiny fishing village on the Nile delta called Rhakotis when Alexander the Great chose it as the site of the new capital of his empire.

It was made Egypt's capital in 320 BC and soon became the most powerful and influential city in the region.

Its rulers built a massive lighthouse at Pharos, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the famed Library of Alexandria.

It was at the library that Archimedes invented the screw-shaped water pump that is still in use today.

At Alexandria Eratosthenes measured the diameter of the Earth, and Euclid discovered the rules of geometry.

Ptolemy wrote the Almagest at Alexandria. It was the most influential scientific book about the nature of the Universe for 1,500 years.

The library was later destroyed, possibly by Julius Caesar who had it burned as part of his campaign to conquer the city
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Hey! Sorry i missed this whole thread, but i've quickly read through it and i guess you already got you input.

All i can add is that if you have the chance, go see the Amalfi coast. It's one of the most beautiful place i've ever been in my life. And don't forget to buy a liquer called "Limoncello" (sometimes "limoncino") and ESPECIALLY, chocolates with lemon inside. I know it sounds weird, but the way they do it there is something u'll never forget.

The place itself is pure magic. Shame about the people.

Oh, the people, all i can say is, be very careful walking around Naples and surrounding areas (let's say a radius of 200 miles). I for one have never walked the streets of Naples and i don't intend to anytime soon.

(If anyone here is from Naples, i'm sorry, don't mean it in a Lega Nord kind of way)
 
Yeah, most Sorrento restaurants and cafes will serve you a complimentary shot of Limoncello ("Lee-mon-chel-lo") to try and get you to buy a bottle. I didn't particularly think it was that great (I like the chocolates), but my wife liked it.

Of course, in Tuscany and Bologna you definately have to try the prosciutto!
 
HFS they found the library... goddamn... tho it was burned and god only knows if any papyri will be found in its ruins... still there could be clay jars holding some texts in there deep somewhere. Story is that they had in fact probably vacated most of the important manuscripts from it before the invader arrived as precaution and that they eventually found their way into various institutions of learning throughout the middle east where it went a long way to help establish the later then advanced muslim centers of learning.
 
DemoCoder said:
Yeah, most Sorrento restaurants and cafes will serve you a complimentary shot of Limoncello ("Lee-mon-chel-lo") to try and get you to buy a bottle. I didn't particularly think it was that great (I like the chocolates), but my wife liked it.

Of course, in Tuscany and Bologna you definately have to try the prosciutto!
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In Bologna you have to try ANYTHING in any good restaurant and u'll be sorted for life. ;)

Depending on where you go, Limoncello can be very different. Get it in Bologna and it won't be the "real thing". Actually, get it anywhere else than Naples and surrounding areas and u won't get the "real thing".

For pasta and in general good food though, Bologna is the place to go to.
 
DemoCoder said:
Yeah, most Sorrento restaurants and cafes will serve you a complimentary shot of Limoncello ("Lee-mon-chel-lo") to try and get you to buy a bottle. I didn't particularly think it was that great (I like the chocolates), but my wife liked it.

Of course, in Tuscany and Bologna you definately have to try the prosciutto!
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I got drunk going up one street with all the free samples. :LOL:
BTW if you have the chance, do go to Sicily.
 
Russ:

Four places to avoid like the bubonic plague while in Greece are Kavos on Corfu, Faliraki on Rhodes, Malia on Crete, and Ayia Napa on Cyprus - as MuFu pointed out these places are chock full of British "chavsters" and worse. Also avoid the Athens/Piraeus area as much as possible - any city that size should have a much better road/transit system.

As for Turkey I'll say this: if you travel out into the countryside dress conservatively - no shorts for men, only pants or long skirts for women, etc.
 
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