Symi Harbor

This is gorgeous Symi Harbor. We stayed here for just one night, enjoying a hike up to the water towers above the city and then a fabulous meal in one of the old tavernas by the docks. The Neoclassical architecture in Symi is very striking. Ruins and boulders and villas jostle for space on the […]

The Isle of Tilos

Today’s post features Tilos, one of the loveliest islands in the Dodecanese. Highlights include beautiful mosaic floors, the bones of an extinct dwarf elephant, and a hidden monastery. With the sea beautifully calm, we kayaked and swam in the bay outside the port town of Livadhia. The kayaking was glorious. I wish I had photos […]

Nisyros and the Volcano

The Island of Nisyros: another post in our series about the South Aegean. Due to high winds and choppy seas, we spent an extra day on Kos. The next morning, our captain Tayfun decided we should leave at 5:30 AM to get to Nisyros ahead of the next expected windstorm. So, we set out before […]

The Island of Kos

The first island we visited on our South Aegean archeological tour was Kos. Only two miles from the Turkish coast, the city of Kos is defined by the giant fortress in the harbor. Built by the Knights of St. John of Rhodes, the fourteenth-century fortress was created in multiple iterations, responding to changes in military […]