Smart Travel: Greek cruise offers exciting history lessons

I have just returned from a "favorite vacation so far" a Mediterranean cruise on a sailing ship!

We flew into Athens early to see the "must sees" at the Acropolis; the Parthenon and museums, and shop in the Plaka before boarding our Windstar sailing ship with only 140 other passengers. It was magical sailing from the port in Pireaus with sails unfurled and "Olympic gold" music playing on deck. Ship life is low-key and informal, with excellent food and service, and a definite emphasis on relaxation.

Our first stop beyond Athens was Mykonos a favorite cosmopolitan holiday resort. The island has hundreds of glowing whitewashed houses.

Just a short ferry ride from Mykonos was the very interesting island of Delos. This tiny island where the ancient Greek deities Apollo and Artemis were born was considered by the Greeks to be the holiest of sanctuaries. The entire island is off-limits to all but day visitors, and is now an archaeological museum that is one of the best sites in Greece. The first settlements on the island are dated to the third millennium B.C.

Next stop was Santorini a spectacular site from the water. Santorini was formed by a huge volcanic eruption that blew the island in half around 1500 B.C. As a result, ships tie up in what must have been the center of the island. The town of Fira is perched upon the cliffs 1,000 feet above sea level and can only be reached by donkey, cable car or by foot.

After Santorini came Rhodes a large island just 10 miles from the coast of Turkey. The old town of Rhodes is surrounded by a 15th century medieval fortress wall 2.5 miles long.

Lindos was the second most important center of the island, and is the only one that has been continuously populated since ancient times. At the Acropolis in Lindos, you will see the remains of the Temple of Athens. According to legend it was built as early as 1510 B.C. Some of the famous people who visited Lindos were St. Paul, Alexander the Great, Helen of Troy and Hercules.

Bodrum, Turkey, or ancient Malicaroassas, is where the Mediterranean and Aegean Sea meet. It is the beginning of the Turkish Riviera. The town has been the center for boat building since the days of Mark Antony and Cleopatra. It has quite a history including the now destroyed Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, which was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It is also home to one of the most charming resorts on the Aegean coast.

Kusadasi, Turkey, is the port from which you can travel to Ephesus. Ephesus is one of the best-preserved ancient cities of the world. Some historians believe that the Amazons founded Ephesus. During the Golden Age (second century A.D.), the city had a population of more than 250,000 people.

(Linda Strait is president of House of Travel Inc., a full-service travel agency in Springfield.)