Rhodes: The Mediterranean's Scepter'd Isle

Join us for 5 days on the island famed in Antiquity (by no less an authority than Cicero) for having the sunniest climate of the whole Aegean area. We explore the dense history of the magical, traffic-less streets of Mediaeval Rhodes, created by the Knights of St John and dotted with painted chapels and Ottoman mosques; visit the majestic acropolis of Lindos, whose impressive ancient remains rise above the unique architecture of the streets below and dominate two perfect natural harbours with their memories of Saint Paul and of Cleobolus, the sage of Archaic Greece; and walk among the extensive streets and houses of Ancient Kameiros by the sea.  We visit little known gems, hidden in the forested hills and villages of the island’s interior; and take a ferry ride to the loveliest Neoclassical harbour of the Mediterranean on the neighbouring island of Symi, whose turquoise waters provided and processed the world’s supply of sponges in the 19th and early 20th centuries.  We make a private visit, by special arrangement, to a rare and tranquil garden within the walls of Rhodes; look at some unusual Art Nouveau architecture; and visit the island’s remarkably rich Archaeological Museum, set within the Knights’ historic 15th century Infirmary.  And for sustenance along the way… the freshest seafood and salads that only the Islands of the Dodecanese can offer.