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From the Domes of Venice to the Spires of Istanbul: Exploring Historic Cities & Landmark Sites in the Adriatic & Aegean Seas

Join us this October on a romantic voyage to some of the Mediterranean’s most beautiful and illuminating sites. Setting out from Venice’s Grand Canal, our route will take us to cities on the Adriatic coast, in the Greek Isles, and on the Turkish coast that are poised in the magical spot between history and myth, and which link the medieval Mediterranean with the ancient world.

Explore the Palace of Diocletian, the heart of the Dalmatian coastal city of Split, where shops, cafés, and homes flourish within 4th-century A.D. chambers. Stroll through the impeccably preserved medieval gem of Dubrovnik; discover lovely Kotor, set amid Europe’s southernmost fjord; and investigate the UNESCO World Heritage site of Butrint. Also visit the Palace of Knossos, where Theseus came to slay the Minotaur; ascend to the mountain-wreathed shrine of Delphi; and look out over the multihued cliffs of Santorini, where the Minoans achieved their artistic zenith.

In Ephesus, stand in the Amphitheater where St. Paul spoke, and in Philippi, see where Brutus and Cassius fell. The voyage culminates among the ruins of Troy, where we’ll ask: Is this where Achilles fell, and the “topless towers” were scorched? Disembarking in Istanbul from the all-suite Corinthian II, gaze out upon the palaces and minarets, and consider: These legendary places are ours, for they are part of our history now, too.

Itinerary

Sunday, October 17 2010 • FLY FROM USA

Monday, October 18 • VENICE, Italy | EMBARK

Tuesday, October 19 • SPLIT, Croatia

Wednesday, October 20 • DUBROVNIK, Croatia | KOTOR, Montenegro

Thursday, October 21 • SARANDA | BUTRINT | SARANDA, Albania

Friday, October 22 • ITEA | DELPHI | ITEA, Greece

Saturday, October 23 • HERAKLION | KNOSSOS | HERAKLION, Crete

Sunday, October 24 • SANTORINI

Monday, October 25 • KUSADASI | EPHESUS or APHRODISIAS | KUSADASI, Turkey

Tuesday, October 26 • KAVALA | PHILIPPI | KAVALLA, Greece

Wednesday, October 27 • CANAKKALE | TROY | CANAKKALE, Turkey

Thursday, October 28 • ISTANBUL | DISEMBARK | FLY TO USA

View Detailed Itinerary

Special guest lecturers will be accompanying this voyage. For more information, click here to view the brochure.

NO SINGLE SUPPLEMENT: A limited number of cabins have been designated for single travelers in Categories D - A at no single supplement. Singles in Categories AA, VS, and PHS are available at double the per person, double occupancy rates.

AIRFARE: Airfare is not included in the cost of the program. Please call the Air Travel Desk at toll-free 877-711-9896 or 212-592-1340 to make your reservations, or see your travel agent. Singles in Categories AA - PHS are available at double the per person, double occupancy rates.

Corinthian II Deck Plan

PROGRAM INCLUSIONS

• 10-night cruise aboard the all-suite, 114-guest Corinthian II
• Welcome and farewell cocktail receptions aboard ship
• All meals aboard ship, including house wine, beer, and soft drinks with lunch and dinner
• Open bar aboard ship throughout the cruise
• Complete program of tours and excursion
• Educational program of lectures and discussions by accompanying guest lecturers
• Professional Travel Dynamics International tour staff
• Complete pre-departure materials
• Baggage handling and transfers abroad on the designated program arrival and departure dates
• Port and embarkation taxes
• Gratuities to porters, guides, and drivers

NOT INCLUDED: Airfare; visa and passport fees (if applicable); luggage and trip cancellation insurance; meals, soft drinks, and alcoholic beverages other than those specified above; personal expenses such as laundry, telephone calls, faxes, and e-mail service; and gratuities to shipboard personnel

Sunday, October 17, 2010
FLY FROM USA

Monday, October 18
VENICE, Italy | EMBARK
Arrive in Venice and transfer to the pier to embark Corinthian II. Sail in the evening.

Tuesday, October 19
SPLIT, Croatia
The ancient city of Split is centered around the formidable Palace of Diocletian, built in A.D. 295. An extensive structure, much of which is well preserved, the palace contains within its walls Split’s medieval town, making it the only palace continuously inhabited since Roman times. Also visit the Archaeological Museum.

Wednesday, October 20
DUBROVNIK, Croatia | KOTOR, Montenegro
Arrive in Dubrovnik, one of Europe’s best-preserved medieval cities. See the Rector’s Palace, Franciscan and Dominican monasteries, and Baroque cathedral, then drive along the scenic road to Kotor. Situated at the head of a fantastic bay, Kotor was an important maritime center under Venetian control. On a walking tour through this UNESCO World Heritage site, visit the 12th-century Cathedral of St. Tryphon, as well as the Cathedral Square and the Lapidarium.

Thursday, October 21
SARANDA | BUTRINT | SARANDA, Albania
Drive to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Butrint. Inhabited since prehistoric times, the city was founded by the Trojans, or so claimed the poet Virgil. Its ruins span 2,500 years, and include the remains of a Greek acropolis, a Roman theater, a 6th-century baptistery, and a fortress erected by warlord Ali Pasha Tepelena in the 19th century.

Friday, October 22
ITEA | DELPHI | ITEA, Greece
Our excursion to Delphi brings us to the famed Sanctuary of Apollo, once home to the Pythian oracle. Begin at the Castalian Spring and continues up the Sacred Way, past the Treasury of the Athenians, Temple of Apollo, theater, and stadium. Also visit the Archaeological Museum.

Saturday, October 23
HERAKLION | KNOSSOS | HERAKLION, Crete
Crete, Zeus’s legendary birthplace, was home to the Minoan civilization, Europe’s first. Tour the excavations at Knossos, where the brilliance and refinement of the Minoans are revealed. The largest palace of the period on Crete, Knossos is a labyrinth of corridors and chambers decorated with frescoes of life as it was 4,000 years ago. Continue to the Heraklion Museum’s temporary exhibit. There will also be an opportunity to visit alternative sites, including Phaestos and Gortyn.

Sunday, October 24
SANTORINI
In the 2nd millennium B.C., volcanic eruptions shrouded the island in pumice and ash, preserving many buildings in the town of Akrotiri, which at the time was inhabited by a sophisticated Bronze Age society. See the Nomikos Exhibition’s excellent reproductions of the Akrotiri frescoes, visit the Prehistoric Museum of Thira, and also discover the town of Oia.

Monday, October 25
KUSADASI | EPHESUS or APHRODISIAS | KUSADASI, Turkey
Drive to the ancient city of Ephesus, once the most important city in Asia Minor. The immense Hellenistic and Roman excavation site includes the theater, the Library of Celsus, the hill houses with their fantastic mosaics and frescoes, and early Byzantine remains. Alternatively, take an excursion to Aphrodisias, renowned for the beauty of its ancient remains.

Tuesday, October 26
KAVALA | PHILIPPI | KAVALLA, Greece
Call at Kavalla, formerly Neapolis, the port of Philippi that marked the eastern boundary of ancient Rome’s European empire. Continue to Philippi (founded by and named after Philip II), where Antony and Octavian defeated Brutus and Cassius in 42 B.C. after they had assassinated Julius Caesar. Explore mostly Roman or early Christian ruins, including an acropolis, sanctuaries, a theater, and two Byzantine basilicas.

Wednesday, October 27
CANAKKALE | TROY | CANAKKALE, Turkey
Canakkale is our gateway for Troy, where ongoing archaeological excavations have revealed nine layers of cities superimposed in rings on a massive mound rising above the “windswept” Plain of Ilium. It was at one of these cities, as legend has it, that the Greeks fought the Trojans as told by Homer in his Iliad.

Thursday, October 28
ISTANBUL | DISEMBARK | FLY TO USA