2015 Summer Tour Itinerary MAY 20-JUNE 11, 2015 KORINTH, ISTHMIA, NEMEA, NAUPLION, MYCENAE, EPIDAURUS, OLYMPIA, DELPHI, THE ISLAND OF SAMOS, SELÇUK (ON TURKEY'S AEGEAN COAST), AND ATHENS Offered by Professor Michael Taber [This itinerary was created in consultation with our long-time Athenian travel agents Educational Tours and Cruises.] The itinerary for the Greece Study Tour for summer 2015 (23 days; 22 nights, including one on the flight to Greece) is divided into two portions: • A stay of 7 nights in the small city of Korinth • A circuit tour of 6 stops (over the succeeding 14 nights) on a chartered, air-conditioned coach and via ferry, with nights spent in Nauplio, Olympia, Delphi, the island of Samos, the Turkish town of Selçuk, and Athens This division allows students to acclimate themselves to Greek ways and the Greek language in the context of a slower paced town than, say, Athens. The Greeks to this day take an ancient pride in ensuring that guests leave with warm memories, and such heartfelt hospitality is to be treated as itself a gift, graciously, without any hint of the international stereotype of the ugly American. The Turks likewise take pride in their hospitality, and the Selçuk region is a popular stop for cruise ships in the Mediterranean, and for boat trips from Samos, which is a Greek island only a mile off Turkey's Aegean coast. To be able to spend two days in Turkey will deepen travelers' appreciation for the eastern Mediterranean. And like the Greeks, the Turks do like Americans--even if they don't always agree with the policies of the U.S. government. I recall an evening in Selçuk back in 2005 (when the Iraq war was at its most unpopular in Greece and Turkey), when some shopkeepers asked me to join their chairs set out on the sidewalk, in front of the post office. (Business was slow, I guess.) Along with other matters, we got to talking about tourists from other countries, and how they could tell from a distance that a tourist is from the U.S., as opposed to the U.K. or Australia. All three of the shopkeepers got to talking about how they prefer travelers from the U.S., because we're friendly. They said we smile more than the British, and that as for the Aussies, well, they're loud and often drunk. I can't speak for how well these stereotypes hold up, but they seemed to be heartfelt. (And we'd already established that I wasn't going to buy a carpet!) Here is a more detailed itinerary: DAY 1 Wed May 20: departure from USA Our flight departs in the evening from a DC-area airport (Dulles or BWI). DAY 2 Thurs May 21: ATHENS – CORINTH After arriving in Athens, transfer by pre-arranged private coach to our hotel in Corinth (1½ hrs.). After checking in, we take a short orientation walk about the town, and dine together. (B, L, D) DAY 3 Fri May 22: ANCIENT CORINTH We take the public bus to the village of Ancient Corinth, and then walk to the archaeological site and museum there. Group lunch in Ancient Corinth. Then a walk to small chapel of the Theotokos, with its cemetery, and the Temple of Apollo Workshop (aka “Yianni-World”). Return to Corinth in afternoon. At 6:30-8:30, evening seminar 1: Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians (and excerpts from Acts and Romans) and excerpts about Diogenes of Sinope. (B, L) DAY 4 Sat May 23: CORINTH Walk to the Laïki, the weekly outdoor market. Afternoon free. Evening seminar 2: Euripides' Medea. (B) DAY 5 Sun May 24: CORINTH After optional church service (Church of St. Paul, of course), free day in Corinth or by public bus to Loutraki. Evening seminar 3: Aeschylus' Agamemnon. (B) DAY 6 Mon May 25: ACROCORINTH After breakfast, early public bus to Ancient Corinth, then hour-long walk up to fortress on Akrokorinth, used by classical Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Ottomans, Venetians, and during Greece’s war for independence (1820's). Spend late morning and early afternoon exploring the extensive remains there in small groups; bring flashlight or headlamp. Some return to Temple of Apollo Workshop, before returning to Corinth on public bus. Evening seminar 4: remainder of Aeschylus' Oresteia trilogy: The Libation Bearers and The Furies. (B) DAY 7 Tues May 26: ISTHMIA Morning departure to Isthmia (20 minutes away by chartered bus), for orientation tour of the archaeological site, the museum, and the excavation house, with Dr. Timothy Gregory of The Ohio State University. Group picnic lunch at the dig house. Evening seminar 5: Thucydides, through Thucydides’ judgment of Pericles. (B, L) DAY 8 Wed May 27: CORINTHIA Private bus to remains of Lechaion Basilica, Diolkos, Monastery of St. Patápios, Sanctuary of Hera Akraia and temenos of Hera Limenia in Perachora, and ending at Blue Lake, for lunch and afternoon swimming. On the way home, we stop at the Loutraki thermal spa to take the waters (included) and at the Corinth Canal for photos from above. Evening seminar 6: Thucydides, through the Melian dialogue. (B, L) DAY 9 Thurs May 28: NEMEA – NAUPLIO Depart at 7:45am with private bus for Nemea (30 minute drive), the site of the Nemean games. Then we visit Skouras winery (www.skouras.gr; another 30 minute drive) to learn about wine-making on the Peloponnese, with light lunch provided there. Then drive on to Nauplio (35 minute drive), a charming, small city that combines Greek and Venetian influences, and was the first capital of Greece when it won independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1830. We arrive and check in to the hotel, and after resting for a bit, take a short orientation walk through the town. At 5:30, we take the bus to the top of the hill overlooking the town center, to explore the Palamidi fortress. At 7:30 we meet at the pier by Captain Michael’s boat, which we take (included) to the island fortress, the Bourtzi, in the Nauplio harbor. Overnight at Hotel Marianna or similar at Nauplion. (B, L) DAY 10 Fri May 29: NAUPLIO – EPIDAURUS Morning departure for Epidaurus (two-hour visit) home of the most famous theater in the Greek world, as well as its neighboring medical site sacred to the healing god Asclepius. Return to Nauplion for lunch, with optional walk to small archaeological museum or to Folklore Museum, or bus trip to nearby Karathona beach. Overnight in Nauplion at hotel Marianna or similar. Evening seminar 7: Plato's Apology (skip Euthyphro and Crito) and death scene of the Phaedo. (B) DAY 11 Sat May 30: NAUPLION - MYCENAE - OLYMPIA We leave early for the mountaintop citadel of Mycenae (three-hour visit; bring flashlight or headlamp), which houses the palace of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, with the dramatic "beehive" tombs nearby. From Mycenae, we depart for Olympia, 3 hours away, plus stopping for lunch somewhere. Evening seminar 8: Presocratic thinkers; read pp. 1-54 of A Presocratic Reader. Folk dancing lessons and demonstration and group dinner (both included) at the hotel. Overnight at Hotel Europa or similar in Olympia. (B, D) DAY 12 Sun May 31: OLYMPIA - DELPHI Morning visit to archaeological site and archaeological museum, followed by lunch and small shopping in village. Afternoon departure for four-hour ride to Delphi, across the Corinthian Gulf. Overnight at the Hotel Leto or similar in Delphi. (B) DAY 13 Mon June 1: DELPHI - OSIOS LOUKAS – PIRAEUS Morning visit (3-4 hrs.) to the archaeological museum and site: the treasuries, the temple of Apollo, the theater and the stadium of the upper site, and the Athena temple and the tholos temple at the lower site, washing our hair at the Castilian spring in between. When finished, we lunch in Delphi, before departing for an hour-long visit of the Monastery of Osios Loukas, then on to Athens, to arrive at the port of Piraeus for evening departure of our overnight ferry to Samos. (B) DAY 14 Tues June 2: SAMOS Morning arrival on Samos, with transfer to hotel and breakfast. Bus tour of the island, including the Heraion seaside settlement, one of the largest temples, and then visit the aqueduct of Eupalinos, the Pythagorion (ancient city of Samos), and also the traditional village of Koumaradei, where we visit a traditional potter. Evening seminar 9: Paul's Letter to the Ephesians; also, more on Presocratic philosophers and Pythagoreans. Hotel Samos Bay or similar (B) DAY 15 Wed June 3: SAMOS Free day on the island. Possible visits to the archaeological museum at Vathy with famous kouros statues, as well as the Samos Winery. Overnight with breakfast at Hotel Samos Bay. (B) DAY 16 Thurs June 4: SAMOS - EPHESOS (TURKEY) - SELÇUK Morning 90-minute boat ride to Turkish port of Kusadasi, for a 3-hour guided visit of the archaeological site of Ephesos and visit of the House of St. Mary. After lunch, we visit the archaeological museum. Overnight in Selçuk. (B) DAY 17 Fri June 5: MILETOS - DIDYMA Morning departure by coach, for quick visit for photos at Temple of Artemis and the Cave of the Seven Sleepers (no entrance allowed), then on to the archaeologically significant sites of Miletos and Didyma. Overnight in Selçuk. (B) DAY 18 Sat June 6: SELÇUK - SAMOS Return to Samos by boat in the afternoon. Free day. Overnight with breakfast at Hotel Samos Bay or similar (B) DAY 19 Sun June 7: SAMOS - ATHENS Free day until our flight to Athens. Gather at Athens hotel lobby 5:00 for a walk to the Akropolis Museum (visit of 2 hrs.; no backpacks), followed by an orientation walk to the Plaka.