No comments about Karpathos/Kasos: Road Map (Maps & Atlases).

No comments about Santorini Holiday Map (GeoCenter Holiday Maps).

No comments about Travels in Northern Greece: Volume 1.

2 comments about One Mykonos: Being Ancient, Being Islands, Being Giants, Being Gay.

1. I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy this book, but I'm now convinced I loved it. James Davidson, that handsome, brilliant young classical scholar from London has given us a small book (5 ½ in.by 7 ½, & 151 Pages). However, this book may be small in size and page number but is full of great information. It's part travelogue, classical history, mythology, and personal essay about the island of Mykonos. Mykonos is among the top 10 gay vacation spots today. Davidson gives us his impressions and feelings, as well as a wonderful history of this beautiful island.

   This is a fascinating read, and now I know I definitely want to visit this Greek island of Mykonos. Reading Mr. Davidson's wonderful book made me feel as if I actually had visited there already. It's nice to know the history of a place, and this book gives you that, but you also get his feelings about life there, too. Make sure you read this one; highly recommended.




2. I wanted to love this book. Like so many others I long to experience the magic of Mykonos and opted for this book as a surrogate. It is well written, but it is more for the reader interested in Greek history than those who expect to discover the essence of an island, a haven, a fantasy. Highly recommended as a suitcase tuck if you're planning a vacation to the Greek Islands, but if you crave the flavor of the place this is a disappointingly dry read.

No comments about Travels in European Turkey, in 1850: Through Bosnia, Servia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Thrace, Albania, and Epirus; with a Visit to Greece and the Ionian Isles. ... of Austria on the Lower Danube. Volume 2.

1 comments about The Greek Islands.

1. Lawrence Durrell is best known as a novelist, in particular for the four novels that make up his ALEXANDRIA QUARTET. In addition, he is both a poet and a travel writer. THE GREEK ISLANDS, though not one of his better known works, is much more than an ordinary travel guide. As he says, "the modern tourist is already well provided for in that respect." How, then, would you describe this book?

   For starters, it is an island by island discussion of the physical characteristics, history, mythological importance, and peculiarities of each island. Durrell blends these together so well that, by the end of each section, you feel that you know what makes each island unique and that traveling there would be more like returning to the home of an old friend than making a first visit. He also relates those experiences that might be a warning to skip one or two of the smaller islands. In this respect he tells of an island so small that the only place to sleep was on the floor of a small chapel. This, in itself, was no reason to stay away, but the bed bug bites and fleas were. Luckily this sort of experience was the exception, not the norm.

   During an extensive period before World War II, Durrell was an employee of the British Foreign Service and lived and traveled in the Greek Islands for several years. After the war, he spent several more years in a similar position for the Allies. He got to know the native inhabitants much more intimately than most foreigners ever do. He lived in some of their homes, hiked and camped in their less populous areas, and absorbed the ambience of many of the islands. During that period he kept extensive diaries. In preparing this book, these diaries along with contacts with many old friends still on the scene provided the basic information for the book.

   There are two books that I wish that I had read before my visits to the Greek Islands in the early and mid '80's. This is one and Kazantzakis' REPORT TO GRECO is the other. Each provided its own outlook, and together they give an unbeatable overview. Most of us see ruins, particularly on islands such as Delos, the legendary birthplace of Apollo, drink, dance, and shop on islands such as Mykonos, eat the food and drink ouzo and retsina wherever we go, but we don't go out of or way to meet the "before the tourist came" natives. Durrell talks of going to out of the way islands and villages where one finds a room by finding the mayor who, in turn, introduces you to someone who takes you into their home as if you were a friend of the family. To do this, you have to be more of a risk taker than most of us are. I'm not sure that I fit that mold by the time I was there in the '80's, but I'd like to think that I might have. I certainly did when I was younger and living in the Philippines. Then, I (foolishly?) knew no fear, and even slept, one night in a carabao pen. (A carabao is a domesticated water buffalo.) Any port in a storm when you're young and adventurous.

   To summarize, Durrell presents a picture of the Islands that integrates a place, a people, an ancient history, a mythology replete with warring gods and goddesses, and a modern history, including wars and rebellions, and freedom and slavery, into an experience worth reading about, and worth seeking out. If I'd read THE GREEK ISLANDS before my trips, I would have been more on the lookout for that world. I think that it's still there for those of us who really seek it out.

No comments about Travellers Mainland Greece including Athens (Travellers - Thomas Cook).

2 comments about Blue Guide Athens and Environs.

1. This book is so pertinent for those people who are going to Athens, the capital of Greece. It is much more comprehensive about the city than the Blue Guide to Greece, which is great if you plan to stay in the city for awhile. Its commentaries are easy to read and understand and give you a full view of what to expect. Get it if you can.



2. I just returned from spending a week in Athens and used this guide the entire time. It is a fantastic personal guide for the whole city, taking you to all the ancient sites as well as the more different places. The book explains the history of the sites, and then tells you almost stone-for-stone what you are looking at for each site. There are wonderful parts of Athens I would have missed had I not had this book with me. It also goes through places outside Athens, such as the sites at Sounion and Eleusis.
   
   If you're interested in ancient history (and especially archaeological sites), then you can't do better than to take this guide with you to Athens.

No comments about Frommer's Greek Islands With Your Family: From Golden Beaches to Ancient Legends (Frommers With Your Family Series).

No comments about Blue Guide Rhodes and the Dodecanese (Blue Guides).