Greece: Awesome Paradise

Greece, the southernmost of the countries of the Balkan Penninsula. Geography has greatly influenced the country’s development. The sea opened up wider horizons. The total land area of Greece (one-fifth of which is made up of the Greek islands) is comparable in size to England or the U.S. state of Alabama.

Mount Athos

Mount Athos is a mountain and a peninsula in northern Greece. The peninsula, the easternmost “leg” of the larger Halkidiki peninsula houses some 1,400 monks in 20 Eastern Orthodox monasteries. An autonomous state under Greek sovereignty, entry into Mount Athos is strictly controlled and only males are allowed entrance.

Mystras

Situated near ancient Sparta, Mystras served as the capital in the 14th and 15th centuries, ruled by relatives of the Byzantine emperor. The site remained inhabited throughout the Ottoman period and is a local tourist spot.

Lindos

Lindos is a medieval village that is made up of a network of cobbled streets amid whitewashed houses. Above the town rises the acropolis of Lindos, offering spectacular views of the surrounding harbors and coastline. Lindos beach and Saint Pauls beach are only a short distance from the town center.

Samaria Gorge

The Samariá Gorge is a sixteen km long canyon in southwest Crete. Walking the Samariá Gorge is extremely popular and more than a quarter million tourists do so each year. The walk takes seven hours and passes through forests of ancient cypresses and pines, then cuts between vertical cliffs through the mountains to emerge at Agia Roumeli on the Libyan sea.

Myrtos Beach