Emperors, Conquerors & Saints

We are delighted to invite you to join this remarkable voyage in the eastern Mediterranean, through lands that have seen the rise and fall of great empires and whose legacies continue to shape the worlds of politics, religion, culture, and art. Beginning in Istanbul, the ancient Constantinople that was the center of both the Byzantine and the Ottoman Empires, make your way along the northern shores of the Aegean Sea to Kavala, Thessaloniki, and Volos, before crossing the sea to Turkey and the Greek Islands of Chios, Rhodes, and Crete. Then, leaving the Aegean behind, sail to Cyprus, the great island that has been a crossroad of civilizations and cultures since deep antiquity, where our cruise will end. Here, we will spend two days exploring several of the island’s ancient sites. Ancient sites and monuments—Vergina, Ephesus, Knossos, all UNESCO World Heritage Sites—share the landscape with the whitewashed homes of present-day farmers and fishermen. Great medieval churches and castles, including the UNESCO sites at Meteora, Nea Moni, and Rhodes, exist in the same space as the painted townhouses of quaint island ports. This is truly an experience not to be missed.