A travel through history aiming to illustrate the legacy of the Crusades in the Mediterranean world
Price: $3,995.00 per person.
Deposit to confirm your reservation: $1,000.00 per person
Duration: 15 days.
Travel: Arrive into Rhodes International Airport from Athens International Airport. Depart from Malta International Airport.
Included Services:
- Meet and greet at the Athens airport.
- Flights from Kos to Athens, from Athens to Larnaca, Cyprus, and from Larnaca to Malta.
- Ferry from Rhodes to Kos.
- All road transportation (private coach/van service).
- Accommodations and breakfast at carefully selected hotels.
- One festive meal (wine & beer included).
- Admission tickets to all museums and archaeological/historical sites.
- Tour leader fees.
- Guide/lecturer fees.
Kolossi Castle, Cyprus
Day One
Our guests will arrive in the island of Rhodes, Greece, after an overnight flight. Upon arrival, guests will transfer to their hotel in the medieval city of Rhodes (UNESCO World Heritage Site). There it was the command post of the Knights Hospitaller who subsequently became known as the Knights of Rhodes.
Rhodes Medieval City
Day Two
This day is dedicated to the exploration of the Old City. Our visit includes the Grand Master’s Palace, Archaeological Museum (former Hospital of the Knights), Hostel of St. Catherine, Kahal Shalom Synagogue, and Jewish Museum. In the late afternoon, the group will enjoy visit to the Acropolis of Rhodes.
Nerantzia Castle, Kos
Day Three
A ferry will take us from Rhodes to the island of Kos, another stronghold of the Knights Hospitaller. Our hotel is located in the city of Kos.
Day Four
Today, we will be visiting the Knightly Residence of Governor, Neratzia Castle, Casa Romana, and Roman Odeon in Kos. We will continue the exploration of the island with a tour of Asclepeion, a healing sanctuary where the founder of Western medicine, Hippocrates (5th-4th c. BCE), was trained according to tradition.
Day Five
The group will be flying from Kos to Athens. Upon arrival, we will transfer to our hotel in the city center of Athens. The remainder of the day is at leisure.
Day Six
Today, we will visit the Daphni Monastery in the outskirts of Athens and Acropolis, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites, as well as the Acropolis Museum—the newest and most spectacular museum in Greece. In the context of the Fourth Crusade (1202-04), Daphni turned into a Cistercian possession, and Acropolis became the administrative center of the Duchy of Athens, a Crusader state established by the Burgundian nobleman Othon de la Roche.
Byzantine Museum, Athens
Day Seven
This morning, we will be visiting Byzantine and Christian Museum in Athens. Following that visit, we will be flying to Cyprus whose history is intrinsically linked to the Crusades. Conquered by Richard the Lionheart and coveted by both the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaller, the island ended up as a Crusader state ruled by the House of Lusignan. It also served as a new home for the custodian monks of the Holy Sepulcher. Upon arrival, we will be visiting the Larnaca Castle and St. Lazarus Church in the port of Larnaca. We will be staying at a hotel in Larnaca this evening.
Day Eight
Today, our group will visit, in the capital city of Nicosia, the Old Town–Greek and Turkish sectors, the Selimiye Mosque–former St. Sophia Cathedral, designed after French Gothic cathedrals, and the Lusignan House. Overnight in Nicosia.
Day Nine
We will be visiting St. Hilarion Castle, Lusignans’ summer residence, Bellapais Abbey, established by the Canons Regular of Holy Sepulcher, and the old harbor of Kyrenia captured by Richard the Lionheart on his way to the Third Crusade. Our next stop will be Medieval Famagusta and its impressive Gothic monuments: Lala Moustapha Mosque–the former St. Nicholas Cathedral, and Sinan Pasha Mosque–former Church of Sts. Peter and Paul. Return to our hotel in Nicosia.
Day Ten
Today’s tour includes visits to the painted churches in the Troodos region (UNESCO World Heritage Sites) that incorporate some Western iconographic and stylistic elements in the local Byzantine art. We continue our way through Troodos Mountains, and arrive in the mountain village of Kakopetria where we spend the night.
Kourion Theater
Day Eleven
Our explorations of this incredibly cultural treasured island continue on Troodos Mountain with a visit to Platres resort. Our following destinations: Kolossi Castle, stronghold of the Templars and Knights Hospitaller; the Kourion Archaeological Site, and Limassol Castle, the place where, according to tradition, Richard the Lionheart married Berengaria of Navarre and crowned her Queen of England. Accommodations in Limassol.
Day Twelve
Our morning flight today will take us from the island of Cyprus to Malta that became a new home for the Knights Hospitaller after being driven out of Rhodes by the Ottomans in 1523. Not surprisingly, their contemporary successors are known as Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Today’s exploration starts with St. Julian’s Bay, one of the most “British” areas in the southern Mediterranean. The group will also visit the capital city of Valetta and the area of Floriana where we will check in to our hotel.
Grand Master's Palace, Malta
Day Thirteen
We will be visiting Valetta (UNESCO World Heritage Site). Our city tour includes visits to most exquisite monuments like the Grand Master’s Palace, St. John’s Co-Cathedral, and Auberge de Provence. As we cannot miss the island’s old aristocratic capital, our tour will continue on to Mdina, known as Città Notabile, or the Silent City. We will conclude our day with open time to explore one of the most beautiful areas of the island, Floriana.
Day Fourteen
The itinerary today includes visits to “Three Cities” of Birgu, Senglea, and Conspicua—all gorgeous and historic cities, theater of an epic battle between the Knights and the Ottoman forces during the Great Siege of Malta (1565). As for our two next stops, both UNESCO World Heritage sites, they will bring us to prehistoric sites: the Tarxien Megalithic Temples and the Hypogeum. We will again conclude our day in the lovely suburb of Floriana.
The Three Cities, Malta
Day Fifteen
Our clients will be transferred from Floriana to the Malta airport for their return flights to the United States.