Peter Sommer Travels Blog
Welcome to our blog!
Since 2011, this is where we provide extra insight and information about our expert-led cultural tours and cruises. Our blog posts complement what is available on our main website and in our brochures – they offer examples of the fascinating stories and ideas, the lovely flavours and sights, the extraordinary experiences that we share with our guests on our tours.
Our posts cover a wide variety of topics and are in various styles: articles about archaeology and history brought to you by our tour experts, tour diaries, news from excavations and museums, recipes, reading suggestions, updates on our new itineraries and much more – it’s all here for you to discover and enjoy.
After browsing some of our posts, why not take a look at our range of expert-led archaeological tours or gulet cruises, or get in touch so we can help create a wonderful private tour just for you.
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Pausanias - the Father of Travel Guidebooks On the Greek Mainland, facing the Cyclades Islands and the Aegean Sea, the Sounion Promontory stands out from the Attic land. When you have rounded the headland you see a ... Read More
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Feasting - Celebrating a Very Ancient Tradition Feasting - for most, the term conjures up colourful associations of flavours, aromas and convivial experiences. For us archaeologists, it describes a significant social activity that can be identified across ... Read More
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Xinomavro Wine and a Recipe from Northern Greece Half a year ago, I first wrote about Greek wines and the wine tasting experiences that complement many of our land tours and cruises. At that time of year, Assyrtiko, ... Read More
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Rumeli Hisarı Fortress at Istanbul – A Castle and a City Between Two Worlds The Fortress of Rumeli Hisarı, located on the European shore of the Bosphorus and in the northernmost district of Istanbul, is a striking monument. Every year, hundreds of thousands of ... Read More
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Terrace House 2 at Ephesus: a Slice of Roman City Life Ephesus - one of the most famous and most visited archaeological sites in the world. The stupendous remains of what was Ephesus (that's it's Roman name; the original Greek version ... Read More
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Segesta in Sicily: An Enigmatic ancient city Segesta - what a beautiful name (pronounce the "g" like the "g" in "gem" and let the vowels run their course as is proper for an Italian word, especially the ... Read More
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Braised Pork with Leeks – a traditional Greek savoury dish Milder and sweeter than onions, leeks are a member of the same allium family, but have their own distinct and elegant flavour, making them a perfect accompaniment for many Mediterranean ... Read More
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The Kasta Tumulus at Amphipolis in Macedonian Greece Much has been reported both in Greece and internationally about the archaeological excavations at the Kasta Tumulus near Amphipolis, at the eastern edge of the region of Central Macedonia in ... Read More
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An Ancient Tomb Relief at Teimiussa, modern Üçağız in Lycia, Turkey If you have any knowledge or experience of ancient art, the word that comes to your mind on looking at our image is probably "typical". That is entirely correct, and ... Read More
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An ancient Bronze sculpture of Athena from Himera in Sicily As always, have a look at the image and take it in for yourself before reading what follows. Our image shows a small bronze figurine, just about 20cm (8") in ... Read More
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Messene: an ancient city in the Peloponnese, Greece Ancient Messene in the southwestern Peloponnese, the southern peninsula of the Greek Mainland, has in the last two decades become one of the most spectacular among the country's many great ... Read More
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An ancient fresco in the Museum of Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki A small barrel-vaulted space, lavishly painted with scenes of plants, animals and humans: the interior of a vaulted tomb from the 4 th century AD. It is on display in ... Read More
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Off the beaten track: Loryma Have you ever heard of Loryma? Chances are you have not, unless you are a specialist in ancient military architecture, or an avid traveller along the southwestern shores of Turkey. ... Read More
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An ancient ivory lyre-support from Samos in Greece Out of the many extraordinary objects we enjoy showing to our guests, this is one of the most arresting – and one of the most easily overlooked. It was my ... Read More
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Karanlik Kilise (the Dark Church) in Göreme Open Air Museum, Cappadocia This is the 100th post on the Peter Sommer Travels Blog. At this stage, a little over three years after launching the project, we feel that we have found a ... Read More
