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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Minoan Frescoes: Windows into Past Worlds The largest of the Greek Islands, Crete, has been on our list of destinations since 2013. The island is famous for reams of reasons, such as its long and turbulent ... Read More
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Alexander the Great: Forever Fascinating Recently, Alexander the Great has been on the news again. This time that is because New Zeland toxicologist Dr. Leo Schep has proposed a new theory on the much-discussed topic ... Read More
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Hattusha, Capital of the Hittite Empire in Turkey Hidden in what appears to be the furthest reaches of a vast and arid region in Central Anatolia, some 150km (95mi) east of Ankara in Central Anatolia, lies the archaeological ... Read More
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Gournia in Crete: A walk through this ancient city in Greece Gournia: a small town set amongst beautiful olive groves, on a low hill overlooking the sea, its winding cobbled streets - opening up into a small square here and there ... Read More
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Knidos: a stunning ancient city in Turkey Every time we travel to Knidos, we feel giddy with anticipation. That's not just because the approach itself - be it from North or South - is lovely, but really ... Read More
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The Last Days of Pompeii One of our trusted tour experts, Cathie Draycott, has recently visited the "Life and Death - Pompeii and Herculaneum" exhibition at London's British Museum, which is still open until September ... Read More
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Kalymnos - Big Surprises on a Small Island in Greece Imagine a noble and beautiful lady, haughty, grand and dominant in appearance, full of poise and dignity - and made of bronze. Her empty eye-sockets intensifying the sense of mystery ... Read More
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Spolia - Recycling the Past "Spolia" is a word I use very frequently when guiding groups on our escorted tours. As an archaeologist, I consider it a household item, an oft-used word describing a very ... Read More
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Athens Museums - Worth a Voyage Recently, we were asked for a contribution to an online article about museums in European cities. The idea was that we should present an individual “must-see” object of our choice, ... Read More -
The Great Ionic Temples - Samos, Ephesus, Didyma During the last ten days, I have had the rare opportunity to visit - on one single trip - Ephesus, Samos and Didyma, the sites of three most important temples ... Read More
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The Hidden Treasure of Bitez - Gara Church and Mosaics Bitez is a small town, barely beyond the outskirts of the ever-growing resort city of Bodrum, where many of gulet cruises in Turkey have their start or end points. Its ... Read More
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Kastellorizo: a beautiful historic island in Greece Well, what can I say? I have fallen in love. Within seconds of making the acquaintance with the object of my new-found affection, I realised that this was serious. And ... Read More
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The Erechtheion: The Strangest Building in Athens Today, we highlight one particular ancient building in Athens. Yes, it is on the Acropolis, but no, it is not the most obvious choice, which would be the oft-discussed and ... Read More
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The ancient region of Caria in Turkey The historical region of Caria that forms the southwest corner of Turkey is mentioned quite frequently in this blog. We have written about one of its most appealing ancient sites, ... Read More
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Astypalaia and Santorini: A comparison of Greek Islands These two islands that we visit on our Cyclades cruise by gulet, could not be more different from one another. Santorini is a well-known spectacular, world-famous and well-frequented, the image ... Read More
