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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The Peloponnese in Greece: what you can see and do The Peloponnese conjures up images of ancient glories, epic struggles, valiant heroes and majestic vistas. The mere mention of names like Arcadia or Corinth, Sparta or Olympia, Nemea or Mycenae ... Read More
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An ancient cuirass from Syracuse in Sicily: a display of strength This is a bronze cuirass or breastplate, a piece of armour that was meant to protect the wearer's upper body. But more than that, it's an object that reflects both ... Read More
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Arykanda in Lycia - a place of mystery and serenity What do you know about Arykanda (or Arycanda)? In all likelihood little or nothing: although the place is a fairly well-studied ancient settlement, having undergone nearly fifty years of excavations, ... Read More
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Another bite: Oatmeal-crusted fish fillets - Irish history on a plate “Another bite” is a series of occasional posts about food, presenting the delicious local products, tasty dishes and other gastronomic delights we encounter on our tours and cruises. So far ... Read More
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A sarcophagus from Patara in Antalya Museum: glory beyond death If I tell you its size, you can almost certainly guess what this object is. Carved from marble, it is just under 2m (6.5ft) long, 0.9m (2.95ft) tall and 0.8m ... Read More
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Nakovana, an archaeological landscape in Dalmatia, Croatia Probably, you have not heard of Nakovana before - if you have, you might just be an archaeologist with an interest in Dalmatian prehistory, or maybe you've been on a ... Read More
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The Vindolanda Tablets: Ancient voices from Roman Britain Scraps with scrawls. If you look more closely, the scraps are of wood and the scrawls are writing, in ink. They don't look like much and indeed they were (eventually) ... Read More
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Buhara Pilav - Anatolian rice with lamb and spices Today, I'm sharing a recipe for a dish that any traveller to Turkey will have encountered in some form or another, be it at a friendly host's home table, or ... Read More
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The ancient statue of the Sleeping Ariadne in the Vatican Take a look at this ancient statue of the Sleeping Ariadne in the Vatican museum Looking is what you're meant to do: the sculptor intended for you, the viewer, to ... Read More
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Konrad von GrĂĽnenberg - a package holiday in 1486 You'll be forgiven for not being familiar with the name Konrad von GrĂĽnenberg (or GrĂĽnemberg). Who? I was not aware of him either, until quite recently, when a splendid illustration ... Read More
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Beef Youvetsi, a hearty Greek bake of meat and pasta Today, we present a very traditional Greek recipe, equally at home in people's family kitchens as it is on taverna tables: beef youvetsi (you'll also find it transcribed as giouvetsi ... Read More
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A painting of Socrates on a fresco in Ephesus, Turkey Take a look at this painting of Socrates on a fresco in a villa in the ancient city of Ephesus, Turkey. We see an older man, seated on a white ... Read More
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Brodet recipe: Croatian fish stew. Delicious! Today, I will present you with a Dalmatian taste, one that is essential to travelling on the shores and islands of the Adriatic coast of Croatia. Brodet is a part ... Read More
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The Archaic Warriors and Ladies of Archontiko in Macedonia Pella is a well-known archaeological site in Central Macedonia, Northern Greece, only 40km (25mi) to the west of Thessaloniki, the region's modern capital. From the 4th to the 2nd centuries ... Read More
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Pasta alla carbonara - the Roman way Today, we'd like to present a well-known - but often misunderstood - Italian classic, or more precisely a Roman one. It's pasta alla carbonara, and like other Roman pasta recipes, ... Read More
