Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1534777
12 | Viking Explorer Society News Marvellous MEDITERRANEAN Uncovering ancient worlds on Viking's Journey to Antiquities voyage. N ot many cruises sail from the very cradle of Western civilisation to the city that gave birth to the ancient world's most illustrious empire; on an adventure that touches on two continents. Even fewer also swirl in perhaps the most beguiling of the Greek Isles, another island that floats off the bottom of Italy's boot that is closer to Africa than Rome and even a once-buried city now reborn to reveal its Greek and Roman ghosts. Then again, there is only one Journey to Antiquities. As a travel writer who has been lucky enough to visit more than 100 countries, I've sailed most of the world's great oceans and seas, but it is the Mediterranean that most beguiles me. This was my first Viking journey and it won't be my last. All guests having outside staterooms and verandas makes such a difference – there is nothing like waking to the sound of the sea, and then being bathed in the romance of savouring breakfast (at no extra charge) as you ease into another of Europe's great cities. Back with our classical ghosts, our embarkation port is Athens, the perfect introduction to a voyage to the classical world. And what an introduction on an e-bike optional tour that sweeps through the uncrowded historic sights. Viking's Journey to Antiquities runs outside summer, so you get to savour Europe without the crowds: an utter joy. We ease around the Plaka district, stopping for multiple views of the Parthenon sitting high atop the Acropolis, then also have time to take in Hadrian's Arch, the Temple of Zeus and the more "modern" marble glory of the "new" Olympic Stadium, built for the first Olympic Games in 1896. The Acropolis glows in the winter sun as we slip our lines and steam south, then east, falling asleep dreaming of another world, one of Ottoman sultans and exotic eastern spices. That world arrives with a new continent for breakfast – a view of Asia in The Restaurant along with guests discussing what they learnt in the onboard talk about Ephesus. Kuşadasi in Turkey is our gateway, a spectacular one tucked beneath vaulting mountains. A web of shops welcomes us, harking back to the days when this was a major trading hub for the camel and mule trains. But Ephesus is our target, the ancient city brilliantly reborn thanks W O R D S R O B I N M C K E L V I E