Cruises - Azores Cruise Club

kusaDasi, Turkey
Laze away the day on the silky sands of Kusadasi or head for the ruins of Ephesus
for more sights than you can point a camera at. It’s your holiday, your call.
• Make tracks for St John’s Church. St John is said to have lived here with the Virgin
Mary after being cast out of Jerusalem. Legend has it he’s also buried here. Close by,
the hillside village of Sirince is worth a visit – it’s famous for its homemade wines.
• Discover Kusadasi on horseback, or swim with the horses at Pamucak Beach.
larnaca, Cyprus
With more than six millennia under its belt, Larnaca is the stuff of Biblical legend.
It’s one of the oldest lived-in cities in the world, so expect plenty in the way of
historical sites, with the likes of St John’s Cathedral and the Church of St Lazarus
on the cards. The city’s got a modern side, too, with a palm-lined promenade, a
swish marina, and a great shopping scene to its name.
• Head to the city of Famagusta and check out its eerie old quarter. Abandoned
when the Turks invaded in the Seventies, it hasn’t been touched since.
• Pay a visit to Nicosia – the last divided capital city in the world. After the Turks
invaded in 1974, half the city fell under Turkish rule, the other remained Greek.
limassol, Cyprus
Set on Akrotiri Bay, Limassol is the island’s biggest seaside town with plenty to offer
its visitors. Whether you’ve come here in search of age-old sights or bubbling bars,
the town’s a mixed bag of delights.
• Head to Paphos to tick off some of Cyprus’ most famous sights. First off, there’s
the Petra tou Romious – also known as Aphrodites Rock – where the goddess of
love is said to have risen from the sea. The Odeion amphitheatre is worth a look, too.
• Head for Curium, a major archaeological site that was one of the old kingdoms of
Cyprus. Sights include a Greek temple and an impressive cliff-top theatre.
• Experience the old and new faces of Limassol. Stand in the shadow of the Medieval
castle, then head for the Yermasoyia quarter and sample a few bars and restaurants.
Visit your local travel shop | 0871 230 2800 | thomson.co.uk/cruise
Calls cost 10p per minute plus network extras. The cost of calls was correct at the time of publication.
See page 3.
Istanbul, Turkey
Koper, Slovenia Aghios Nikolaos, Crete
Ephesus, Turkey Mykonos Town, Mykonos
marmaris, Turkey
Turkey's biggest beach resort, Marmaris has a definite 'Riviera' feel to it. An
elegant, palm-lined promenade weaves its way around the shoreline, while the
marina plays host to a flotilla of gleaming white yachts.
• Discover a Turkish tradition with a visit to a hammam or Turkish bath. They’ve
existed since Medieval times and normally have separate areas for men and women.
• Smother yourself in therapeutic mud in celebrity haunt Dalyan.
messina, Sicily
From the tangle of timeworn streets to the sickle-shaped harbour dotted with
rustic trattorias, it’s easy to see why Shakespeare chose Messina as the setting of
his romantic play Much Ado About Nothing. Be in Piazza del Duomo for 12 noon.
Here, a Norman citadel houses the world’s largest mechanical clock. At midday, gilt
figures, including a roaring lion and a host of beautiful angels, emerge from the clock.
• Don’t miss Sicily’s star turn, Mount Etna. Europe’s biggest active volcano, it’s a
contradiction in every sense - fiery and snowy, barren and lush, feared and loved.
One of the best ways to see it is from the carriages of the Circumetnea Railway.
• Talk about gorgeous. Perched high on a cliff above glittering blue seas, Taormina
is arguably the most charming town in Sicily.
mykonos town, Mykonos
A jewel in the Aegean, this sun-blushed island is sprinkled with sugar-cube houses
and whitewashed windmills. It’s a popular corner of Greece loved by everyone, from
millionaires to backpackers, yet somehow it’s managed to stay delightfully unspoilt.
Wander through the narrow labyrinthine lanes of Mykonos Town, or Chora as
it’s also called, crammed with tiny churches, shrines, shops and cafés.
• Take a stroll along the seafront known as Little Venice. Don’t forget to keep an
eye out for places that appeared in Shirley Valentine, like the colourful harbour.
• Relax at Platis Gialos beach, a long ribbon of golden sand on the south coast of
the island. The coastline here is backed by a stretch of cocktail bars.
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