From Amazon.com
If the Greek islands are on your itinerary, don't miss this fabulously forthright read. Greece obviously pulses strongly through author Facaros, whose father comes from the northeastern Aegean island of Ikaría. She has spent more than two decades hopping these islands to bring you the most relevant, revealing, and readable tidbits on Greece's famous outer reaches.
With interesting cultural sidebars scattered throughout, Cadogan Greek Islands offers more than a listing of eats and sleeps (though there are plenty of detailed recommendations for places to dine and stay).
Food and Wine: The Old/New Cretan Diet Back in 1947, researchers for the Rockefeller Foundation noted with astonishment how healthy elderly Cretans were compared to their American counterparts. In spite of the privations of war and their 'primitive' way of life, people in the 90s were still running up mountains and working in the fields.... Olive oil (the main source of fat), lots of legumes, greens and fresh vegetables and very little meat proved to be the secrets, the basis of the Cretan diet that nutritionists, and now the Cretans, are beginning to promote. The island grows almost everything it needs: nuts, olives, and every kind of fruit from apples to bananas and citrus, the farms along the south coast provide many of Greece's winter vegetables.In addition to a thorough and practical information section and a chapter on modern history, art, and architecture, the book includes a section called "Topics" that provides short essays on subjects such as the traditional Greek island calendar, the environment, and a who's who in Greek mythology. All in all, this is a fun-to-read guide written with the traveler in mind. --Kathryn True --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
'This practical guide aims to help you make the most of your stay on any of the Greek Islands' - BBC Holidays Magazine (UK), 'The ultimate guide to the Mediterranean' - The Independent (London)
'One of our favorite travel series, Cadogan Guides are British imports with a distinct personality. Authors have lived and traveled for years in the regions they cover and bring an in-depth knowledge of local history and culture to their guides' - www.travellersbookstore.com
BBC Radio 4
‘Overall the top marks go to Cadogan’
The Times
‘The happiest discovery was Cadogan Guides’
The Bookseller
‘Has established a strong reputation. The intimacy of the authors with their subjects shines through’
The Times
‘Bursting with practical information and in-depth knowledge, Cadogan Guides also make a cracking good read’
Product Description
Experience the Greek Islands through new maps, fresh color pictures and the latest listings of restaurants, bars and places to stay. Packed with information on each of the seven major island groups, this guide celebrates the diversity, history, and culture of the islands.
From the Back Cover
Over 3,000 islands lie scattered in the Aegean and Ionian Seas, from barren rocks to mighty Crete, all bathed in a light so clear it can break your heart. To their outrageous beauty, add a big dollop of dream-like myth and Byzantine murk, olive groves and wild thyme, beaches on the most transparent sea you've ever seen, magical nights filled with kefi and swathes of unchained holiday babylon. This guide contains: practical travel advice; over 500 hand-picked places to stay; over 650 restaurants, bars and cafes; 77 maps and site plans; stunning color photography; color touring-map section; the history and myths untangled, the best beaches revealed. (5 1/2 x 8 1/2, 672 pages, color photos, maps)
About the Author
Dana Facaros is half Greek and a frequent visitor to the country. She has written 45 travel guides for Cadogan with her partner, Michael Pauls. Greek Islands was her first guide for Cadogan.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
'Having a dovecote, once a privilege of the nobility (the doves gobbled the peasants' grain for free, and master got nice plump birds for dinner and fertile guano to sell back to the peasants) was granted to all by the Venetians during their last decades on the island, and everyone wanted one. Nests filled each nook and cranny created by the intricate weave of stone slabs into geometrical patterns, stars, and suns; these days the doves, still prized for their fertilizer, are pets instead of lunch.'
Excerpt
'There’s nothing like the Greek islands to make the rest of the world seem blurred, hesitant and grey. Their frontiers are clearly defined by a sea that varies from emerald and turquoise to indigo blue, with none of the sloppiness of a changing tide; the clear sky and dry air cut their mountainous contours into sharp outline; the whiteness and simplicity of their architecture is both abstract and organic.'
