Discover the Red Sea, Holy Land, Turkey & Greece

Alexandria, (àl´îg-zàn´drê-e) city (1986 pop. 2,917,327), N Egypt, on the Mediterranean Sea, W of the Nile R. delta. The city is Egypt’s leading port, a commercial and transportation center, and the heart of a major industrial area with such manufactures as refined petroleum, textiles, processed food, paper, and plastics. Founded in 332 B.C. by Alexander the Great, Alexandria was (304 B.C.-30 B.C.) the capital of the Ptolemies. The city was the greatest center of Hellenistic and
Jewish culture. It had a great university and two celebrated royal libraries, but their valuable collections have not survived. Alexandria became part of the empire of Rome in 30 B.C. and later of the Byzantine Empire. The Muslim Arabs took the city in 642 A.D. After Cairo became Egypt’s capital, Alexandria declined. It fell to Napoleon I in 1798 and to the British in 1801. During World War II the city was the chief Allied naval base in the E Mediterranean. At a 1944 meeting in Alexandria, plans for the Arab League were drawn up. A few of Alexandria’s ancient monuments are still visible. The Greco-Roman Museum houses a vast collection of Coptic, Roman, and Greek art.

Haifa (hì¢fä), city (1988 est. pop. 225,000), NW Israel, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is a major industrial center, a railroad hub, and one of the main ports of Israel. Haifa is known to have existed by the 3rd century A.D. and was destroyed (1191) by Saladin. The city’s revival began in the late 18th century; development of its port in the 20th century led to its main growth. It is the world center of Baha’ism.

Turkey is a great country to visit. The Turks are mostly overwhelmingly friendly to foreign visitors, the cuisine is frequently excellent, the cities are dotted with majestic old buildings and the countryside is often worth a good old-fashioned gasp. There’s an enormous variety of things to see and do ranging from water sports to mountain trekking, archaeology to night-clubbing and river rafting to raki drinking. Whether you leave Turkey with magnificent carpets, amulets to ward off evil, belly-dancing tips, an appreciation of its history, or just a tan, you’re likely to want to go back for more.

The famous city of Istanbul stands where Europe meets Asia and where East meets West, with all its magnificence, and signs from its far-reaching past. It has such a location that it constitutes not only a city of history, but also one of natural beauty beyond example. Extending on the two sides of the Bosphorus bordered by green groves, it also possesses beautiful shores along the internal Marmara Sea. Facing the city there exists small, pretty islands, adorning this big sea, Iying in the middle of the region. The sea features the land in that the climatic characteristics of the Black Sea influencing the north of it, is separated from the typical Mediterranean climate prevailing in its south. Rainfall is high enough to facilitate growing a variety of fruits, while snowfall enlivens the winter holidays. Indeed, it is Istanbul’s variety that fascinates its visitors. The museums, churches, palaces, great mosques, bazaars and sights of natural beauty seem inexhaustilbe.

Istanbul is also an international art and cultural center. In fact whatever intrigues your heart and mind can be discovered in this city where time lives on.

Volos is a modern port, 110 miles northwest of Athens. See the museums and countryside. Mt. Pilion forest is not far off.