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12 Days in April: Discover the Magic
Of Istanbul
And the Greece of Athens and Santorini April 17-28.

    If you are entranced by the tales of Scheherazade and sagas of Homer and Helen of Troy—and if you have imagined yourself sitting at an outdoor café in spring on the island of Santorini high above the sapphire sweep of the Aegean Sea—you should mark the dates of this invitation for April 17 to April 28 of 2010.

    Join us for a tour of the great intercultural crossroads of Istanbul, and the Athens of both ancient and modern Greece; the islands of Crete and Santorini, a cruise in the Saronic Gulf and nights beside the surf of the Aegean.

    When you travel this part of the world you find your sense of time shifting effortlessly between life in the 21st century and antiquity, between the mythic and the real, because in the Eastern Mediterranean they blend uncannily. Scheherazade was poetic. Istanbul of the Topkapi Palace and the Blue Mosque are real, and so are the East Meets West atmospherics of this great metropolis.

    And not far from there are the Athens and Parthenon, and the Agora where Socrates taught. From Athens it’s an hour to the alluring ocean fronts and mysteries of the Mediterranean island of Crete.

    And then Santorini, the jewel of the Aegean, and the site of a vast volcanic explosion 3,000 years ago that gave rise to the legend of the Sunken Continent of Atlantis.

    So it’s no wonder travelers experiencing this part of the world bring a wide mix of curiosities. The reality they find is the legacy of two extraordinary civilizations that in their expansion and quest for power spread art and learning along with conflict. The Ottomans of Turkey receded centuries ago but the country is a treasure of discovery for the westerner. What we know about Greece is that it was a fountainhead of science, medicine, drama and democracy. The evidence and history are still there in Athens, as are the surviving splendors of its art and architecture.

    For the romanticist stirred both by ancient literature and mythology, these ten days in the Mediterranean of Greece and Turkey fill the senses daily from the Straits of Bosporus to the heights above of the great blue caldera of Santorini.

    The land cost of this tour will be $3,350 per person, double occupancy. Arrangements can be made for those traveling single. It includes the service of an English-speaking guide, air conditioned bus, all meals as per itinerary, air costs from Istanbul to Athens and from Athens to Crete, an all-day cruise in the Saronic Gulf and a cruise on the Aegean from Crete to Santorini. Because of changing fare conditions and airline policies, early commitments are a wise and significant part of international travel. Travelers increasingly are making use of frequent flyer mileage to cover airline costs. Where that option is available we urge you to make use of it on this tour. For those wishing to purchase airfare, Northwest/KLM currently has a consolidator fare of $1,030 per person. In all cases we urge you to consult with Suzanne Zapolski at 612 661 4624, toll free at 1-800 843-0606 or cell 612 644 6404. Suzanne is associated with the Borton Overseas agency in Minneapolis and is familiar to hundreds of members of Jim Klobuchar’s Adventures as a quality booking agent. She can advise you on your frequent flyer plans as well as current ticketing options. We strongly suggest that you contact her soon to take advantage of current rates as well as prospective ones.
The deadline for the initial deposit of $750 to secure a place on the trip is Nov. 20 of this year with final payment by March 15, 2010. If you have questions, please contact Suzanne Zapolski by phone or Suzanne@Bortonoverseas.com. or Jim Klobuchar at 763-258-1371 or jim@jimklobuchar.com. You can make your check payable to Borton Overseas at 5412 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis 55419, Attention Suzanne, or contact Suzanne for a credit card deposit.

    For the traveler drawn to the architectural treasures of antiquity, there are few sights to equal twilight over the spires and domes of the Blue Mosque and Sophia Basilica in Istanbul or the preserved elegance of ancient Greece evoked by the Parthenon and the amphitheaters in Athens. It’s a part of the world hard to resist at any time of the year but in the spring the Aegean is glorious and Athens and Istanbul, both the historic and the modern, are still easily accessible without competition from the summer throngs.

    If you’re fascinated by the turbulent history of this part of the world, Istanbul is the perfect start. Here is the hinge of Europe and Asia, their land masses symbolically linked (but still separate) in the form of a bridge over the Bosporus, one of the longest suspension spans in the world. This is the onetime stronghold of the Ottomans, who hundreds of years ago spread their empire from Asia Minor to North Africa, Spain, the Balkans and southeastern Europe. It was an era reflected by the elegant Topkapi Palace once ruled by sultans who were then among the most powerful and certainly most acquisitive rulers on earth, judged by the congestion of their harems.

    Here is my (our) registration deposit of $750 for Springtime in the Mediterranean with Jim Klobuchar’s Adventures April 17-28 in 2010, due by Nov. 20.

Name(s)________________________________________________________________________

Address_________________________________________________________________________

City________________________________________________________ Zip________________

Phones___________________________________ Email_________________________________

    Today the jeweled opulence remains along with the courtyards, but the harems have disappeared into the librettos of operas and James Bond movies. It is still very much Istanbul, a huge polylingual city touched—like Cairo—with an atmosphere of intrigue and mystery that is not imaginary. There is profuse international commerce and politics here. There is also a lot of fun, in the coffee houses and the shops, in the discovery of genuine Turkish cuisine, and in the Grand Market of nearly 4,000 (that is correct) shops under roof. There the merchants compete and customers haggle, stroll and banter with the shopkeepers, and the goods are incredibly diverse and often high quality.

Athens, of course, is much more than the locale of Aristotle’s Greece. It’s bouzouki music and impetuous cab drivers, gyros you can’t imagine and the shops, arcades and hawkers, cafes and the indestructibly live music of the Plaka district.

    Here is the daily itinerary for those flying Northwest-KLM. Frequent Flyers will have the identical land itinerary.

April 17—Depart Minneapolis NW 565 p.m., arrive in Amsterdam 8:15 a.m. April 18.

April 18—Depart Amsterdam KLM 1613 at 9:25 a.m. and arrive Istanbul 1:45 p.m. Transfer to our Celal Aga Konagi Hotel for welcome dinner at Karavansary night club.   (D)

April 19— Half day tour of Istanbul Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace Museum. (B, L)

April 20—Half day tour of Istanbul: Grand Bazaar, cruise in Straits of Bosporus. (B, D)

April 21—10:30 a.m. flight to Athens and transfer to Herodion Hotel. Afternoon tour of Athens including Parthenon on the Acropolis. (B, D)

April 22—Cruise in the Saronic Gulf with time ashore on the islands. Overnight Herodion. (B, L)

April 23—Flight to Crete, transfer to Rinela Beach Hotel. (B)

April 24—Day at leisure on Crete with options. Overnight Rinela Beach Hotel. (B)

April 25—Transfer to Heraklion harbor for cruise to Santorini. Transfer to Astir Thira Hotel. Explore Santorini. (B)

April 26—Day at leisure on Santorini with options. Overnight Astir Thira. (B)

April 27—Flight to Athens, also covered in land costs. Farewell dinner. Overnight Herodion Hotel. (B, D)

April 28—Transfer to airport for early departure of KLM 1572 at 5 a.m., arriving Amsterdam 7:30 a.m., transfer to NW41 leaving Amsterdam at 10:20 a.m. arriving Minneapolis 12:20 p.m.

Bring cameras, swim suits, suntan lotion and be primed to be amazed.

Cordially

Jim Klobuchar