It is a passion of mine to investigate ancient cultures and the most accessible means to do so is to see ancient relics of artistic expression and accomplishment at sites and in archeological museums. The countries around the Mediterranean have long held a fascination for me and I've spent many hours reading about and visiting the typical sites and the not-so-known places with great enthusiasm.

If you have a chance to visit Athens, for example, make it a point to see the Cycladic Museum and the ancient Cycladic sculptures in places all over Greece, especially on Crete. Visit the Archeological Museum on Crete - it is spectacular!

Here I am standing on the site of Knossos, the palace grounds. We really have a lot of misinformation about the ancient cultures all over the globe because they are so vulnerable to tourist tales. Beware the stories associated with Crete, the Minoans, and the story of King Minos. Much of this is assumption and "Arthur Evans, a well educated Englishman, succeeded in revealing the Minoan culture on Crete" ... possibly! There is evidence too, of fabrication and tampering with artifacts and myth. Today these kinds of scientists and preservationists are much more concerned with presenting the past in as authentic a way as possible but in past days, not so careful renovations occurred.

There's a fantastic dig and resulting re-creation of an ancient city - Akrotiri - on Santorini (ancient Thera) that you must not miss! I found this to be a high point in our trip.