Greek Islands (Cadogan Guide Greek Islands) - Softcover

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 Ikarķa. 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

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)