57.- APRIL 13, ITALY, SORRENTO

MOUNT VESUVIUS. Greets us upon an early arrival to SORRENTO.

SORRENTO’S main district perched above the marina on a cliff.

Stairs carved on the outer walls of the old fortress.

AMALFI DRIVE:This narrow road winds alongside of rocky cliffs overlooking the sea. Offering breathtaking vistas of the Italian Riviera, with each twist and turn

Quiet place with a charming atmosphere and an hunrried pace of life. Where people have a close connection to their land.

POSITANO

56.- APRIL 12, SICILY, NAXOS/TAORMINA SAVOCA, FORZA D'AGRO PART 2

IN SAVOCA: Remains of an old synagogue from the 14th century. We were told by the guide that at that time 1/3 of the population in Sicily were Jewish and many synagogues were built.



FORZA D’AGRO, with 250 inhabitants, is a charming little village, built high in the mountains (1,350 ft.) overlooking the coast line.
In 1990, Al Pacino, Sophia Coppola came here to shoot scenes from the GODFATHER III

Church Santa Lucia, built in the 15th-16-Th centuries

Church SS TRINITA 15th century.

Magnificent vistas of the coastline, from the Church SS TRINITA.

Fortress built by the Normands, XII century

55.- APRIL 12, SICILY, NAXOS, TAORMINA. SAVOCA

NAXOS, Established as the Greek town of TAORMINA, across a wide valley nearby MOUNT ETNA.




MOUNT ETNA.

TAORMINA, perched on a high cliff atop Monte Tauro (On the right)

This morning we followed THE GODFATHER’S Footsteps, visiting some of the picturesque locales in which scenes from two of the GODFATHER movies were filmed.

SAVOCA, with 115 inhabitants (including the children!) Is a lovely old village nestled between two hills high in the mountains.

The private house at the entrance of SAVOCA, is called BAR VITELLI. Considered SAVOCA's institution

Displaying a collection of local artisan tools and photographs taken when Francisco Ford Coppola was in the area shooting scenes from the GODFATHER II

BAR VITELLI, owned by Maria D’Arrigo (84) still taking care of customers.

Remains of a Norman Castle.

54.- April 10, GREECE, RHODES & KATAKALON

RHODES, Laying at the eastern end of the Aegean Sea, around the shores of Turkey and Asia Minor is one of the great islands of the Mediterranean.

Rhodes is a city of two parts: The castle area, a city within a city, built by he Knights of St. John.
and

The new city

The old walled town, is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Maria, flew from Athens to celebrate her birthday with us!!

April 11, Our captain took us by surprise!! He invited all of us for lunch at KATAKALON. A Greek island (not in our itinerary) .

KATAKALON: Is a small, typical fisherman’s Island conserving the quite life and charm of times gone by.

Lunch with friends at the marina.

53.- APRIL 9, EGYPT, ALEXANDRIA

ALEXANDRIA, the second largest city in Egypt, known as "The Pearl of the Mediterranean". Was founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BC and became the capital of Egypt. Home to the most famous queen, Cleopatra.

During the 19th and 20th centuries, was one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the Middle East. A true gateway between east and west.









Alexandria also had the world’s best library, containing thousands of texts collected from all known continents. The library was destroyed in a fire.
Early in the 21st century, a vast new library was built near the site of the ancient one.

Impressive modern edifice, designed by Snohetta , a Norwegian architect, which won the UNESCO competition to design the innovative $220 million project.

The circular complex links glass and Aswan granite into the facade.

A series of flexible open-plan interior spaces surround the vast library, like a cathedral room, (480 feet by 240 feet).

Handwritten manuscripts, printed matter, and computer data are stored here.

It has 1/2 MILLION Books, with a storage capacity of 8 million.

In a separate room, the oldest and most valuable books are exhibited.

52.- APRIL 8, EGYPT, MEMPHIS

When we arrived to MEMPHIS, we could see the desert on one side and a green lush vegetation on the other with lots of date palms. Like the landscape was cut by a knife.
MEMPHIS, the once great city of the Old Kingdom that served as the administrative and religious center of Egypt.


The small museum houses the Ramses Colossus and other figures excavated in these area.

Scenes of daily live

Siesta on top of the truck!!

51.- APRIL 8, EGYPT, SAKKARA

SAKKARA, located 3 miles from the Nile,
The pyramid, is the oldest structure in the world.

SAKKARA. famous for the step pyramid of Zoser and Serapeum, burial place of the Apis bulls. Entirely built of stone. With Only six layers or steps was the first pyramid built!

"MASTABA" Tomb of dignataries and nobles