Mediterranean Cruise 1982

Our cruise in the Mediterranean was a long budget cruise on the Azur from Toulon, France in 1982. I only half-jokingly call this cruise "all the sights of the ancient world" because of the large number of historically significant places that we visited. We found it an excellent way to see many important spots that would otherwise be expensive and time-consuming to get to. We visited Piraeus, Greece (the port of Athens); Izmir, Turkey (to visit the ruins at Ephesus); Haifa, Israel (for Jerusalem and Bethlehem); Port Said and Alexandria, Egypt (for Cairo and the pyramids); Rhodes, Greece; Herakleion, Greece (for the Palace of Knossos); Naples, Italy (for the ruins of Pompeii).

The Azur is was a VERY small ship by modern standards (I think about 500 people) -- and I would only sail on small ships, unless of course you are there for the ship experience rather than the ports. The cruise line was Paquet.

If you view the images in large form (by clicking on one and then clicking through the rest in that section) you get additional information such as location information and comments.

These photos were scanned in 2007 from 1982 slides that were not well stored. I recommend anyone with slides or negatives to scan them as soon as possible because they are degrading...
  • Piraeus is the port of Athens. We had a bit of time in Piraeus after the excursion.

    Athens

    Piraeus is the port of Athens. We had a bit of time in Piraeus after the excursion.
  • Izmir was the port they used to get us to Ephesus. Ephesus was founded in the 13th century BC but they silted up their port, so Ephesus remained forgotten and…

    Ephesus

    Izmir was the port they used to get us to Ephesus. Ephesus was founded in the 13th century BC but they silted up their port, so Ephesus remained forgotten and…
  • Haifa was our port for visiting Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Whatever your cultural heritage, Israel is a place not to miss. The places described in the Bible are…

    Israel

    Haifa was our port for visiting Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Whatever your cultural heritage, Israel is a place not to miss. The places described in the Bible are…
  • Port Said was a stop to let people off who wanted to go to Cairo for a visit to the pyramids and the museum. You can't imagine the pyramids until you are…

    Egypt

    Port Said was a stop to let people off who wanted to go to Cairo for a visit to the pyramids and the museum. You can't imagine the pyramids until you are…
  • On Rhodes we chose just to ride the bikes that were available on the ship rather than visit Lindos. We found a small ruin and lots of friendly goats. …

    Rhodes and Crete

    On Rhodes we chose just to ride the bikes that were available on the ship rather than visit Lindos. We found a small ruin and lots of friendly goats. …
  • Naples is a wonderful southern Italian city in its own right, but we came primarily to see Pompeii. Pompeii is similar to Ephesus in that it is complete,…

    Naples and Pompeii

    Naples is a wonderful southern Italian city in its own right, but we came primarily to see Pompeii. Pompeii is similar to Ephesus in that it is complete,…