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The cultural landscape of Greece includes strains of music, smells of incense, glittering mosaics, winds of the Maltimi, and images of ancient places. The five human senses are the basic receptors of impressions of this exploration of Greece. The realm of fantasy, imagination, and memory plays a part in coloring the images of this ancient European culture hearth. Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, occupies the southernmost extension of the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe. Even though Greece is a Mediterranean country there are wide variations of climate. Thessaly is the most prosperous part of central Greece, which also includes the administrative regions of East Greece, Central Greece, and Attica. INSET: ANCIENT BELIEFS: PART OF THE WORLD'S GREAT LITERATURE.

There is no better way to experience and learn about a country than by traveling to its different regions to gain first-hand observations of its geographic settings, culture, diversity, development, and generally, its way of life. Particularly with a place like Greece with a rich history and an acclaimed association with the development of Western civilization, one gets the advantage of being there to ponder about great Greek thinkers as well as things or events that happened in the past which shape our present-day life. Like most large cities of the modern world, Athens has amenities, problems, dust and dirt, crime, and tourists, but most importantly it has the Acropolis. Close to Athens and the Piraeus Cape Sounion, with its temple to Athena, is a landmark that told ancient mariners they were leaving home and heading out to unknown and distant ports. A novel by Mary Renault, The Bull from the Sea, very appropriately describes the island of Crete.

Provides information about the granite sculpture in Vermont. How the granite sculpture started; Frank Gaylord, creator of Korean War Memorial in Washington, D.C.; Perfect example of the sculpture that deals with grace and motion. INSET: `Take off your hat when speaking to a stone-cutter'..

Visits the remote, beautiful and mysterious Lake Van area of eastern Turkey. Sparsely populated; Enormous snow-capped mountains; Curtains of haze and mist; Remnants of early Christian churches, Selijuc mausoleums and Ottoman mosques; Cool green grasslands; An abandoned and crumbling castle on a rocky outcrop; The author's sense of awe at the beauty and charm of the region.