Except for July and August - and then only in a handful of islands - there is no tourist crowd. The approach, too, is simple and direct: a short voyage from Piraeus, and the rest of the world is left far behind. And everywhere is that unsurpassed clear air, the scent of thyme and juniper, the deep blue of the fabled sea. Refreshed, at ease with the islanders, not burdened by the chic or the fashionable, I found myself relishing these simple pleasures, as I did the sailing, the swimming, the walks past shepherds and monasteries and olive groves to lost temples, the voyages from port to port, island to island. There are trees and vine trellises shading the little harborside cafés there are untouched beaches and fishing villages and hamlets hung on steep hillsides there is music and the good Turkish coffee served with a sweet conserve and a glass of cold spring water. There is no ugliness here, no clamor, no traffic to speak of, no television, no advertising. But after one has come to know the Greeks‘ past, one begins to like them for their present, for their friendliness and good manners, their eagerness and their insatiable curiosity, and nowhere are these qualities stronger and clearer than in the islands. Crete, Rhodes, Delos, Patmos - the very names of the islands speak of that ancient splendor. The awesome relics of the past are as numerous and as fine here as on the mainland. Stretching from Italianate Corfu all the way to the coast of Turkey, and halfway to Africa, the Greek islands are Europe‘s last major preserve of totally unspoiled natural beauty, of life naively and simply enjoyed. And there are so many of them, nearly 1500 (166 are inhabited): great strings and clusters of islands, each within an hour or two of the next, no two alike, each a strong presence set deep into history and myth. In a world as turbulent as ours, it is hard to imagine so pure and serene a world of islands as the Aegean contains.
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