A few words about Greece The world' s oldest civilizations were born on the banks of a great river but European civilizations grew up thanks to the sea, the Greek sea which the Romans so jealously named Mare Nostrum. In contrast, there are the numerous islands of the Aegean Sea, some isolated like Crete to the south, Ikaria, Chios and Lesbos to the east, Thassos and Samothraki to the north. The Sporades, consisting of Alonissos, Skiathos, Skopelos and Skyros, lie off the eastern shores of mainland Greece and retain their genuine island characteristics and unchanged local traditions. The Dodecanese group consists of twelve major islands, Astipalea, Kalimnos, Karpathos, Kassos, Kastelorizo, Cos, Lipsos, Leros, Nissiros, Patmos, Rhodes , Simi and a number of smaller islands, each with its distinctive features and peculiarities.
Variety is, in fact, the hallmark of the Greek geographical landscape generally.
On the other hand, the endless lacework of the coastline produces a series of scenic surprises. The length of the Greek coastline is estimated at 15,000 kilometres. The marked variety of the terrain above water continues under water, along the seabed which, millions of years ago, formed a projection of the land. Pit is 4,850 metres deep which is the deepest point in the Mediterranean. Vegetation and climate conform with the variations in the geographical area.