Crete, Greece – May 3 to 12, 2008    

Imagine yourself on the Greek island of Crete, standing on a hillside that is covered with aromatic herbs and colorful wildflowers. Join us in Spring 2008 and you'll spend ten days savoring Crete's incredible history and natural beauty, learning about local native plants and traditional foods, and being inspired by a place where people still live in harmony with the earth. You'll visit quiet mountain villages, organic farms, small cosmopolitan cities, a restored 700-year-old village that is now an elegantly relaxed off-the-grid retreat center, some of the world’s most famous Byzantine frescoes and churches, museums and archaeological sites spanning the Neolithic era to the Iron Age. Our small group travels at a leisurely pace, by private van, jeep or on foot, so that you have a chance to sink into the landscapes, absorbing the island's rich, authentic culture and beauty. And that's just the backdrop for our educational focus on the medical botany of Crete and the Mediterranean, a region whose healing practices rely on some of the most important herbs in Western clinical practice. Throughout the tour, you'll learn about herbs from local people who use them for their own and their animals' health care. Hiking seminars introduce you to wild plants in their native habitats in a variety of eco-systems. You'll learn the historical and current uses of plants such as sage (Salvia spp.), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinale), oregano (Oreganum spp.), chasteberry (Vitex agnus castus), and others. Your tour leaders, Patricia Kyritsi Howell, Registered Herbalist (AHG), and clinical anthropologist Robinette Kennedy, PhD, have been leading tours on Crete since 1997. We have over 40 years of combined professional experience in Greece. As a result, we’re blessed to be part of an extensive network of local archaeological guides, organic farmers, shepherds, bakers, café and hotel owners, wine makers, and friends who will generously share their knowledge with you in both formal and informal seminars. When you register for this tour, you'll receive a complete packing list, suggested reading list and background information about local customs and culture. While you are on Crete, we’ll attend to every detail so that you may relax and enjoy your visit to this magical island. In the course of the tour, you will learn:   Medical botany of plants native to Crete, with an emphasis on traditional herbal medicines.   How to identify native medicinal and edible plants of Crete and the eastern Mediterranean.   The region's traditional healing practices.   To appreciate the health benefits of Crete's delicious traditional cuisine.   Crete's political and cultural history, including insights into the art and religion of Minoan civilization.

 

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