European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 13, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Travel Europe 1992 the med s4s Gary Miller worshippers arrive at the a Arlouine mosque in Fez Morocco. When the weather is a Delight and prices Low. But no matter How High prices creep this year Greece will remain a bargain for tourists. Public transportation is cheap in Greece and ferries linking Mainland ports and hundreds of its Isles Are the Best deals around. Be warned that ferry schedules Are notoriously unreliable. Be flexible. Greece is not Only blessed by its Sun and the glories of its antiquities but also by thousands of Homes offering rooms to rent at Rock Bottom prices. Owners Cluster around incoming ferries and buses soliciting guests and in the off season or late at night it is a buyer s Market. Greece has a tourist police organization to look after the welfare of travellers. If you think you have been ripped off by an unscrupulous cabbie or Hotelier threaten to Call in the tourist police. The threat will often nip the problem in the Bud. Restaurants in Greece Are fairly informal affairs and in most it is perfectly of to browse in the Kitchen lifting lids and peering into pots and pans to see what the Taverna is cooking. A Taverna favorite is the choir Tiki or greek salad of olives tomatoes cucumbers onions and chunks of soft feta cheese. It s perfectly acceptable expected in fact for a group of diners to share the salad by dipping their Forks into a communal bowl. Greek Coffee is the end of meal favorite although newcomers to Greece May wonder Why anyone would like the sludge like stuff. Other acquired taste Are for retsina wine to which Pine resin has been added and for ouzo a distilled spirit to which Anise is added to give it a Licorie flavor. Both May take some getting used to. Anyone considering driving after Downing a few glasses of ouzo should think about All those Little shrines alongside greek roads. They Mark the site of fatal traffic  As on Many of the greek islands the whitewashed houses of Poros extend right Down to the water s Edge. S&8 do Dudlo a amps Michael Abrams a visitor inspects Trajan s Temple at Bergama t ancient pergamum a in Turkey. Vacationers seeking just Sun and sea need not go to Malta for they can find 1 that cheaper elsewhere. But Malta is a must for anyone with a love of history. Tiny Malta 17 Miles Long and nine Miles wide along with its two Little sister islands Gozo and Comino lie at the very heart of the Mediterranean 58 Miles South of Sicily. The islands Are Independent today but they seem to have been squabble Over for As Long As anyone can remember. Malta s often violent history reads like a Roll Call of warring tyrants pillaging pirates and courageous crusaders and they All left their Marks there including 23 of the world s earliest Stone temples. The storied builders of Malta were the powerful Soldier priests the knights of St. John of Jerusalem. The knights drawn from european nobility came to constitute perhaps the most powerful and wealthiest Force in Europe. The treasures they poured into Malta remain in the form of elaborately facade palaces and the opulent co Cathedral of St. John in downtown Valletta the Island capital that looks like its been chunked out of a chunk of cheese. Malta s fortifications and Waterside towns Are Best seen from aboard a sightseeing boat or a do Hausa a gaily coloured water taxi. The local wine is excellent and some robust British Type ales Are brewed on the Island. The ales Are a legacy of the years a 1814 until 1964 a when the British ruled Malta. And so is the fact that English is almost universally spoken on the islands. The major resorts where the action is in summer there is precious Little action on Malta in Winter Are St. Paul s Bay Sliema St. Julian s and St. George s. There the sheltered coves and unpolluted Waters attract yachtsmen and divers from All Over Europe while yielding a Bounty of seafood that will satisfy any  alluring and mysterious Morocco is Best visited in the off season when temperatures Are Ideal for is Ohio Pino in summer Morocco can be a hard to endure blast Furnace. For those with limited time a Quick trip across the Strait of Gibraltar to Tangier will serve As a Brief introduction to Morocco. Although Tangier offers its Nasbah and Good buys on rugs the City is somewhat shabby and Sleazy and visitors will be better served by touring Morocco s Imperial cities. The four great Imperial cities a Marrakesh Fez mends and Rabat a were seats of Power and culture for one or More dynamic dynasties during the last 12 centuries. Travel operators in most european countries offer we Klong Imperial cities Tours and these can be had at reasonable prices including All transportation hotels and meals. The oldest of the Imperial cities and Morocco s cultural heart is Fez. The City defended by Battle scarred bastions is a marvelous Maze wandering from souk to Palace to mosque. Twisting streets too narrow for anything larger than a bicycle Lead from one fascinating scene to another. The Street life of Fez is clamorous with veiled women shoppers bargaining with merchants amid colourful Mounds of spices and herbs schoolchildren reciting the Koran in open air classrooms and heavily Laden Burros hauling goods Between artisans factories and shops. Perhaps the liveliest of All Morocco s cities is Marrakesh. Its focal Point is its vast Jemaa Elfna a the Square of the dead. The area takes its name from the fact severed Heads of criminals were once displayed in the Square not from the amount of activity Here. There is nothing dead about the Square acrobats boxers magicians water Sellers with dangling Bells dancers whirling rifles like Batons Snake charmers and trained monkeys put on non Stop shows. Over All carries the sound of the throbbing Drums of berber dancers. Jirol Jones and John Taylor contribute 28 travel Europe May 13, 1992