Best Hotel Directory

Eastern Mediterranean

Not surprisingly, the Holy Land is the focus of enormous attention right now and Israel is gearing up to meet the inevitable visitor demand.

It isn't just the religious groups which are heeding the call. Besides all those holy places, from Nazareth to Jerusalem, Israel has a diverse offer for incentives. What more unusual place to hold a welcome meeting than while floating effortlessly in the Dead Sea?

There are beaches too, with the modern southern resort of Eliat partnering well with trips into neighbouring Jordan to marvel at the ruins of ancient Petra, it's temples and palaces carved out of the living rock face. To Israel's north, the Lebanon is recovering fast with Beirut confidently reasserting itself as 'The Jewel of the Mediterranean'. Here in a city which long rivalled Paris for sheer sophistication there's outstanding shopping, nightlife and eating-out.

Another veritable gem, the island of Cyprus – the third largest in the Mediterranean' – is still, sadly, split in half, its historic capital of Nicosia echoing Berlin's former role as a divided city. The Turkish north of the island offers stunning scenery and wonderful beaches. The southern Greek sector is more geared to sophisticated events, with outstanding hotels in such resorts as Paphos, Larnaca, Limassol, Agia Napa and Protaras while the Troodos Mountains boast unspoilt villages, majestic forests and an unending choice of nature trails – plus, in winter, the rare opportunity to ski in the morning and swim in the sea after lunch.

Greece rightly places great store by its heritage. Athens is dominated by the mighty Parthenon and has plenty more with which to satisfy culture devotes. Gourmets will find it surprisingly well endowed too, a whole generation of new young chefs having spun the traditional cuisine off in a hundred new directions. Within easy reach for excursions beyond the city are such marvels as the Corinth Canal and ancient Marathon. Like individual travellers, most incentive groups will be thinking most of the Greek islands – a profusion of choice and each one different from its neighbours.

Arguably, Corfu, set just off the coast of Albania, offers the widest range of amenities when it comes to group business, but Rhodes, Santorini, Lesbos and the rest all have their proponents. An option for taking them all in, or more realistically a goodly selection, is to hold your event on a rented craft, be it a luxury sailing yacht or, for the biggest groups, a full-scale cruise ship. This also opens the possibility of combining Greece and Turkey is where Europe meets Asia.

Forget preconceptions, this is a clean, well-ordered country – at least in the popular Mediterranean resort areas around Bodrum, Izmir and Antalya. For Groups prepared to take the rough with the smooth, Eastern Turkey offer a chance to sample life as its has carried on for centuries and to discover remarkable archaeological treasures and wonderful natural scenery. And then there's Istanbul, the mighty metropolis which bestrides the waters of the Bosphorus. The Topkapi Palace, the Great Mosque, memories of Byzantium and of the great Ottoman Empire await.

Far to the west is the island fortress of Malta and it's thoroughly unspoilt midget satellite Gozo. Here are some of the oldest manmade structures in existence plus an infrastructure almost wholly geared to supporting the tourism industry which keeps the place afloat. Good, mostly modern, hotels, stunning ancient churches and forts, and nightlife that's unashamedly 21st Century provide a class product.

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