One of the rewards of being a tour guide in Greece is noticing the light that goes on in your visitor's eyes as they imagine the lives that were lived so long ago among the ruins where you're standing today.

We want them to understand exactly how they were used in ancient everyday life and what exactly

they meant for those people.

How was this everyday life?

Hi I'm Rick Steeves.

Coming up in the hour ahead, travel specialists guide us around the highlights of their Mediterranean turf.

As the Romans were in awe of the Greeks, the Greeks were in all of the Egyptians, and so it goes back and back and back.

In Morocco, you might find a comfortable guest house in an unsuspecting corner of the old Arab corridor.

You walk by a narrow alley and the only thing you see of that house is a little door.

When you enter it, it's magical. Or take time to enjoy the afternoon,

relaxing on the piazza of a small town in southern Italy. We sit on the

square because the world is there. We play cards, that we fall asleep.

Let's explore the Mediterranean world together on Travel with Rick Steves.

We'll find out why Morocco is one of America's best friends and why it's a great place to enjoy a mix of the old and new in the Arab world.

And we'll explore the relaxed pace of the far south of Italy coming up in just a bit today on travel with Rick

steves. Let's start our exploration of the Mediterranean world with travel

specialist Anastasia Gaetanu who comes to us from Thessaloniki in

northern Greece and with Cullen Clement.

He's been working on archaeological projects in Alexandria, Egypt now for years.

They're here to help us take a fresh look at what the ruins and antiquities of the Eastern Mediterranean can tell us about the one-time center of the world.

Anastasia and Colin, thanks for being with us.

Thank you. Thank you. When you think about the ancient world, I'm always fascinated

...