| Sad old Samos. Once one of the wealthiest of Greek islands and boasting architectural wonders of the ancient world it is now little more than a meek holiday retreat for the middle-aged, middle-income package-tour tourist. Busy bulldozers and regiments of ready-mix cement lorries have paved over any Greek character that dared defy the march of progress. A sort of sedate Bournemouth of the Aegean, it is now more holiday village than Greek village, nowhere more so than in the much tamed east and south. |