Comfort break

Visiting a very special loo gives Savvas Eleftheriades a new love of Ancient Greece on a 10-day cruise

- Savvas Eleftheriades

Standing at the site of the world's first-known flushing toilet, this surely has to be one of the greatest inventions ever. It might surprise you to learn that this particular latrine, with sophisticated sewage system, was constructed around 3,500 years ago by an advanced civilisation called the Minoans, at Knossos on Crete.

The city had 25,000 inhabitants at its peak and the royal palace had more than 1,500 rooms - yes you read that correctly. They had vaults that could store 300,000 tons of olive oil and had developed a form of architecture that maximised open spaces and light.

This included the first stairs with shallower steps that were easier to climb, showing that consideration was given to the elderly and less able.

Here you'll also find Europe's first paved road and the first theatre. Most fascinating of all is that archeologists researching the site believe all this was achieved without the use of slaves.

Knossos is one of many fascinating locations my wife and I would visit on a 10-day Ancient World Wonders cruise in the Eastern Mediterranean, on board the luxurious Oceania Cruises Riviera ship.

We set sail from Athens and took in the Greek islands of Santorini, Crete, Mykonos and Rhodes before sailing on to Bodrum, Kusadasi, Bozcaada and Istanbul in Turkey, visiting some of the greatest archeological sites along the way. You could say we took a short boat trip but a long ride back in time.

The ship Riviera is a modestly-sized ship of around 1,250 passengers, in keeping with Oceania's philosophy of small ships offering a high level of luxury. The state rooms are elegantly decorated, the beds are super comfy and the bathrooms sumptuous. There are nice touches like free filtered water in your room and in the public spaces, free tea and coffee available at all times and 24-hour room service.