Part of each year I live in a small Turkish town called Didim, a once upon a time fishing village located half way between Izmir and Didim’s more famous sister Bodrum.

The great advantage of the place is that it’s ideally placed for excursions to other Turkish locations such as Ephesus or the delightful port town of Kusadasi as well as being conveniently close to some lovely Greek islands.

Kos is only a few hours away and my friends and I embarked on a boat trip to visit the birthplace of Hippocrates. This is one of my favorite Europe travel tips.

In the summer, ferries leave once a day from Didim/Altinkum, otherwise one has to go to Bodrum  from where the crossings run year around.

The ferry from Altinkum is a hydrofoil which is good because it shortens the time of the crossing to only 2 – 2 1/2 hours, depending on the wind condition. On the other hand it’s only half the fun, because you can’t enjoy the sight of the many islands dotting the Aegean Sea from an open deck. You are locked in tightly below, the windows are covered with spray but you effortless – and fast- whiz above the waves.

Customs and immigration on arrival at Kos are swift and very well organised. You don’t lose much time going through the formalities and step onto the pier, heading towards the capital of Kos, also called Kos.

A huge castle wall runs along the pier and you get your first glimpse of the ever present black cats lounging on the sun heated stones. At the end of the pier we turned left and walked uphill through some of those lovely, narrow Greek side streets which mostly consist of steps.

Surrounded by gardens and swaying palm trees lies the first of Kos’ famous sites: the ruins of an ancient gymnasium.

Turn left again and you reach what we had really come to see: the world famous plane tree under which the Greek physician Hippocrates supposedly used to sit and teach his disciples. The tree is truly a sight to behold, ancient, gnarled, some branches  supported by scaffolding the trunk split by lightning, the tree has withstood the ages and remains a symbol of the science, wisdom and advanced knowledge of antiquity.

To this day there is an island tradition involving the tree. Every 5^th of September, the housewives of Kos take two wreaths made of pomegranate, grapes, garlic, olive branches and some leaves of the Hippocrates tree to the sea. The old wreath is cast into the sea and the new one is placed on the beach where it needs to be lapped by exactly 40 waves. Pebbles are also collected and a procession with the new wreaths and the pebbles returns to the tree. The trunk is touched for good luck and the new wreath is hung in the house to protect its inhabitants for another year. The pebbles are placed in a corner and are supposed to ward off wagging tongues!

Meandering back towards the sea front and admiring some of the colourful boats moored there, we reached another small park which is graced by a modern statue of Hippocrates surrounded by his admirers. I couldn’t help myself, I found Hippocrates’ backside more attractive than the front.

Many tourists come to Kos for duty free shopping and these establishments abound. We had come for another purpose though: apart from visiting the tree we made a bee line for one of three fish restaurants we had already tested in the past. It is quite a surprise that two countries which are so close together and fish in the same sea can have such difference in the quality of sea food. Each of the three offers a sea food platter for €25 which is so enormous that two people can easily share. Big king prawns, sword fish, sea bass, a selection of fresh salads, fries and mashed potatoes spill over  the platter. Nothing like that is to be had in Didim and we indulged to our heart’s content.

Some cheese, a coffee, another stroll along the seafront and it was already time for the return ferry at 6 pm.

A wonderful daytrip was rounded out by a spectacular sunset over the Aegean Sea, which in Homer’s immortal words, turned ‘wine colored’.

Have you visited the Greek island of Kos, what did you most enjoy doing there?