Turkey: And you thought it was only for Thanksgiv
Trip Start
Jun 18, 2006
1
10
18
Trip End
Jul 02, 2006
Where I stayed
HAL's Amazing Noordam!
Kusadasi, Turkish Aegean Coast, Turkey
Monday, June 26, 2006
On deck, Turkey lays before me. We have just docked, and there are three other ships here as well. A Wind Star sailing cruise ship, a sailing ship called the Flying Cloud, and another small cruise ship. Not too may others, since they are all dwarfed by the Noordam!
Kusadasi is beautiful... steep hills rise form the port and are covered with houses, shops and hotels.... the red Turkish flag flaps in the breeze with it's star and slivered moon symbol in white. Already I can hear the hustle and bustle of the city, hear the hawkers, taxis and horns filling the morning air... I can hardly wait!
Somehow I make my way, after taking photo's and having breakfast, to the lounge at 10 of 8 and Michael is waiting outside with my sticker (each day on tour we get a small round sticker with the lines logo and a number on it for which tour group we are in.. today we are WHITE 4) and Bob is saying c'mon, lets go... they've called our group! I don't even have to sit and wait, what service! All this rush and hustle today.... Down the stairwell and out the gangway to shore. Again I get my picture snapped by the ships photographer with a "Turkish" sailor and then we are herded, I mean we board an air-conditioned bus and are off on our way to Ephesus, a city that was destroyed somewhere around 500 BC (give or take a few hundred years) by an earthquake. It was never rebuilt since the centers of trade and the Empires that ruled over it had shifted. Bad for the city, good for archeologists and tourists alike.
Now, we had all heard stories of how pushy the bazaar sellers could be, tales of them dragging you in and basically not letting you go until you bought something. Tales of bargaining, and seeing what deals you could get. Our tour guide reminded us of the same thing as we arrived at the top of Ephesus, warning us not to buy the "ancient coins" which are not ancient at all, just having been passed thorough some animal in order for them to have an "ancient" appearance. And sure enough, we got bombarded briefly before we entered the site. . . . Carol was scared to death of being corralled, with her sweet disposition, she doesn't have the ability to be firm and say no, she's not interested. Once inside the ruins, I was awed by the sight before me. It is amazing (there's that word again) of how well preserved it is, and how advanced the ancients were. And as we continued into the sight, the more and more amazed I became. Streets paved in Marble, three story buildings, fountains, amphitheaters, street signs and even places where "street lights" used to be placed each night (wooden poles with olive oil lamps were placed in holes in the street). They had a public toilet even... with an advanced water system to flush it all away. And a library, that reportedly held one of the largest collections of the time... it's façade still stands. You can see where shops once stood, the mosaic covered walks along side the streets where chariots rode during processions, just the advancement of it all is astonishing. Just the attempts at being sanitary, and the movement and supply of water..... even the sailors when they came into port had to bathe and be cleaned before they were allowed into the city in order to keep disease at bay. And what I truly found interesting, is that the city was once a port, because the sea is now about 4 or 5 kilometers away. If you ever come to Turkey, it is WELL worth the visit. Ephesus will only continue to grow since they have only uncovered less than 25% of the ruins.
A brief visit to the loo (they provided a voucher for us, I'd had to pay ½ a euro to get in the one at the beginning) and then it's a few minutes of free time by buy stuff. Bob h ad bought an Ephesus "plaque" just inside the grounds, and went into a shop in the bazaar just outside the gates to look for magnets. I followed him and the same thing he'd paid 12 euro for was 15 in the bazaar. But then it quickly became 12 as I looked at it, and then 10 when I started to leave.... I couldn't resist and it left with me, although had I bargained more it would have been 7 or 8, but I was happy with 10. Back on the bus, it makes you grateful for air-conditioning.
Off to the local archeological museum. It was filled with items found in the ruins of Ephesus. Lots of statuary, including the one I sent you a picture of yesterday. In case you haven't guessed, I'm pretty much a day behind in these letters. We took pictures, admired the finds and relaxed in the courtyard with a cool beverage before we once again headed out. I found it interesting that they didn't say something if someone touched some of the statuary, and even more interesting that the Americans thought that it was ok. Some of these people are a real piece of work.
Next we went to St John the Evangelists church, which lies in ruins after an earthquake some 500 years ago. It was never rebuilt either since most of the local inhabitants are Muslim. Only 10% of turkeys population are Christian or other religions. It was interesting to see the ruins of the church.... it must have been quite spectacular in it's time. Our guide assures us that Turkey is very tolerant of other religions, and in general a nice place... he himself only moved there 3 years ago from Rhodes.
From there we went to a Railway Museum and a fabulous Turkish lunch provided as part of the tour. We dined al fresco and the food was F A B U L O U S! Michael and Carol were especially in heaven. There was also a show of local dancers and then we were left to explore the museum, which is mainly a collection of steam locomotives. It is situated in an old steam engine yard, that had been improved with lawns, flowers and gardens manicured to near perfection, my description does not do it justice. From there I napped on the bus, these tours and my lack of rest is getting to me. Back in the port, we were herded, literally, into a rug shop for a talk on different types of carpets and a brief refreshment. I did not like being herded and left the group at that point, visiting several shops looking for sandals and such on my way back to the ship.
Once aboard, I went to the cabin and quickly fell asleep. I was out cold. Michael woke me about an hour later and we headed to Team Trivia once again. We are determined to win something! ANYTHING! I know the suspense is killing you.... but no, we lost by one point again!
The rest of the afternoon was spent finishing yesterdays missive, and the contest which you already know Arghavan Almony won, leave it to the doctor to get the "condition" question right. I am working on another question for tomorrow, and promise that one and another before we return home. This one is even going to be more difficult, I hope. Especially since Arghavan answered with in 60 seconds! Way to go GIRL!
I dressed for dinner, and changed three times, I could not decide what to wear. Ah the difficult decisions. It was followed later by what to eat...... But in between I joined Michael, Carol and Bob in the Sports Bar to watch the World Cup. It was PACKED! And a lot of fun, lots of hooting and shouting at the monitors. But no place to sit, and you know me, I'm all about comfort. So, a turn on the Promenade deck seemed in order. I stopped by the rail to watch the Flying Cloud set sail and struck up a conversation with Phyllis, a woman from Ft. Lauderdale who works for Holland America there. They too have to sail "STANDBY" as I have to fly, so she said she and her husband had paid to come on the cruise because they didn't want to risk it. She also said every cabin was booked. Why doesn't it feel crowded? I LOVE THIS SHIP! I stopped into the Ocean Bar and had a Grolsch beer and listened to the Jazz combo.... watching Kusadasi outside the windows.
Dinner was wonderful, an amazing garlic soup, and then we went up to the Lido deck to play Canasta... quality family time. I was fading again, (I wonder if I've not caught a cold) but we played to 5000. On the Lido pool deck mid-ship, they were setting up for the desert extravaganza at 1030. I took pictures of it in all it's glory, and sure enough, about 1025 you could hear the moo's as the massed descended on the display. It was a sight to behold.... believe me, you do not want to stand between desert and 700 cruise passengers who've not eaten since 830. It was beginning to get noisy in the Lido Café where we were playing, so we finished up the game and headed off to bed. Ah, sweet, wonderful 400 count (I've only mentioned these sheets a thousand times in case you're wondering what I want for my birthday) crisp white sheets! I wanted to take a turn on deck again, but the sun, the excitement, the food all gets to me... hopefully (with enough caffeine) I'll be able to tomorrow, for we are at SEA all day! Lovely! No schedule! YES!
