Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul, Turkey        Monday, April 22, 2013

We had an enjoyable ride into Istanbul this morning. Usually the ship travels all night to have us sitting in the port of a city first thing in the morning; however, today we were scheduled to arrive at 1:00pm so we decided to find a seat on the front of the ship's 13th floor bar and watch as the ship pulled into the harbor. It was a foggy day. Not much sunshine so the sea had a mystical view about it. As we approached the area, many cargo ships were heading in the same direction as we were. Tiny fishing boats were scattered across the harbor. The captain even blew his horn three times warning one tiny boat to get out of the way.

We passed the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Spohia, and the Toplapi Palace going into Istanbul. These places are the ship's excursions that are available to purchase for tour.  I had never heard of these places before  this trip...but I had heard of the Grand Bazarra, so guess where we were going.

We enjoyed lunch on the back deck while watching the busy harbor....cargo ships, fishing boats, cargo ships, car ferries, police boats, tourboats, and boat taxis moving about. The harbor was one of the busiest that we have ever seen...reminded us of the harbor in Hong Kong....it is amazing that they all seem to be able to navigate the choppy water without bumping into each other. We do hear their horns sounding out at each other occasionally...we wondered if there ever is a boating accident here with the huge ships and the tiny boats and all the passing ferries. It has to be  remarkable for them to move about without an accident occurring.

Istanbul is made up from a vast history of conquerors...Hittites, Phrygians, Greeks, Cimmerians, Lydians, Persians, Mecedonians, Romans...As we entered the harbor, the ship's captain pointed out that Istanbul is divided by the Bosporus River. The Eastern section is known as part of Asia Minor and the Western part is European. This river flows from the Sea of Marmara to the Black Sea.

Once the ship was docked, Larry and I decided to enjoy the calm quiet ship for the afternoon and then head out for an evening in Istanbul. We had dinner on the back deck of the ship...watching the boats going back and forth in the Marmara Sea. We enjoyed a night time walk among the stars of Istanbul. We left the port and walked past numerous restaurants with the nargile water pipe bars.

Smoking these water pipes have been a tradition since the early 17th century. Through the 20th century, water pipes were considered antiquated; however over the past decade a hugh resurgence in popularity has occured. Larry and I were witness to this when we saw so many people enjoying this activity in the evening.

A waiter shared a menu with us explaining that you can order a plain, fruit, or herb tobacco such as apple, cherry, or mint. People were lounging on the sofas and stuffed seats taking puffs off the shared smoking urns...it looked like as many as eight people could smoke off one urn. These places were thriving with business.

 

 

The waiter also provides you with sterilized mouthpieces for the pipe. The people puffed away huge clouds of smoke and drank tea while talking or playing tavla, Turkish Backgammon....alcohol is most likely never served in these smoking bars. Although we did not participate, we certainly enjoyed watching everyone puffing away. This was definitely a different cultural pastime.

                                                         A Mosque lit up the night sky

Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Larry and I were up bright and early to explore the European side of Istanbul. Where were we heading today? The Grand Bazaar! This is a must for all Istanbul visitors. We walked through the port gates and down a street that was truely a man's shopping area....hunt supplies, tools, hardware....nothing of interest to a female. After walking about a half and hour, we came to the Galata Bridge where numerous people were fishing.

Larry had to check out what was being caught. What sights! The busy harbor...the traffic...the moslems mosques....the traffic ...and the people watching was amazing! So many cultures were mixed together here. The moslem women all wore scarfs on their heads.

                                            It's not hard to figure out who the tourists are.

 

 

Many had on raincoats to cover their bodies. We did see some wearing burqas. There were a wide variety of ways that women choses to cover their selves....some with fashionable scarves, some with long raincoats, some in all black.... 

Larry and I sat for a while on the far side of the bridge where the tourist ferries docked and just observed. Oh my!We even saw police with automatic guns slung over their shoulders....kind of a scarey scene.

We finally got up and moved across the street walking through a nice neighborhood of upscales shops, heading up the hill to our destination for the day. The Grand Bazaar is one of the world's oldest shopping centers.

 

                                       One of twenty-two entrances into the Grand Bazarra

Constructed in 1461, the bazarra is an endless mix of carpets, ceramics, Middle Eastern antiques, and endless souvenirs....more that 3500 shops spred over 64 streets with over 22,000 workers...it was dizzying.... and by lunch time the crowds were enormous....a quarter of a million visitors pour through the gates each day.

                                                                What a crowd!
The day that Larry and I visited I think it was a million. Why? It was the National Holiday for Turkey and schools were closed and everyone was off from work. We have not seen such a large crowded area....everywhere we went.

                                              Larry found a great hat made in Turkey

We found one patch of tulips in front of a government building with automatic weaponed guards

 

We enjoyed lunch in an area that merchandise was being loaded and unloaded going into shops and out by carts. It was so busy that we were throughly entertained by the people coming and going. It was shameful to see older men carrying huge bundles on their backs up and down the hill into and away from stores. These bundles were so large that they had men loading them on their backs.

                                    We shopped around, and tried to haggle...it was expected.

 

To our surprise, we found that Turkey is the 17th richest country in the world....soon expected to surpass the Netherlands. It was the first Arab country for Obama to visit due to their ability to stand strong away from the happenings in neighboring countries of Iran, Iraq, and Egypt. Turkey is also a contender for the 2020 Olympics. They are a proud country with flags flying everywhere.

It is also a land of surprises.....

                        The public potty...notice the faucet & pitcher for water to wash things away.

                                          Motor oil for sale ...bring  your own container. 

                                                  Haggling with a vendor for your dinner

Drinking tea in a glass without a handle

                             A gold covered servant tray...every girl needs one of these!
We had a wonderful day. We had walked many miles today, although, we had passed several opportunities to ride the modern looking tram and bus systems. We really enjoyed the sights and being up close to the Istanbul citizens.

                                             My Man took me to Istanbul...I still can't believe it!
In the evening, we had a nice dinner on the back deck of the Jade and stayed to watch the sun set and the ship pull out of the harbor. We got more shots of the skyline of Istanbul with a different perspective during the evening than what we had during the noon approach. It all was so exciting to experience and we enjoyed every minute of it.

                     One of two bridges that cross the Bospherous River...uniquely the colors changed
                                                  on the bridge every minute or so

                                                 The infamous Blue Mosque lit up at night.

Izmir, Turkey

Izmir, Turkey Sunday, April 21,2013

Have you ever heard of Izmir? Not I. But the signs around the harbor claim it to be the newest traveled to European city in 2011. It is the third largest city in Turkey and the harbor is one of the largest that we have ever visited. It is well planned with the expansive city surrounding the bay and a small section designated to the business of shipping containers.

Large wide areas of walkways, running track, and a park atmosphere line the bay with benches along the way to sit and rest. It is a lovely place to stroll while watching the boat taxis cross the bay. Dozens of men are fishing along the stoned walkways and vendors offer hot coffee, fresh flowers, peanuts, and other various venues.

 Horse and buggy rides go to and from the ship area and an open air bus is available for a ride through the city. Setting back from the walkways is a street with numerous cafes and restaurants looking out to the bay. Over these business are tall apartment buildings with nice balconies that look out to the harbor. Izmir looks like a lovely modern city.

Larry and I enjoyed a lovely long walk by the water along with numerous families who were out soaking up the sunshine. We turned into the city business area after about an hour and rode the elevator to the top 40 floor of the Hilton. Unfortunately the restaurant at the top was closed so we rode back down to enjoy some shopping along the palm treed open market.

                                                 Another cruise ship leaving Izmir

We had a great lunch by the water and then mosied back to the ship to have a relaxing evening of reading and watching an old heartwarming Italian movie that took place during WWII that had us both laughing . What a wonderful way to spend a Sunday!

Piraeus and Athens, Greece

 

Piraeus and Athens, Greece         Saturday, April 20, 2013

Cool breezes from the seaside sent us eating a leisure breakfast inside the Garden Cafe. We grabbed our camera bag and headed off of the ship looking for a way to get to Athens. We were flogged by taxi cab drivers offering to take us to Athens for $120 Euro....the tourist information booth was closed. So we approached a policeman who was kindly giving another couple the directions that we needed. We ended up making friends with the couple and traveling to Athens with them.

We walked for about a half an hour through the city of Piraeus to the train station E8 and bought two tickets for 2.70 Euro... a long way from what the taxicab drivers was offering us at the ship. The city was very clean with lots of cars, buses, and taxis buzzing by us.

                                    Piraeus  was a very modern city with outdoor escalators

Along the way many taxi drivers offered to take us to Acropolis for 15 and 20 Euro. We just kept walking to the train station. After riding the train for 8 stops, we got off and boarded the metro red line with the same ticket going 3 stops before arriving at the Acropolis. The trip took about 30-40 minutes. It was quite crowd, I was the lucky one to find a seat.

                                              Christiana & Galen  from Belguim with Larry

The metro was very modern and had exhibits of old statues and ruins glassed in cases down in the metro station. What a great way to preserve these antiquities for all enjoy. We went up two escalators to the wide streets in Athens and saw the Acropolis on the top of the hill. Awesome... except it had scaffolding around parts of it. We had been told years ago that they were letting these pieces of history disinergrate in the weather. Larry and I were so happy that they had decided to try to keep them intact, even if we did have to look at the scaffolding.

 

We parted from our new friends from the ship, Galin and Chris from Belguim. They did not want to go into the Acropolis and had planned on doing some shopping.

                                                              Chris and Galen
Larry and I bought two tickets for 24 Euro to enter the Acropolis, one of the seven wonders of the modern world. We are so glad that we did because the views of Athens from there were phenominal. Larry and I had seen the Temple of Athena (built in 420 BC), the Parthenon (rebuilt in the second half of the 5 centruy BC), and the Erechtheion (built in 420 BC) in books back in our earlier high school years of studies....long ago...so it was very exciting to see these in real life.

 

 

 

We enjoyed the expansive view of Athens below the Acropolis while having a picnic lunch.  Athens must be a wonderful place to live because it is packed with buildings from the sea to as far as the eye can see. The view was incredible!

 

 

Athens has been occupied for a long time. By 1400 BC the Acropolis was a powerful Mycenaean city. Athens Golden Age peaked during 5th century BC. Romans turned Athens into a learning center and later it split with the east remaining Roman and the west going to the Byzantines (modern day Istanbul). It became a delapidated city under Ottoman rule. In 1834 Athens became the capitol of Greece. The city was rebuilt with large squares and tree lined boulevards. It became known as the"Paris of the Mediterranean" during the 19th and early 20th century. A large influx of refugees from Asia Minor influenced a large unplanned concrete building spree to occur causing Athens to become traffic clogged and polluted. Turned down for the 1996 Olympics caused the city to complete a facelift with a new airport and metro system. The Olymics were then held in Athens in 2004.

After walking down the many steps and slanted stone walkways, we ended on a very nice road back to the metro that had numerous musicians along the way. We enjoyed their tunes and watched several along the way.

Larry and I really enjoyed Athens. We found the trains and metro easy to navigate. The people were friendly and helpful. The streets and sidewalks were very clean. We saw many, many large healthy dogs that would lay about on the sidewalks sleeping. They were friendly and seemed to have a good life....there must not be a leash law.

We arrived back to the ship around 4:00. The ship sailed out of the harbor at 5:00 sharp. During this trip we have been fortunate to visit five lovely Greek cities....Iraklion, Katakolon, Olymipia, Piraeus, and Athens....all were delightful. Two musicians strummed Greek music on the back deck as the ship pulled out of the harbor. What a great way to end out visit to Greece!

Katakolon & Olympia, Greece

Katakolon & Olympia, Greece April 19, 2013
Gorgious day. Sunshine and about 70 degrees. After breakfast, Larry and I took a walk down the gangplank to the small town of Katakolon, population 1600. It was a quaint little village with lots of little shops lining the streets and a lot of little cafes lining the seaside. We stopped at the tourist information booth and found that we could ride a train or a bus to the little village of Olympia, birthplace of the first Olympics.


We decided to take the bus for 10 Euros each for a 40 minute ride through olive, oak, and pine trees. Our guide informed us that just a few years ago a tremendous fire had burned up most of the older trees and almost destroyed the Olympic Museum. We drove right through the center of the town with many hotels and tourist shops. We were dropped off at the end of the town where we walked about a mile to the Olympia Archaeological Museum.

                                          Redbuds were blooming at their peak everywhere
Upon paying 9 Euros we investigated all 12 rooms of the museum spotting old pottery, bronze representations of men and animals, various helmets, old columns and lots of sculptures.

                                                                 Hermes Statue
We were happy to see the famous statue of Hermes carved in 4th century BC . We had seen pictures of this numerous times when studying ancient history back in our college days. The statue was perfectly polished Parisian marble on the front side while rough on the back side. Larry said that I spent more time looking at his backside then I should have. HA!

                                                    What a great display of old helmets!

 

 

Olympia was both a religious sanctuary and an athletic complex where the Games took place every four years from 776BC to 393 AD. The buildings had been repeatedly toppled by earthquakes and flooded by the Alfios and Kladeos Rivers. An Englishman, Richard Chandler rediscovered the site in 1766 when the area lay in 10 feet of mud and silt. Germans began to excavate the area in 1852 and are still here today. Reports of the excavations prompted French Baron de Coubertin to reestablish the Olympic Games. The first modern games were in Athens in 1896....a long time from the first games. The Olympic torch has always been lit here at the beginning of the Olympic Games and carried to wherever the new games are held.

 

                                 Olympians entered through this stone path to the field to compete

Unbelievable that this archway to the field is still holding together!

Winners of the competition back then were given a crown made of olive branches and free meals for life in his hometown. Women were barred, from watching or participating at the events. They had their own games during non-Olympic years. If they did appear, they were thrown to their death from a nearby mountain. You might ask, " Why were females excluded?" The men competed in the nude back then.

After the museum, we walked through the actual ruins of Olympia. We were able to see the field where 45,000 men stood to watch the games. The scenery was unbelievable with the huge stones laying about and columns still miraculously standing. Spending about an hour walking about the area was enough to capture the ambiance of the area. The area is one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World. When we saw the Knossos village, it was also ranked one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World. We were so fortunate to have visited two of these sights during this trip.

We were able to find WIFI in Katakolon at a seaside cafe. We enjoyed sitting at the side of the bay and talking with friends for about an hour before returning to the ship at 3:30.

The captain pulled away from the dock at 4:00 sharp. We had a great sunset dinner outside and went to see the show called 4Ever...four guys who sang a mixture of love songs and rock sounds from Queen.... outstandingly.

We had a super day and while we slept, the ship was headed to Athens and our next adventure tomorrow to see the Acropolis.