April 18 - in the afternoon
We had four stops in Turkey: one was Antalya, Marmaris, Kusadasi, and Istanbul. I touched on Antalya and Marmaris in the previous posting so today I will chat about Kusadasi and Istanbul. Turkey is a very westernized country. They have McDonalds, Starbucks, and many highend clothing and accessory stores. I saw no tents with camels, but I saw many young folks practicing their English on us. I have been on the lookout for electric buses and trams carrying folks about these big urban areas as I go out on tours. Antalya had a tram that ran in a circle around the town.
April 14 was a tour of Kusadasi with wine and cheese and lunch in a mountainous village. Sirince is a quaint village town where wine is made the old way and rebottled for use by the villagers. We tried some red and white and when I went to read the label the guide said the bottles are recycled so what is written on the bottle label will not necessarily be the type of wine in the bottle at the time of pouring. I learned about Turkish coffee. Apparently Turkey does not grow coffee so Turkish coffee is known by how it is brewed not the growing of it. Grind coffee as you would grind for expresso. One tablespoon to 3/4 cup cold water. Put coffee into small pan then add cold water. Heat to just under boiling. Pour into cup grounds and all. Let sit for a minute or two. DRINK. Some like to add sugar. From this town I got two bottles of wine: mulberry and pommegranate and both will make great spritzers. We wandered around the town whose streets were very narrow, left over from centuries ago. We had a delightful tasting lunch in a home that was built over 1000 years ago. Turkish cuisine is not highly spiced but the spices used in cooking a green bean and mushroom compote were especially good. We had homebaked bread, meatballs with eggplant and potatoes, a rice-like dish that reminded me of couscous or quinoa, and home grown fruit. Noelle, one of the librarians, hung with me as we scoured the small family-run stalls along the streets. Handicrafts and homegrown bottled jams and jellies could be found. The tour also showed us the upper part of Ephesus which I would love to do the walk down the hill past the bathes and library of the old city. In order to get to Ephesus we needed to drive through the city of Selcuk, which lost 40,000 people in 1999 when an earthquake hit the area. Ephesus had once been a coastal town but today the sea is far away as earthquakes have changed the topography of the land. Kusadasi is Turkish for Bird Island and it lived up to its name. There were lots of birds though I know little about them.
April 15 we docked at Istanbul about 4 pm. An overnight stay would allow us to see this big city in the night as well as the day. I took a tour and saw the Blue Mosque, the Topkapi Palace, St. Sophia Church, the Hippodrome and traffic beyond belief. The Bosphorus tour had been cancelled but I saw a lot of the city. Istanbul is the only city that sits on the borders of both Asia Minor and Europe. The Bosphorus is a narrow strait that links the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara and separates the European and Asian sections of the city. It was founded by the Byzantines in the 7th century BC but by the 4th century AD the name was changed to Constantinople by the Roman emperor. The city served as the capital of the Byzantine Empire until it was conquered by the Ottomans in the 15th century. The Ottoman Empire fell in 1923. Istanbul has about 16 million people, while Turkey has about 75 million. History is long and arduous to remember and when it goes back many milliniums it makes it even worse. Turkey has that kind of history with rulers, sultans, and others managing the people. The Bosphous is 22 miles in length, and has a small bay called the Golden Horn that separates the new European section of the city from the old European section. Many cultures have made themselves visible by the architecture: Venician, Neo-Classical, Roman and many others. Then there were the Dardanelles. This is a wide strait that runs between the Aegean Sea and the Sea of Marmara and over the years has been fought for control. There are over 70,000 ships that use this passage yearly- Aegean Sea, the Dardanelles, Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus then to the Black Sea. As we sailed out of Istanbul I was sorry to have left Turkey. It was clean, neat and though there may be problems a tourist would never know. The people were helpful and kind. Although Istanbul is the largest city the capital is located in Ankara in the north of Turkey. GOOD BY TURKEY! I will miss you.
April 18 is a day spent in Athens. We are docked at the Port of Piraeus and are due to leave very shortly. We arrived yesterday afternoon and I just sat on the 7th deck and took in some sun. It had been rainy and misty/cloudy in Istanbul. The sun is warm, day is clear which helps with taking great pictures. The Piraeus port is the largest in Greece and it is basically the port for Athens. Piraeus sits next to Athens and is served by a train that runs between the two. I saw artic diesel buses, trolley buses, and an electric tram which runs down tracks when we were exploring the city. Information from the last census shows there are 9,987 islands of Greece with 16,000+ kilometers of coastline. We took in many old buildings all having their names with a story attached but for me my day was the joy of sitting with a cup of Greek coffee and staring at the Acropolis. There is major work being done on it but it sits in such a predominate position on a hill that one can hardly miss it. Greece has about 11 million people with 5+ million residing in the Piraeus/Athens area. Shipping and tourism are the two main money makers for Greece. Many shipping magnets come from or are stationed here. There were many ferries coming and going from our harbour ferrying people among the islands.
April 19, tomorrow, is a sea day and I have been indulging in some acupuncture treatments on my knee. Sea days are days for lectures about our upcoming ports. Tomorrow night we have been asked to the captain's suite for wine and then down for a dinner with him. There is usually about 40 guests that go, so we will not be alone. We just got a new captain as the other got to go home so it will be nice to meet him, though I miss Captain Roberts already. There are also games that I sometimes play on sea days along with the movie, if it is any good. There are groups who have gatherings to knit and crochet and those that play bridge and mah jongg and for those that love to exercise there are lots of morning classes to greet you. Then there is Annette and her culinary chef who whips up tastey delights from main courses to fancy deserts. Then there are some mixology afternoons where you can go and learn how to mix drinks and indulge. For me when I get some quiet time I do a sudoku and enjoy the sun.
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