Turkish Delight

The only sad thing about today was that it was our only day in this friendly and interesting country. The rest was, as the title suggests, delightful.

We docked in the port of Kusadasi early this morning, having risen even earlier for the first round of tours to the ruins of the city of Ephesus, the main reason for a stop at this port. Leaving the ship at 7:30 a.m. meant we were in Bus Number 3 (they can have up to about 15 tours I think, to the one place... and that's just off our ship. Now I can see why the tourist spots are so saturated...). Bus Number 3 managed to pass Bus Number 1 in transit, and when we arrived at Ephesus just before 8, we were the very first tourist bus of the day there! Our wonderful guide Ceylan, commented during the trip that it had been her best day guiding all year, as she had never seen such a lack of crowding and such a cool temperature at this time of  year (it would have been about 22deg Celsius I'd imagine). So it made for pleasant touring today.

Because we were away so early, it also meant that the light was great for photography. Whilst I am sure I don't have anything amazingly original, I know that the structures will be well recorded. I had a fellow renegade photographer in my group today, my friend Pat from Canada, whom we met on our shuttle ride in from Rome. He and I slipped away from the group to steal photos all the time; still close enough to hear the commentary so the best of both worlds for me!

Ephesus itself is amazing, and a must see destination for visitors to Turkey. According to our personal tour guide (Rick Steves, of our most excellent eBook), at its peak in the first and second centuries A.D., Ephesus was one of the grandest cities of the ancient world, ranking among the four leading centres of the Roman Empire. With around a quarter of a million residents, Ephesus was the second biggest city in the empire (after Rome). Ephesus reflects the many civilizations— Greek, Persian, Roman, and Christian— that passed through Asia Minor (today’s Turkey). 

The area was first settled around 1000 B.C. The site was the third for this city, and it was abandoned in 7 A.D. when the port became no longer viable, due to to continual silting in the area. It was rebuilt in a fourth setting.

Only 20% of the city has been excavated, and the main structures that wow the mind are the library and the theatre. You feel really close to all the exhibits, and are free to walk into the library and up the top of the theatre. Other points of interest were the public latrines (seriously, it was a really interesting story, and amazingly engineered) and the tales of the underground pass from the library to the brothel.

Greece and Turkey (and some other European countries) and renowned for having community animals, fed and cared for by the people, but owned by no one; around the Acropolis in Athens it was dogs, here at Ephesus, cats ruled. Very photogenic ones too; I took nearly as many photos of them as I did of the ruins lol.

We were then treated? to a 'no obligation' carpet weaving demonstration. Of course when the whole thing was over your own personal hard sell salesman shadowed you as you attempted to leave the place. Even when Mum said she had visited last year and bought a rug, they were trying to sell her a matching one. But they were impressive, and if money was no object, who knows?

We then set off through the bazaar and had a lovely time shopping and eating for the afternoon. The persistent sellers were good humoured and knew how to tempt with an amorous greeting. Darling, sweetheart, beautiful, sexy.... Maybe I should move to Turkey. My favourite was the waiter at our afternoon drink stop (and wifi fix) who offered my Mum three camels for me. 

I did not do as much purchasing as my Mum today, (no offence to my Dad, but I think she's feeling a bit more freedom in the browsing department), but I did buy some genuine Turkish delight, (probably spent too much on it but who cares, it's delicious) and a genuine fake rose gold watch to wear till I can afford a real one 😉.

Our day of Turkish Delight was completed by a Turkish evening onboard; Food, belly dancer and all the staff dressed in Turkish costume. I love the flavours of this land, and made the most of the salads etc, though the desserts are perhaps not my favourite. Just as well, the food is a bit too plentiful.... 

Greetings from Greece

RUINS ... HISTORY ... MORE NEW FRIENDS ... WINE

What a perfect first shore day for us! We docked at 7:30 Sept 29 in the small Greek town of Katakolon. As the cruise ship gateway to Ancient Olympia, its existence relies solely in the tourist trade, and the massive cruise ships seem to dwarf the two streets that are lined exclusively with shops for passengers.

As mentioned in my previous blog post, instead of booking a tour off the boat, I had researched a local business and organised for a car to meet us at the dock. Our new Aussie friends Jenny and Mark joined us and made the trip totally affordable, at a cost of €160 instead of a similar deal for $US799! We were off the boat early, and on the road to Ancient Olympia at 8:20, well before a lot of the groups (Although there were still swathes of tourists there already when we arrived around 9:00am.)

The light was lovely, though I'm still really only managing to capture snapshots as opposed to making any photos. It wasn't too hot either, and we all enjoyed the historic significance of being  at Olympia. A visit to the museum afterwards proved what clever and creative people the ancient Greeks were. The artefacts were interesting even to a non-museum person like me. 

Our driver Maria then suggested we visit a local winery, the Olympia Land Estate. What a treat that turned out to be! A small boutique winery only 7 years old, and although well set up to serve the tourist, it maintained a sense of authenticity and intimacy. After an explanation and tour, we sat down to a tasting and a delicious tasting plate, all from the gardens of the winery. All 5 wines were delicious and resulted in purchases...

(As a side note, we are not meant to bring wine on board to imbibe during the journey. Muggins me pulled my bottle out when boarding knowing it would be stowed until the end of the cruise. My ballsy mother let hers go through the X-ray machine, and brought it back to the room undetected!)

We were then dropped in the small town of Olympia for shopping. Olympia basically closes from late October until early April when the cruise ships are no longer around. The shops were delightfully touristy, but we decided to sit down for some lunch even though I know both Mum and I would have happily shopped on. We ordered Greek salads, and we're very happy with them. Yum!

It was then back to Katakolon in the taxi. We were wrapt to have free wifi in the taxi, and probably spent too much time looking at our screens than out the windows! The landscape was nothing special though, and after noting the similarities and differences with home, we all went back to getting our digital fixes. It was totally the best idea for us to go the private route on this day. We loved our driver and the flexibility she afforded us, and tipped her accordingly. 

I then spent 45 mins in the township by myself looking for phots, before returning to the ship for. 3:30 departure. 

 It's now 9:15 Greek Time; already my birthday in NZ... Not sure how I feel about that! But we have a few things planned to mark the auspicious occasion... And I'm sure there will be tales to tell tomorrow...