Turkey and Greece
Alex and I booked an Athens and Greek island cruise for the summer, right after school ended. I can’t remember the company name, though. We added a 3-night extension to Istanbul. We traveled with a good friend of hers, Shane, and his mom, Dee.
We had an early flight from Chicago to New York so spent the night of June 4th close to O’Hare. We left June 5th at 0900 for New York. Our flights were odd, I don’t think the company did a good job booking for us. Besides not going directly to Istanbul, we also flew into LaGuardia and had to catch a cab to JFK for our flight to Athens at 1700. Quite a waste of time and money, but the travel company probably got a nice fee.
We arrived in Athens, June 6th, 1000 local time and transferred to our hotel. We dropped off our bags then went out to explore. We picked up some Greek fast food, gyros, for lunch.
We took the metro to Syntagma (Constitution) Square. We walked around for a couple hours then went back to hotel. Everyone else was tired and took naps, but I walked around Omonia Square for a couple more hours to stay awake and get used to local time. We had dinner close by then went early to bed.
Istanbul
We were up very early to catch a 0800 flight to Istanbul. We had to get through customs then pay for our visas. They were $100 each, expensive, but Turkey uses “reciprocity” for all their international tourists. They charge the same to visitors as the home country charges Turkish citizens.
We were met and transferred to our hotel, Otel Taksim Plaza. We unpacked then walked a block to Taksim Square to catch a cab to the ferries, but the cab driver offered us a trip to the Asia side of the Bosphorus all the way to the Black Sea for a reasonable price. We caught the 1500 ferry back down the strait. We sat outside on the ferry to enjoy the great views on both sides of the Bosporus.
We arrived at the ferry landing around 1700 and caught a taxi back to the hotel. We ate dinner at a restaurant up the street. Alex wasn’t feeling well so she went back to the hotel but Shane, Dee, and I walked up the pedestrian street, Istiklal Avenue, and did some shopping. I remember being surprised that everyone was dressed very “western”, it could have been any city in Europe or America. There were lots of bars and cafes.
On June 8th, Sunday, we had our private city tour. Our driver and guide, Josef, drove the four of us all around this amazing city. We saw the Hippodrome, the Obelisk of Theodosius, originally the Egyptian obelisk of Pharaoh Thutmose III, erected in Istanbul in the 4th c, the Serpent Column, and Constantine’s memorial. We went to the Blue Mosque. Hagia Sophia, Greek for Church of Divine Wisdom, the Turkish name is Aya Sofya. It was built during the reign of Emperor Theodosius but burned down. It was rebuilt between 532 and 537 under Justinian, and was the largest church in Christiandom until the 15th c. It was converted to a mosque in 1453, with the conquest of Istanbul, under Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror. The Hagia Sophia Museum was opened in 1935, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
After the mosque, we visited Topkapi Palace. Topkapi was the imperial palace for the Ottoman Empire from 1543 to 1860. Entry tickets were included as part of our city tour, but we bought extra tickets, to see the Treasury with all the gorgeous jewels and costumes, interesting weapons, as well as the fabulous harem.
We had a great lunch with Josef on a terrace overlooking the water. After lunch, we went to parts of the city walls for some pictures. The city walls were started under Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II, from 413 to 477. Sultan Mehmet extended the walls from 1457 to 1458.
When our tour was ended, instead of taking us back to our hotel, we had Josef drop us off at the Kariye Camii or Church of St. Saviour in Chora, now the Chora Museum. The church dates from the 6th c, it was used a a church under the Roman emperor and, like Hagia Sofia, became a mosque in 1511. Lots of history, it’s great that the beautiful Christian mosaics weren’t removed or damaged when used as a mosque.
We caught a cab to the hotel then had dinner at the recommended Haci Abdullah. After dinner we went walking up and down the pedestrian plaza so Alex could catch up on her shopping that she missed the night before. We ended the night playing some Euchre in the hotel lobby.
The next morning we took a cab to the Old City. We first visited the Basilica Cistern Museum. This is absolutely amazing. Built by Emperor Justinian I, it was named Yerebatan Palace because of all the large marble columns. Seven thousand enslaved were used to construct the cistern, which provided the water filter system for the palace of Constantinople and, later, Topkapi Palace. There are two columns with Medusa head bases that were brought from ancient Chalcedon by Emperor Justinian. Even twenty years later I remember walking through this underground space, it’s beautiful.
We walked to the Grand Bazaar for several hours of shopping. Alex was in heaven. Leaving the huge, maze-like building we had to ask where we were and directions for where we wanted to be.
On the way to the Spice Market, we wandered through some amazing back streets full of people and shops. Dee and I both bought some spices at the bazaar and we all tried some Turkish Delight, or lokum. None of us liked it.
We walked over the Galata Bridge across Halic towards Galata Tower stopping on the way on the lower bridge, just pedestrians and shops, for a break from the heat and had a couple beers. Shane, Alex, and I went up in the Tower while Dee waited for us below. We had amazingly beautiful views of all the city. Unfortunately, Dee got harassed by crotch-sniffing dogs, vendors, and boys trying to shine her shoes.
We decided to walk all the way back to Taksim Plaza. It was kind of a long walk, but fun, and after finally getting there, we picked up some pizza to go at Pizza Hut and ate in our rooms. We went to the pool (for our use but in the hotel across the street) but the water was very cold, so we went back to the lobby to play cards.
Athens
We were picked up at 0730 for our 1000 flight to Athens. After landing in Athens, we waited a half hour to get some Euros, and some guy cut in front of us. Then another guy walked up to the side of the line in the front and I stared at him thinking “oh, another one”, but he saw me looking and said real snotty, “don’t worry, I’m in the queue”, then he still tried to move in front of me. I was next after that and cut him off. Wait your turn. Shane was in the next line still waiting behind some business man who was depositing a couple bags of his receipts, so he heard the guy talking to the cashier. He had about $10,000 American and told the cashier he was with the royal family in Saudi Arabia. Sure.
Then we were on our own for transportation to the hotel, so we got in line for a cab. Just as we were next, another arrogant man, steps up to the front and tries putting his bags in OUR taxi. I told him the line started back there, and pulled his bag out of the trunk, literally tossing it at him. Unfortunately, the cab driver told he couldn’t fit all of us and our bags in the cab so we ended up taking the bus then the Metro to our hotel but I made sure to help the people behind me get the next cab.
We went back to the very nice hotel, the Acropolis. Our room this time wasn’t as nice as the first night in Athens when we had a balcony, though. After check-in, we caught the Metro to Syntagma Square and went right to the Parliament. We got lucky and got there just a few minutes before the hourly Changing of the Guards.
As we were walking up the street after the ceremony completed, there was a guy with a big professional-looking video camera and another man with him following us and taping us. We stopped for ice cream and we ended up talking to them, they were doing a segment on travel and tourism. I guess we were very obviously foreign.
He was real nice, and we talked to him for a while. We asked how he felt about America/Americans. He said Greeks don’t like Bush but don’t have a problem with Americans, but he did tell us not to vote for Bush again. I laughed and said I didn’t and won’t. I don’t think Dee liked that though, she votes Republican, so we never discussed politics.
We walked through the National Gardens, saw the old Royal Palace and tried to find our way to the Olympian Zeus Temple and Hadrian’s Arch. On the way we saw the old track and stadium. The track is from around the 5th century, the seats were added in the 15th century. It is still occasionally used for special events. No Olympic sporting events will be held there next year, but we were told it will host some opening events.
The temple was closed by the time we got there, and both monuments were covered in scaffolding too. We found our way to the Plaka and did a little shopping, Alex and Shane got henna tattos and we had a relaxing dinner outside under some shady trees. A very nice break from sightseeing and a good meal.
We walked up towards the Acropolis on a big pedestrian-only street but stopped to watch some dancers from Crete doing a circle dance. Then we tried finding the Filapappou Hill but instead followed the wrong curve so decided to just go back the way we came. We caught the Metro at the Acropolis stop and went back to the hotel.
Wednesday, June 11th, we were supposed to be picked up at 0830, they came around 0910. Then we had to pick up some other people at another hotel, all together there were around 15-20 of us. They drove us around on the bus showing us some of the sites we had seen yesterday: Parliament, the old Royal Palace, the old stadium, we also saw a statue of Truman (defaced with red paint!).
We stopped at the Temple of Olympian Zeus then went to the Acropolis. Our guide explained the long history of the hill to us, and how they were restoring all the buildings. Some of the temples and buildings were completely dismantled so they could clean each piece of marble separately. We had time on our own to explore and we decided not to take the tour bus back to the hotel so we didn’t have to worry about meeting back up at 1230. On our own, we walked around the entire site and visited the Acropolis Museum, too.
We did go back to the hotel after that though, we wanted a break because we were all very hot. Alex and I picked up gyros around the corner and Dee and Shane went to Goody’s for different food. We ate in our rooms and played a game of Euchre to relax before heading back out.
We decided to spend the afternoon at the beach and asked directions to get there. We caught one of the metro routes to the end of the line then took the number 171 bus to Voula Beach. It was a long bus ride, maybe 45 minutes or longer. We weren’t sure we were going the right way, but a man heard us talking about it and said, yes, you are on the right bus, that is where I am going. Great, thank you!
We finally arrived and had a great afternoon at the beach. The water felt cold at first but it was great once we jumped in. We left around 1900, taking the bus back to Dafni and had dinner there at PittaWorld. Then we caught the metro back to Omonia Square and our hotel.
The National Archeological Museum, that I really wanted to see, was closed until the end of the year, but the Benaki Museum was highly recommended so we went there first thing in the morning. We spent about 90 minutes there then walked to the near-by Godiva store so Alex and I could buy some chocolate.
We walked up the steep streets towards Lykavittos Hill to catch the cable car to the top. What a beautiful view, and a nice little church but incredibly windy. I felt like I was going to be blown off the top. After going back down the hill, we found a little store where Dee and I both did some shopping. I bought a really, really heavy replica of a sculpture. After walking all the way back to Syntagma Square we decided to take the Metro back to the hotel and drop stuff off before continuing shopping.
We took the Metro to Monastiraki and just wandered around and shopped. We also used our Acropolis tickets (multi-entrance) to see the Ancient Agora or market and the Tower of Winds. As we were leaving the Tower, we were heading back towards the Plaka and came across a little store with a very persuasive owner, so Alex and Dee both tried on lots of clothes and bought some. I bought a little painted wooden religious icon (very light weight to carry!) and then we found a restaurant. I had another fabulous Greek Salad.
It was getting close to sunset, we raced up Filapappou Hill to see the sunset on the Acropolis. The pine covered slopes of the hill offered us shaded paths through many monuments marking centuries of history, including Roman Senator Filopappos’s monument and tomb. It was known as “the hill of muses” in antiquity. It also has the National Observatory, Greece’s oldest research center monitoring weather, astronomy and earthquakes. We had beautiful views. Dee and Alex were bored so went back down the hill and Shane and I stayed for the sunset. We found them below eating ice cream. We did a little more window-shopping on the way to the Metro then went back to the hotel.
Friday, we were picked up at 0900 and taken to Piraeus for the start of our cruise. All of us had been thinking about the cruise ever since we booked it, getting more excited about the boat and visiting beautiful Mediterranean Islands so we were all quite disappointed by the ship, the small pool, the buffet at lunch, pretty much everything, although our rooms were quite comfortable. All four of us were feeling a bit grouchy so we decide to stay apart for a while. We lounged in the sun most of the afternoon, at least when we didn’t have to go to meetings and briefings. This was my first cruise ship and I was surprised by the number of times they went over various procedures.
Greek Islands: Mykonos, Rhodes, Patmos
We arrived in Mykonos around 1800. It was beautiful, all the buildings were white, with blue or red doors, shutters and roofs. We walked towards the end of town to see the windmills getting lots of pictures on the way. We stopped at a restaurant for dinner and drinks. We were back on board at 2130 and sailing towards Rhodes at 2200. We had very rough seas the first evening and I didn’t sleep well.
We arrived in Rhodes, Saturday morning, around 0830. The people taking tours were the first to get off, but we weren’t in any hurry since we had all day there. We got off a little after nine and walked around the city walls. We took a wrong turn at the Street of the Knights and instead of going to the Palace of the Grand Master, we walked around the moat and the outside of most of the city. We found our way back and toured the Palace. Built as a citadel during the 7th c under the Byzantine empire, it was used as a fortress and command center for the Ottomans.
In the 14th and 15th centuries, the Knights of Saint John settled on the island, and fortified the city walls and built the Palace of the Grand Masters on the ruins of the Byzantine fort. The main Street of the Knights where all the knights houses stood leads to the Palace. Eleven Gates lead from the walls to the interior of the city.
The Palace was the headquarters of the leader of the Order of the Knights and a fortress for all the knights when under attack. It was restored in the 1930s then turned into a national museum when Rhodes joined Greece in 1947. It’s a wonderful tour. The old town is one of the best-preserved fortified medieval towns in the world and is included in UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.
On our little detour though town, we saw some shops and restaurants so headed back to the restaurant that had a sign up saying beers for 1 Euro. We spent about 1 ½ hours there enjoying food, drinks and relaxing in the shade. We went back to the boat to change; Dee stayed on board, and Shane, Alex, and I went to the beach.
The one we walked to first was very rocky and they wanted 7 Euros for a beach chair. We walked back to another little beach we saw on the way from the boat. Still rocky but it had some sand to lay on. Alex and Shane got in the water, but there were too many fat guys there in speedos so I asked them if we could leave and we ended up back at the little beach right by the boat with the “no swimming” sign, where quite a few people were swimming. We enjoyed that the best.
Around 1700 we went back to the boat. I changed and went out again for a while since we weren’t leaving until 1830 and I also wanted some time alone. We dressed up in Blue and White for Greek night and had dinner in the dining room. The food was much better than the buffets we’d been eating. Dee, Alex and I also went to the show after dinner, Greek singing and dancing. We all thought it very enjoyable. Alex and Shane went to the disco afterwards and stayed until around 0130 and told us the next morning about all the dancing drunk people they had seen.
We arrived at Patmos around 0730. Dee wasn’t feeling well, and Alex just wanted to sleep so Shane and I went on shore to see the Cave of the Apocalypse. We meet up with our dinner companions from the night before, Enrique and Gerardo, and we all walked up the hill together to visit the cave and church.
The cave is about halfway up the steep hill from the dock. The cave entrance is marked with a mosaic portraying the visions of John and inside the small grotto, you can see the nightly resting place of John’s head, fenced off and outlined in beaten silver. The cave is believed to mark the spot where the Apostle John received his visions that are recorded in the Book of Revelation. John was exiled to Patmos around 95 AD. It’s been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999.
The Monastery and Church of the Apocalypse were built around the cave. Since it was Sunday there was a service going on and it was hard to get in and see anything, but the service was interesting.
“I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet.” (Revelation 1:9-10)
Kusadasi and Ephesus
We were back on board around 0930 and sailing for Kusadasi in Turkey. We laid out on deck for a while but then there was another “mandatory” meeting, this time about disembarkation procedures, and Dee and Alex went to that.
We had lunch at the buffet so we didn’t have to change for the dining room, then laid out some more before getting ready for Kusadasi. We had bought tickets for the House of Mary and Ephesus so caught the bus when we made it onshore.
There was a long ride to our first stop, the House of the Virgin Mary, or Meryemana in Turkish. It is believed to be the last residence of the Virgin Mary where she was supposed to have moved with John after Jesus’ death, based on traditional belief that John came here and that Jesus consigned her to John’s care (John 19:26-27). It is sacred to both Christians and Muslims.
We drank from three springs outside her house that are supposed to bring Health, Happiness, and Love. I bought some more bottled water before we headed to Efes or Ephesus.
These were fabulous ruins. We saw the Temple of Artemis (Diana), the façade of the Celsus Library, a public toilet with 45 holes and both the amphitheaters, including the one where Paul spoke.
We got back to Kusadasi around 1715 and had time for a little shopping before having to be back on the boat at 1745. Dee and Shane went on board and Alex and I went to the little shops right by the boat. We purchased some snacks and drinks (cheap sodas and lemonades compared to 2 Euro’s on board) then went on board.
We were sailing for Athens. We had dinner that night in the dining room again. We all dressed up and looked really good in our dresses and Shane in his shirt and tie. Once again, there was very good food, lobster bisque, Greek Salad, roast beef. They served flaming Baked Alaska to all of the tables. It was also Enrique’s 50th birthday so Gerardo had ordered him a cake and they shared that with us. They were a great couple and we all really enjoyed getting to know them over the past few days. Gerardo used to work in the ballet and is now living in Spain with Enrique. They both teach English.
We played another game of Euchre in the card room then Dee and I went to the show with Enrique and Gerardo. There was good singing and acrobatics. Alex and I walked around the boat together for a while then she went to the disco again with Shane. I went to my room and packed up for leaving tomorrow.
When we arrived in Athens, we left ship and went directly to the airport at 0745 for our 1230 flight to New York. We were really lucky, we had a very empty flight. I slept for 5 hours across three open seats in back. We eventually made it home around 2230, 0630 in Athens.
Long day but what a fantastic trip, so much beauty and history. I hope to see much more of both countries.
** All photos property of Lisa, not to be copied or reproduced **
