October 22 - Friday - Monemvasia, Greece

We sailed into Monemvasia, Greece, in what looked like good weather for touring. I always try to rise early so I can see us come into port. The moon was bright, shining down on the bay.

Sailing into Monemvasia

I watched them unload the tenders. This isn't a port where we can dock.


Tenders getting ready to transport us to island

Each tender holds about 60 people.

We dressed for the day, wearing layers that we could remove as the temperatures rose, had breakfast, went to the check in place for tours, realized we were there 45 minutes early, picked up our tour permits (stickers we wear on our clothing), and went back to our rooms.

The Cruise Activity Director came on the loud speaker and told us the weather was already hotter than forecast, so we both quickly changed into shorts. I exchanged my heavier short-sleeve t-shirt for a tank top that I could cover with a scarf to shelter my shoulders.

I went out to the verandah and realized the air smelled different. Looking up, I realized we were under a really dark cloud.

We grabbed our rain gear and repacked some of our stuff (we had decided to tour light today, when we thought the weather was good), and rushed out the door, down two decks, and sat waiting for our number to be called (4). We were still a little early.

Lauren decided he needed his raincoat, so he ran back up stairs to get it.
In the meantime, some lady told me that 4 had been called about 5 minutes before, so I stood (dancing on my feet hoping he'd hurry, although no one could tell how fidgety I was because I really can't dance on my feet), and when I saw him coming down the stairs, I headed him off and we went down 3 more decks to the exit.

By the time we were getting in our tender, it was pouring!! Simply pouring. We rocked and rolled across the bay, and by the time we got there, it seemed to have let up some.
Our bus was waiting for us to drive us up the hill to the old city. You can see the road and the old city in this picture.


Road to Old City, lined with cars (no cars or parking in Old City)

The tour was short, and somewhat informative, but expensive. It was worth about half of what we paid for it. I would have cancelled it, but by the time I realized I had probably made a mistake booking it, it was yesterday morning. I needed to cancel by the night before. Oh well!

At the end of the road, in the picture, is the lower town. We walked through it fairly easily - cautiously, though, because the stone walking paths were difficult and slick. What you don't see as obviously is that there is an upper section of town, too - high on those cliffs. It's possible to walk there, but more difficult and risky on a day like this when the paths were slick. The upper town hasn't been reconstructed as has the older town, but it's apparently beautiful up there from all reports and some pictures I've seen on the internet. Lauren attempted it and got only a little way. Had the weather been good, I would have tried it, as well, but I'm already a risk to have out on a day like this with weather like this. I realize there are some parts of this beautiful world I'll never see - but I know they're there and I can look at the pictures of others.

The town is interesting and difficult to navigate because of the rocky footpaths. 


Looking down from the central plaza in the Old City

There are no vehicles allowed in this town, so any goods that are brought in must be carried.

Carrying goods into the town

The town is currently a resort town. No permanent residents live in it. Apparently, Momenvasia is a popular German vacation town, according to our guide. They buy second homes here (easy to do because both countries are part of the EU) and come and go for holidays.

The water was rough when we tendered back to the ship. It was rock and roll all the way, and kind of fun.

Rockin' and rollin' (Disney E Ticket ride)

Tenders are just the larger lifeboats. The tender crews had a lot of trouble getting the boats back in position so they could be loaded back on the ship. In fact, the ship had a lot of trouble staying in one place. Lauren watched the process from deck 7 where the boats are stored, and he said the last two were loaded when the ship was moving. Apparently, the captain had more control over the ship's movements when it was moving than he did when it was anchored.

All's well, though. It was a fun, but short stop. Now we are on our way to Rome via some scenic cruising routes. We will arrive Sunday morning, go through whatever process we need to go through there, and a HAL vendor will get us to our hotel. We'll be there for four nights, then we'll be transported to the airport and catch our flight home - Rome to Chicago, Chicago to San Diego.

Our flickr Monemvasia pictures: Monemvasia

October 21 - Thursday - Mykonos, Greece

We didn't take a tour in Mykonos. The tours all looked really mild and didn't describe anything we couldn't do on our own. Mykonos is probably larger than the bit we saw, but we must have been in the most scenic part of it.


Mykonos, Greece

There's nothing that doesn't treat your eyes in this part of town - the older section. It's white and white and white, with bold blues, reds, greens, yellows for doors and windows, and everything has a cast of blue from the beautiful sky (the day we were there) and the ocean.


One of many beautiful, quaint buildings

Blue sky plus blue sea plus stark white stucco equals blue everywhere

There are oodles of shops with colorful wares. I really liked the colors in the outfits hanging by this door.

Everything is lovely

We walked higher into the town so we could have a look from above, and we were rewarded with this scene.

View from higher in town

We enjoyed watching the locals, many of whom were fishermen, go to and fro, some selling their wares by the sea. One striking difference I noticed between the shopkeepers in Mykonos and those in Turkey were that none of the Mykonos shopkeepers tried to sell you anything. I think they could learn from Turkey. Part of the fun of Turkey was the charm of those who tried to sell you anything and everything. As you strolled by shop after shop, men and women shopkeekpers alike might whisper "I want your money," "I have a deal you can't pass up," or something like that. It was all in good fun, although at the end of the day, every sale that resulted from the fun was good business for the Turkish shopkeepers.

Most of the vehicles we saw were very small or were little Vespa-type skooters, and they skooted in and out of those small narrow places where we walked. The amount of traffic in what we would have considered the walking area was amazing. We watched one guy bring his truck into the beginning of the old town, open the back and unload his skooter, and take off toward town. We didn't get a picture, unfortunately. It was funny.

We found a cafe overlooking the water (that had a bathroom), and we bought coffee, a Coke, and a sweet (as our rent) and sat enjoying the sights for a couple of hours after our walk. A very sweet day.

We had the most beautiful sunset as we were sailing from Mykonos to Monemvassia. We've had such rainy weather, this was really a treat.

A sunset to remember

Our flickr Mykonos pictures: Mykonos

October 20 - Wednesday - Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey

Kusadasi was a really fun city, and this was a very nice stop on our tour. We arrived somewhere near to sunrise and then we left somewhere around 11:00 in the evening. The weather was the most fantastic we've had, adding to our pleasure.

My only beef was that a Seaborn ship about the same size as ours docked on
our starboard side, meaning that when I sat on our verandah in the evening,
I was probably staring at someone sitting on their verandah across from me.
Yuck!


Seaborn Odyessy

It was a long day, but one we will remember for a long time. It was about a half hour or so to the house of Mary, our first stop. We saw some beautiful
scenes as our bus climbed the hills and navigated the curves.

View as we drove up mountain toward house of John and Mary

The house of Mary and the Apostle John wasn't as much interest to this pair
of Lutherans as it was to those who are Orthodox and Catholic, but it was a
nice stop. It's not large, and the inside seems to have been entirely turned
into a tiny chapel. As we walked through silently, there were many who
bought candles and then lit them and placed them in designated places once
we were through the house.


House of John and Mary

Ephesus was a major city back in its time, although now it is only an archelogical site. The Turkish goverment, in cooperation with archelogical
trusts from various places and, I believe, a group of Australian
archelogists have done a lot of work putting a lot of the pieces back
together. It's pretty amazing.


Celcius Library

What was of interest to this pair of Lutherans, at least to this one, was
thinking about what it might have been like when Paul was there (some of
these ruins are after Paul's time).


Ephesus Amphitheatre

Next, we visited a Museum near Ephesus, and it was very nicely done. The Turkish people have a way of putting together very nice small museums that
don't overwhelm you, yet large enough to hold your interest, and that are
topical to the place you visit. I loved looking at some of the faces of
these pieces found in the rubble - some of them were so beautiful. I don't
know how the ancient Romans were able to create these beautiful figures.


A few of the figures on display at the Ephesus Museum

And then there was the St. John Basilica, perhaps built over one John attended but it certainly wasn't in this state. This basilica has been destroyed, rebuilt,
converted to a mosque, and other things ... it has quite a long history.



Basilica of St. John in Ephesus

On our way back to Kusadasi, we stopped for a very nice four-course lunch at a five-star hotel and had some very good tasting Turkish cusine, accompanied entertainment by a group of dancers.

Dancers in traditional costume

Our bus dropped us off in town, and our guide took us into a carpet shop
where we saw another carpet demonstration. I have learned so much about
Turkish carpets. I had no idea. They are expensive, but if I were in the
market for such a thing, I would have bought one at the drop of a hat. Such
carpets! Such quality! Such beauty!

We walked, gawked, and shopped around in town for a few hours before we
returned to the boat. I bought two really nice back-pack-like bags from a
really funny and sweet young Turkish guy, named Alex, in a Moda Kilim shop.
One of the bags is leather; the other is leather and the same kind of fabric
that results when you make a Turkish carpet. It was actually fun parting
with my money. Alex was such a flirt and this old gal enjoyed it!

As the ship left the dock late night, heading toward Mykonos, Greece, I felt
a twinge of sadness. I never expected to enjoy Turkey so much. I find I will
miss it. Although I know we had a sheltered experience, guided to just the
right places by highly trained people, we were treated courteously
everywhere.

Goodbye, Turkey ... I'm so glad I met you. I would have never guessed how much I liked this country and the people I met.



Leaving Turkey for the last time

Our flikr Kusadasi / Ephesus pictures: Ephesus

October 18 - Monday - Sevastopol, Ukraine

It was dark when the lights of Sevastapol (Sevas-TOPle) came into view, but it was a long harbor and took us a couple hours to reach port and dock. We were scheduled to leave about 3:30 in the afternoon, so all tours were at 8:00 in the morning or shortly after. The guides were generally excellent. Sevastapol is a huge area, and we were treated to a long drive to our first of two stops (the Palace of the Crimean Khan) and another long drive from our second stop (the Upensky Casve Monastery).
The Palace, built in the 1800s, was beautiful and was very eastern.



Crimean Khan's Palace entrance 



An interior room of the Khan's palace



Beautiful cupula

The colors were absolutely beautiful and blended together in the morning sunlight.



Golden ceiling

From the Palace, we drove a short distance to the Upensky Monastery. In this particular area of the Crimea, there are a number of caves that were used as for many purposes over time. The Monastery is a working monastery, and it's Orthodox, meaning we could take pictures outside but not inside. The iconography represents sacred objects to the Orthodox and should not be debased with photography. Both of us climbed the 140 to 150 stairs up so we could go inside. At the stop of the stairs was a box of wrap-around aprons and scarves for the women. A few women decided not to cover themselves or their heads, but no one said anything. I did hear the guard, however, call that we were not to take photographs. Apparently someone was trying to.



Shrine at the bottom of the Upensky Monastery

I did take a picture of this one icon, however, which is down below the Monastery before I realized that the sign in front of the image says not to take a picture. It was too late, and because I had already taken the picture and because the icon is so beautiful, I decided to post it so others could see.

This happened to me in Jerusalem, too, when I took a picture of the little Armenean chapel in the Church of the Holy Sceptre (is that right?). I did immediately delete that picture, though. The priest there was so very upset with me that I wanted him to see that I deleted it. Emotions run high in that place.

The tour ran nearly four hours - a little longer than advertised - but it was very good to be there and to hear our guide speak. She told us a lot about the current relations with Russia and the other states in this area, about ways they have all found to cooperate, and she told us some about their current economic situation during these times, too. They are bad, just as they are bad at home - but they have been bad here for far longer than they have been in the USA. For example, there is no right to guaranteed medical care here, as one might demand in the USA. If it's broke and you can't afford to have it fixed, you don't. When it gets serious enough, you just die. And that's the end of the story. From my economic vantage point, I can say we're spoiled. But no matter where you are, if you can't get medical care, then there's nothing "spoiled" about it. It's a tragedy, and, yes, it may mean life or death at that time.

Tomorrow, we'll travel through the Bosphorus Strait again early in the morning and pass Istanbul on our way out of the Black Sea. It's been a great trip.

Wedneday, we'll visit Ephesus.

Our flickr Sevastopol pictures: Sevastopol

October 17 - Sunday - Sinop, Turkey

We began to see Sinop on the horizon about 6:30 this morning. The port at Sinop is long, so it took us a while to come completely in and dock. Starboard is dockside today, so I was able to watch them bring the boat in, tie it up, lower the gangway, and see the Captain or the Hotel Manager (I think they are about the same rank, and I don't know who is who when I see them) go down the gangway to be officially welcomed by the Sinop representative.

Officially arriving in Sinop

Welcome to Sinop


Watching our docking and the official greeting is fun for me. Coming into port is always something I look forward to seeing (and I don't think I missed even one during our journey this trip).

Our tour was short today, but it was very, very good. We first stopped at what was once a private home in the 18th and 19th centuries, the home of someone fairly wealthy, I'm sure. The stop was optional for our tour guide, and it wasn't listed in our program, so it was a bonus for us, and very well done.

The home consists of four stories, three above ground and a fourth "fully finished basement," which was quite large.



Home of a wealthy family in the 18-19th centuries



Entrance

Each room was mocked up to look as it might have looked when it was occupied.



Interior view - perhaps main family area

 Then we went a short distance to the Archaeologial Museum of Sinop. The Museum is small and easily absorbed, with each room devoted to a theme.

This particular fresco is of the Archangle Michael slaying Satan, and it was in an area devoted to icons and frescos. I didn't know Michael slayed Satan ... but nonetheless, I loved the work.


Michael slaying Satan

Of particular interest to me was that there were English translations for most of the exhibits (wherever we went today).


Ancient glass bottles

 These people were prepared for Americans and others who speak English. It's the first place we've been where anyone has gone to this much trouble. I really appreciated it.
The outside of the museum is filled with gravestones, pieces of columns, arches, and other artifacts found during various digs.


Displays outside the museum

I had never heard of Sinop before we came here, but it has quite a history as a strategic trading location for thousands of years - yes, even in the BC era. Greeks, Romans, then Ottomans have conquored and occupied this place, and each has left its mark on the culture.

Next, we went to the Alaaddin mosque. We were allowed again to take no-flash pictures. This mosque was built under the Seljuk influence and, as such, does not have a prominent central dome. It's a beautiful mosque, and the lighting was wonderful for no-flash pictures.



The speakers platform

 As a textile enthusiast, I am always interested in the carpets. They are specially woven so that those who come to pray know exactly where their positions are and how to face Mecca. This carpet was particularly interesting, with each position separated not only horizontally, but vertically, with a temple-like shape pointing to Mecca.


Detail of carpet

I also liked the subdued colors. The mosque shown with a kind of golden light. We were left to roam about the huge area as we wished - but only in the men's area. I asked if I could go up the stairs and see where the women prayed, but I was told "No, that's the women's area." Because I don't share their cultural practices, I'm not sure of the significance, especially since I am a woman, too. I thought I might be allowed to go.


Women's area in the balcony

After the mosque, we went across the street to what was formerly the Pervane Medressah, which is now a handicraft center. Typical tourist goods are sold there, by private vendors, so I wasn't particularly interested except in one store the government runs which showcases local needlecraft work. I purchased a small woven table cloth there, one small enough to hang on our walls. I am always interested in something another woman has made with her hands (these cloths weren't machine manufactured). In our short tour this morning, lasting no more than three hours, we were treated twice with Turkish refreshments. They were yummy.


Wonderful snack, Turkish style

When we arrived back at the ship, the sun had come out, of course. It's a beautiful afternoon here. People on board (there are very few who are younger than 55) are running around in shorts (males and females), laying by the pool sleeping in lounge chairs, soaking in the jacuzzi, and milling about everywhere.

As we look out over our verandah, we can see that all Sinop has come out too, to walk the promenade at the end of the port, or to sail the beautiful blue sea.


A beautiful Sunday afternoon in Sinop



Sailing, sailing - a sunny Sinop Sunday

The ship's crew is working inside and outside on the boat, too. As I came in my room after lunch, I saw water pouring down onto our verandah from above ...


Swab the decks, Mate!

It gives new meaning to "swab the decks, Mate!"

Tonight, we are fortunate to be invited, along with two or three other couples, to celebrate the 5th anniversary of another couple's fifth date. How sweet it is. We will join them for supper, singing, cake, and champagne at 8:00. They have asked each of us to bring a few words of advice for a long relationship.

Shipboard friendships happen, and they're very nice, a jewel of the moment.
Tomorrow, Sevastapol, Ukraine, then a day at sea, and then Ephesus, our last stop in Turkey. This is not the Turkey I heard about in my youth. This is a kinder, gentler Turkey, a democratic Republic where more people have a chance. It's not perfect, but no where is. Life is always work, governments are always suspect, but the odds are a bit more even when the the light shines.

Tomorrow, Sevastable, Ukraine.

Our flickr Sinop pictures: Sinop

October 16 - Saturday - Trabzon, Turkey

Last night was some kind of night. Our ship rocked and rolled as we went through some kind of gale, with waves 18 or so feet. Usually, we've run at about 4 feet, and we could surely tell the difference. I woke several times, and I know Lauren got up at least once.

That was nothing, though, compared to what we've heard about. Apparently this ship, the Prisendam, an explorer-class ship (smaller than most), within the last year or two was sailing in the waters north of Scotland, ran into some kind of storm, and water broke through the front of the ship and flooded the stage area in the main auditorium. Fifty-eight windows were broken. It must have scared everyone to death, although some of those people are sailing this ship again and again. Wow. That must have been something else. Obviously, repairs were quickly made (within days? weeks? We're not sure.) and the ship was declared sea worthy and back on the waters again.

The charm of the Prisendam is that it is small and can go to places other ships can't. This ship sails around the world, and it's often the ship that checks out new ports for Holland America. I think it's the "Off the Beaten Track" of ships. I'm sure we wouldn't have been able to dock a bigger ship in many of the ports where we've been. This is a unique opportunity.

Oh, how we liked Trabzon! Our tour guide was nothing short of excellent - knowledgeable, good English, full of anectodal tidbits, facts, good history, and an earnest desire to give us value for our time and money. He went to school for four years to learn to do this, and he travels all over Turkey to give tours. He will be in Sinop tomorrow (but we don't know which tour) and in Ephesus when we get there (but again, we don't know which tour). Excellent.

We began our day in the rain, had some sunshine for a brief period later in our tour, and ended with rain threatening again.

Our first stop this morning was the Trabzon Hagia Sophia (St. Sophia) - one of four Hagia Sophias in Turkey. Two are in Istanbul (we visited the large one, the largest of the four), one is in Izmir, and the fourth here. 

Hagia Sophia in Trabzon

The Hagia Sophias were built as Greek Orthodox churches, the first under the Emperor Justantine (if I remember correctly), and were eventually taken over by the Ottomans and turned into mosques. It was a common practice to take an already existing church or temple and build an edifice of the conquoring religion over it, so it's not unusual that the Ottomans kept the existing churches and adapted them. The Hagia Sophia in Trabzon was built over a pagan temple to Apollo. The practice of the Ottomans was to plaster over the iconography because any representation of a human face or body in their place of worship is a horrible thing. Orthodox churches are just the opposite - they revere icons because they represent those things in heaven they most love.

Inside Trabzon Hagia Sophia



Inside Trabzon Hagia Sophia


Unlike the great Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, the restoration, when removing the plaster during the modern age (1930s and after) wasn't as successful in Trabzon. Perhaps because this is a minor Hagia Sophia, it wasn't as important. In its present condition, though, perhaps it speaks more to the spirit and heart than the more successful restoration in Istanbul.

Our next stop was the home of Ataturk, the father of modern Turkey. He must have been one exceptional and extremely intelligent man. His bio on Wikipedia is worth reading ... The home really isn't large, but it's certainly beautiful, with wonderful grounds to match. The home is high on a hill, up narrow and winding roads.




Home of Ataturk in Trabzon

 This perfect dahlia is from those grounds...



Dahlia in Ataturk's garden

Across the road from the home is a little mountain resort with some fabulous views ...

View from near Ataturk's home

Our last stop for the day was the Fatih Mosque down in the city.


Fatih Mosque

It was interesting to see a number of men across the street waiting for the call to prayer shortly after noon.

This is Saturday, so the crowd was rather small. On Friday, the weekly prayer and sermon time, I'm sure there would be many more. Our guide says that mosques are packed on Friday.

One more little note about Trabzon. It sits between the Black Sea and the lesser Himalayas, stopping all east-moving storms over Trabzon. It rains here more often than not, according to our guide, and they actually get snow in Trabzon.

We had a very nice visit. Tomorrow, it's Sinop, Turkey, then on to Sevastopol, Ukraine, followed by a day at sea.

Our flickr Trabzon pictures: Trabzon

October 15 - Friday - Batumi, Georgia

We docked in Batumi about 7:00 this morning. Our tour today is in the afternoon, so after breakfast we left the boat and walked through the downtown area for a while.

It seems there main streets are paved, but all the side streets are torn up and difficult to navigate. We watched shopkeepers open their stores, and we saw an elderly woman pulling her cart behind her, crying out something like "packcat." We thought maybe she was selling early morning bread, but it turned out to be brooms.

Woman selling brooms

We met some people coming toward us, and we greeted them and chatted for a few minutes. The woman asked us how we knew they were Americans, and we replied that they looked like they had just gotten off the boat. It was worth a chuckle, but it is amazing that we can spot the tourists without much trouble. I suspect we stand out to others, as well.

Batumi has the makings of a charming city, with lace-balcony apartments above the shops, many colors, and beautiful cobbled sidewalks, where they exist. But in its present state, there are many rough, disheveled, peeling, and dirty places. They have been through some very rough times here.

A street in Batumi

Several blocks from the ship, we turned left and walked several more blocks (parallel to the ship). More and more people were coming out, going to work or going about their business. Traffic began to jam terribly, and the people have no patience for the jams. Many horns honked, many people snaked through the lines of traffic, narrowly being missed by traffic when it moved again. When we turned left again, heading back to port, we saw van after van, many of them plain white, opening their doors when traffic was stopped (often) and letting someone in or out of the vehicle. Vans are apparently Batumi's version of the Philippine jeepney - much less colorful, but probably more comfortable, with real padded van seats.


Vans are public transportation

 We stood on the sidewalk for quite a while and just watched, glad that we're retired and no longer depending on the flow of traffic to get us to our jobs on time. Lots and lots of activity.

As we neared the port and just before we turned left again, we came through the Muslim quarter. Several women, dressed in black with black head coverings, were busy coming in and out of their quarters and places of work.

Like the Philippines and probably many other places in the world, this is a place where you can buy a single cigarette, or a whole pack if you can afford it - but never a carton, from a sidewalk vendor who has set up a small child-size table with his - or perhaps even more likely, her, wares. It's a way to make a living in a place that doesn't have many opportunities at this time. 

Elderly woman selling cigarettes

After lunch, we took a tour called Batumi Highlights and Home Visit, driving through the city ...

Along the shore as we drove through the city

Sights in Batumi

Up on a mountain where we could see the entire city ,..

View of Batumi from high in the mountains

And then to the home of a Batumi family ...

Visit with a Batumi family

And to a surprise treat performance by a group from a local private performing arts school ...

Performance at Batumi home by local private performing arts school children

The performance was the highlight of our day, and perhaps the highlight of our tour up to this point. Wonderful group of young people, each eager to entertain us with his or her talent.

We will remember Batumi for a long time.

As we were preparing to leave the dock, a local band, the children from the performing arts school, the tour guides, and many local residents, came to the dock to bid us goodbye. What a special moment.

Tomorrow, Trabzon, Turkey!

Our flickr Batumi pictures: Batumi