Jan 12
Wow was I tired. Like, pry me out of bed with a crowbar (or the promise of more Egypt) tired. We discovered, to our delight, we were on the same bus as our Alabama buddies, two older couples from Alabama who have sort of adopted us. We started with the catacombs of Kom El-Shugafa ( the Hill of Broken Plates) where we could not take pictures :-( . The catacombs date back to the second century A.D. and are an excellent example of how Egyptian culture had become a blend of the traditional Pharonic and Greek cultures. For example, the façade of the main tomb for the governor of Alexandria and his family included a mummification scene with Anubis, protection from both Isis and Medusa, and a scene of the governor offering a necklace to the bull god Serapis. Serapis is a combination of the greek god Zeus (king of the gods, known to take shape as a bull) and the Egyptian bull god Apis. Together they are “Serapis”. The tomb didn’t just contain the governor. There were hundreds of “Locali” or small rectangular holes for other mummies. There was also a large hall with a hole named Caracaulla’s hole for the Roman Emperor Caraculla who massacred hundreds of people in that hole for an uprising. Another point of interest is who they credit the discovery of these catacombs to. Give up? It’s a donkey. The poor thing fell down the hole of Caraculla in 1892, discovering the catacombs.
From there we went straight to the National Archaeological Museum. Originally the house of a wealthy lumber merchant and then the U.S. consulate, it was returned to the Egyptian government for the museum. It has a large collection ranging from Greco-Roman art to Coptic Christian artifacts and of course, a few mummies. However, I felt like our tour guide droned on and on about the Greco-Roman section and rushed us through the rest. From there, we had a photo stop at the royal gardens and palace of Farouk (now a hotel) and his private house (now the president’s residence).
We then continued on to the Fortress built on the site of the ancient Lighthouses of Alexandria which collapsed due to mining beneath them for treasure. It was built by some Sultan (honestly could not pronounce or remember his name). Finally, we ended with another photo stop at a mosque in the center of town. It’s supposedly one of the most beautiful and once again I can’t pronounce/remember the name. Arriving back on the boat, we had dinner and a nap before our spa treatment. Having been pampered beyond belief, we decided to get dressed up and do dinner at the Italian place on board. It was probably the best meal we have had yet. We then topped off the night with drinks and dancing with Hencel.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Beth's Cruise Day 7
Jan 11
OH MY GOD!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I SAW THE PYRAMIDS!!
So... where do I start? The bus left at 8:45AM, winding through the streets of Alexandria, as our guide (Heba – an awesome lady!) explained how the modern city was built on top of the ancient (pointing out the ancient Amphitheater) as well as local cultural practices/beliefs. We whizzed through the countryside (recently reclaimed) approaching Cairo (which is actually made up of Cairo, Gizeh and Aswan) from the west bank which is Gizeh. We drove right up to a spot between the great pyramid (built by Pharoh Kyops 4650 years ago) and the slightly smaller pyramid of his son King Kaffrin. Kaffrin, however, was smart. He built his pyramid on higher ground and in the “foreground” such that his always APPEARS bigger. But it isn’t. The great pyramid is 137m tall. It used to be 146m when it was topped with a metal (electrum) point. The point was broken up and stolen.
We wandered about fighting off souvenirs, gifts, camel rides, marriage proposals and sleazy policemen who wanted tips for doing their job. All over, people tried to take our cameras to snap pictures of us for tips. We refused to be conned. I actually TOUCHED both pyramids! We also saw some of the smaller pyramids of the royal ladies and the funeral temple of both kings. A funeral temple is where the body was taken after mummification for the actual ceremony before being entombed in the pyramid. The third and smallest pyramid, built by Kaffrin’s son Mankereset, is small because, instead of covering it with high quality limestone like his fathers, he wished to cover his with the more difficult to obtain rock granite. He feared that if he made the pyramid any bigger it would not be completed in his lifetime.
We were then taken to the high point on the Gizeh plateau for panaoramic shots. From there we drove to the Sphinx. Also built in honor of King Kaffrin, it was actually a sort of “left over” stone. It was later used by Mohammed Ali to justify his claim to the throne. He claimed he had fallen asleep in the shadow of the sphinx and been told that he must clear the sand away from it and he will become Pharoh. When he awoke, he worked for 3 days and 3 nights removing the sand and was crowned 4 years later. We then wandered through yet another temple before I engaged in my first bit of bargaining to get Sarah a little critter friend. I’m sure she’ll love it :-P.
From there we drove to the Nile where we were having lunch on a boat. The food was rather western but the entertainment was definitely not, including a belly dancer and whirling dervish. Returning to the bus we drove out to the Citadel of Cairo to see the mosque built by Mohammed Ali (the father of modern Egypt) in 1805. It was beautiful. Here our host also explained some of the tenets of Islam to our group and I thought she did a great job addressing some common misconceptions without being too blatant about it. From there, we drove down to the Papyrus Institute where we learned how to make papyrus and received cartooches we had ordered with our names on them. Exhausted, we slept for the 3 hour bus ride back and pretty much crashed once we reached the boat.
OH MY GOD!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I SAW THE PYRAMIDS!!
So... where do I start? The bus left at 8:45AM, winding through the streets of Alexandria, as our guide (Heba – an awesome lady!) explained how the modern city was built on top of the ancient (pointing out the ancient Amphitheater) as well as local cultural practices/beliefs. We whizzed through the countryside (recently reclaimed) approaching Cairo (which is actually made up of Cairo, Gizeh and Aswan) from the west bank which is Gizeh. We drove right up to a spot between the great pyramid (built by Pharoh Kyops 4650 years ago) and the slightly smaller pyramid of his son King Kaffrin. Kaffrin, however, was smart. He built his pyramid on higher ground and in the “foreground” such that his always APPEARS bigger. But it isn’t. The great pyramid is 137m tall. It used to be 146m when it was topped with a metal (electrum) point. The point was broken up and stolen.
We wandered about fighting off souvenirs, gifts, camel rides, marriage proposals and sleazy policemen who wanted tips for doing their job. All over, people tried to take our cameras to snap pictures of us for tips. We refused to be conned. I actually TOUCHED both pyramids! We also saw some of the smaller pyramids of the royal ladies and the funeral temple of both kings. A funeral temple is where the body was taken after mummification for the actual ceremony before being entombed in the pyramid. The third and smallest pyramid, built by Kaffrin’s son Mankereset, is small because, instead of covering it with high quality limestone like his fathers, he wished to cover his with the more difficult to obtain rock granite. He feared that if he made the pyramid any bigger it would not be completed in his lifetime.
We were then taken to the high point on the Gizeh plateau for panaoramic shots. From there we drove to the Sphinx. Also built in honor of King Kaffrin, it was actually a sort of “left over” stone. It was later used by Mohammed Ali to justify his claim to the throne. He claimed he had fallen asleep in the shadow of the sphinx and been told that he must clear the sand away from it and he will become Pharoh. When he awoke, he worked for 3 days and 3 nights removing the sand and was crowned 4 years later. We then wandered through yet another temple before I engaged in my first bit of bargaining to get Sarah a little critter friend. I’m sure she’ll love it :-P.
From there we drove to the Nile where we were having lunch on a boat. The food was rather western but the entertainment was definitely not, including a belly dancer and whirling dervish. Returning to the bus we drove out to the Citadel of Cairo to see the mosque built by Mohammed Ali (the father of modern Egypt) in 1805. It was beautiful. Here our host also explained some of the tenets of Islam to our group and I thought she did a great job addressing some common misconceptions without being too blatant about it. From there, we drove down to the Papyrus Institute where we learned how to make papyrus and received cartooches we had ordered with our names on them. Exhausted, we slept for the 3 hour bus ride back and pretty much crashed once we reached the boat.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Blog Manager's Note
I have discovered that there is a 500 picture limit to an album on Picasa. I have now rearranged our pictures in to 5 albums. The first (Traveling Trouble) is for pictures taken while traveling (i.e. on the boat, on a plane etc.). The second (Barcelona) is for pictures taken in Barcelona. The third is Rome, the fourth Athens and the fifth Ephesus. This will make organization a little easier. I will update the links so that there is a link to each specific album. It may take a while for these changes to be in full effect though as it takes FOREVER for us to upload anything on the boat and it will all have to wait until we get to Malta and find a faster internet connection.
Beth's Cruise Day 3 - 6
Jan 6
Location: Rome
Our excursion met at 8:15 am in the Stardust theater so we woke up early to get in a full breakfast before disembarking. Assigned to tour bus 11, we were greeted by our Civitavechian tour guide Fillipo (a rather cute, albeit effeminate, young man). He pointed out Michelangelo’s fortress, the home of the virgin mary statue which cried blood and the borders of Tuscany as we made the one hour drive to Rome. Arriving in Rome, we went straight to the Coliseum. Here we learned that it had been built using blocks of a rather common stone with metal pegs between them (earthquake proofing) and then covered in marble which was later stripped to build St.Peter’s Basilica (as was the bronze in the Pantheon). Built by jewish slaves brought back by Tiberius after the sack of Jerusalem (for which there stands an arch memorial down a lane), it was torn down and then later partially destroyed by the popes. Right next door stands the Arch of Constantine which commemorates his legendary victory against a claimant of the throne where he saw in a vision the cross and heard a voice tell him he would be victorious under that symbol.
Avoiding shout-out #4 from a large Italian man dressed as a gladiator, we walked down the Via Dei Fori Imperiali to see the remains of the Roman forum. The senate house is perhaps the only building still standing and this is only because it was converted into a church. Another column, originally built to honor some T__ius emperor for his victory in Romania had been blessed by the pope and the bronze statue on top replaced with one of St.Peter. We also saw the remains of a temple to the Goddess Minerva, who was both the goddess of wisdom and housework, dedicated to women. Ironic no?
At the end of the “via” stands the Palazza Venezia and the Palac Vittorio which was built to commemorate the unification of Italy in 1861 and is named for the 1st Italian King. From there, we hopped the bus to lunch which zoomed past such points of interest as the Circus of Nero, the ruins of the palace of the Caesars, the baths of Carcella, the wall of Aurelius, the fortress of St. Angelo, the Sistine BRIDGE and other historically significant sites. I was desperate to soak up as much knowledge as possible.
Lunch was amazing. It began with lasagna, progressed to salad (strange), continued with pork loin and green beans and finished with Tiramisu and the best coffee I have ever had. I did not need sugar and (for me) that is saying a lot. We then drove down to the Vatican – the smallest state in the world (less than 40 Hectares), though it actually owns 40% of Rome. Here we saw St. Peter’s Basilica. Built by pope Alexander VIIit took 100 years and 12 architects such as Burnini, Michelangelo, Raphael, etc. to build it (please forgive misspellings there, we have no more internet time to use to check on these things). Inside of course was Michelangelo’s “Pieta” or “Mourning of the Virgin Mother”, the bronze statue of St. Peter (these are the only two remaining pieces of the original Constantinian church), and the bronze canopy over the pope’s altar. The canopy, only 9 stories high (as opposed to the 130m of the dome above) was sculpted by Burnini. The dome is in fact the tallest structure ever built before the use of reinforced concrete!
Back outside, we admired the colonnades (covered in the name Alexander VII in case you forget), statues of peter and paul, the Egyptian obelisk, the papal balcony and the nativity scene which was in residence in the square as it was the Epiphany (January 6th). This is also why the Sistine chapel was closed. Stopping for dinner at the Garden café we arrived back at our room to discover a towel elephant! We immediately dubbed him Humphrey and placed him in a position of honor. We then went to see Duo Platchkov the dynamic juggling and acrobatic team which thrilled us with their stunts despite the heavy rocking of the boat. A quick stop at Spinnaker (the club) revealed it to be empty and Gwen went to call Andrew while I sought out an inside viewing area (there is none!) before bed.
Jan 7
Let’s just say... At Sea Day now means “Lazy day”. I really have nothing of consequence to report for this day.
Jan 8
Location: Piraeus/Athens
We didn’t arrive in Piraeus until 11am so we had a leisurely breakfast and then disembarked. We had planned to either take the metro or a taxi to the Acropolis and try and catch a hop-on/hop-off tour bus for the day. However, without a map or signs to the metro, we were forced to consider taxis who all refused to just take us to the Acropolis unless we paid them 165 euros to drive us around for about 4 hours to ALL of the sights. After turning down two cab drivers and even getting out of a cab when he admitted he wouldn’t just take us to the Acropolis, we finally surrendered to the tune of 120 euros. We weren’t entirely sure this was a good deal, but I think in the end we got lucky, as everything shut down at 3 due to strike. Our driver, however, still took us around for a couple more hours to peak through bars and from overlooks at a few more sites.
We started with the Acropolis, looking down in the temple of Dionysos before making the climb up past the Gates and the temple of Nike (under reconstruction) to the plateau. Here we stood in awe before both the Parthenon and the Erectheion. Before meeting up with our driver in time to get to the president’s palace and see the changing of the guard who wear HILARIOUS outfits and walk even more hysterically. I got video. One question: If they need to chase someone, do they have to use the silly walk? Having admired the stadiums built for the 2004 olympics on the way into town, we then stopped at the ancient stadium to flex our muscles a little. From there we headed to Zeus’s temple (an impressive sight and at one point one of the largest temples with the most columns ever used in a single structure). It was enclosed in a large park which also included Hadrian’s Gate, the ruins of Apollo’s temple and a roman bath. Continuing on, we stopped at Parliament for THEIR changing of the guard.
We then TRIED to stop at the National Archaeological Museum but it was now 2:30 and things were closing at an alarming rate. The ground floor of the theater of Dionysos was also closed. Our driver still took us round to both the Greek and Roman Agoras as well as the Clock Tower of the Winds before driving us back to Piraeus and to a very nice restaurant which was really rather out of our price range. Obviously he knows the people who own it or something. We settled on salads and a shared dish of shrimp and received two LARGE glasses of Oujo (sp?) on the house. Unfortunately, both Gwen and I hate licorice...so we couldn’t bear to choke down the white liquid. Noticing this, our driver asked if we didn’t drink. We laughed at this and explained our aversion to the taste to which he said “Is Greek drink! Everybody like Oujo!”. He spoke to the waiter who kindly brought over 2 LARGE glasses of wine instead. Over lunch, we tried to explain to the driver that we did NOT live with our parents and that they were NOT supporting us or paying for this trip. He was flabbergasted at the concept of two women working and living away from home, supporting themselves. He told us we should find Greek boyfriends who would support us.... RIIIIIGHT.
After a mildly awkward moment where the cab driver (old enough to maybe be my GRANDfather) asked me to go for a drink with him, we returned to the boat and went immediately to the hot tubs. After showering and changing and then grabbing a quick bite we decided to bust out the vodka we had snuck on board. Our veins flowing with liquid courage we brought the remainder to the club for 70’s night... That’s right. 70’s Night. Need I say more? Let’s just say we were absolutely ridiculous (did you know there’s a line dance to “Stayin’ Alive”?) and are now famous (or rather infamous) on board. People recognize us in elevators and the cruise director’s staff (the “fun police”) love us. Pictures may or may not be posted... we have not decided how global we would like to make our terrible dancing.... :-P
Jan 9
Location: Izmir/Ephesus
We had been intelligent enough the night before to order room service breakfast for 7am (it’s free so we are being SO spoiled!). We groggily went through the motions of getting dressed and arrived at our meeting point slightly bleary eyed. Besides being tired (5 hours of sleep will do that), I was perfectly fine. This is typical of me as I never get hung over (boy will I be in trouble when that stops! :-P). Gwen, however, was feeling stuffed up, headachey and nauseous; I think a combination of her persistent cold and a hangover.
As we found our bus, we discovered on the seats water bottles and goodie bags courtesy of Tursa Turizm (I think the national tourism bureau). The bags each contained a map, a postcard, a “blue eye” good luck charm, a tablet pendent (with explanation), a survey and a moist towelette. I was struck by just how desperate all of our hosts seemed to impress upon us the cleanliness and modernization of Turkey as well as its safety and interest for tourists. The bus trip included such spectacles as the BRAND NEW highway, Ikea, government planted forests and finally the fortress of Ephesus. Ephesus was actually built 3 times. Each time it moved as the river deposited more silt, moving the harbor. The original town was built somewhere around 1000BC, rebuilt around 600BC and then moved again around 700AD to be nearer to the fort for protection against invaders. We were going to see the second city (600 BC).
Arriving at the upper gate we walked through the “administrative” section of the city. Here was a small theater for council meetings, the senate house, government buildings and a roman bath. Walking down a lined roadway we passed the Temple of Artemis built to replace the original which was one of the seven world wonders. We then passed down a roadway to the medical district which included doctors, pharmacists (you can still see their signs!) and a tomb (perhaps an indication of the efficacy of these doctors?). There was also a temple to a roman emperor (I want to say Domician (sp?) but I’d have to check the map to be sure). Continuing on through the Gate of Hercules, past what would have been statues of great men of the city, we came upon the commercial district. This included houses and shop fronts (complete with mosaics in front of them to identify each shop), the fountain of Trajan, the temple of Hadrian and another large bath (we even saw the public toilets!). At the end of that walkway stood the breathtaking Library, the 3rd largest of the ancient world.
Here we had an oopsies and almost lost our guide, but recovered just down the road at the great theater where public gatherings were held. This is where Paul was barred from entering to preach as the people shouted “Artemis is our god!” somewhere in the book of Romans and then taken to a tower for safe keeping (St. Paul’s Tower). From there you could look down the column lined road to what used to be the harbor. We stopped at the gift shops and bought some BEAUTIFUL 100% Cashmere shawls.
On the way back, the bus stopped at a Persian rug making facility. Here we learned how silk is extracted from cocoons and how to weave rugs of wool, cotton and silk using a double knot method. We were given traditional apple tea and pastries and a brief presentation of the various types of rugs and then given the chance to purchase one. After all, for only $2,400 for a 3’x5’ rug, who could pass it up?
Arriving back on the boat we ate (Gwen was in desperate need of protein) and then napped. Waking up and deciding we deserved an incredible meal, we went to the French bistro on board. Oh my. I have not had mussels, onion soup like that since being in France. We stuffed ourselves on lamb and even scraped our plates clean of the remains of crepes suzette and crème brulee before heading up to Spinnaker for a comedy show and drinks with some of the cruise staff.
Location: Rome
Our excursion met at 8:15 am in the Stardust theater so we woke up early to get in a full breakfast before disembarking. Assigned to tour bus 11, we were greeted by our Civitavechian tour guide Fillipo (a rather cute, albeit effeminate, young man). He pointed out Michelangelo’s fortress, the home of the virgin mary statue which cried blood and the borders of Tuscany as we made the one hour drive to Rome. Arriving in Rome, we went straight to the Coliseum. Here we learned that it had been built using blocks of a rather common stone with metal pegs between them (earthquake proofing) and then covered in marble which was later stripped to build St.Peter’s Basilica (as was the bronze in the Pantheon). Built by jewish slaves brought back by Tiberius after the sack of Jerusalem (for which there stands an arch memorial down a lane), it was torn down and then later partially destroyed by the popes. Right next door stands the Arch of Constantine which commemorates his legendary victory against a claimant of the throne where he saw in a vision the cross and heard a voice tell him he would be victorious under that symbol.
Avoiding shout-out #4 from a large Italian man dressed as a gladiator, we walked down the Via Dei Fori Imperiali to see the remains of the Roman forum. The senate house is perhaps the only building still standing and this is only because it was converted into a church. Another column, originally built to honor some T__ius emperor for his victory in Romania had been blessed by the pope and the bronze statue on top replaced with one of St.Peter. We also saw the remains of a temple to the Goddess Minerva, who was both the goddess of wisdom and housework, dedicated to women. Ironic no?
At the end of the “via” stands the Palazza Venezia and the Palac Vittorio which was built to commemorate the unification of Italy in 1861 and is named for the 1st Italian King. From there, we hopped the bus to lunch which zoomed past such points of interest as the Circus of Nero, the ruins of the palace of the Caesars, the baths of Carcella, the wall of Aurelius, the fortress of St. Angelo, the Sistine BRIDGE and other historically significant sites. I was desperate to soak up as much knowledge as possible.
Lunch was amazing. It began with lasagna, progressed to salad (strange), continued with pork loin and green beans and finished with Tiramisu and the best coffee I have ever had. I did not need sugar and (for me) that is saying a lot. We then drove down to the Vatican – the smallest state in the world (less than 40 Hectares), though it actually owns 40% of Rome. Here we saw St. Peter’s Basilica. Built by pope Alexander VIIit took 100 years and 12 architects such as Burnini, Michelangelo, Raphael, etc. to build it (please forgive misspellings there, we have no more internet time to use to check on these things). Inside of course was Michelangelo’s “Pieta” or “Mourning of the Virgin Mother”, the bronze statue of St. Peter (these are the only two remaining pieces of the original Constantinian church), and the bronze canopy over the pope’s altar. The canopy, only 9 stories high (as opposed to the 130m of the dome above) was sculpted by Burnini. The dome is in fact the tallest structure ever built before the use of reinforced concrete!
Back outside, we admired the colonnades (covered in the name Alexander VII in case you forget), statues of peter and paul, the Egyptian obelisk, the papal balcony and the nativity scene which was in residence in the square as it was the Epiphany (January 6th). This is also why the Sistine chapel was closed. Stopping for dinner at the Garden café we arrived back at our room to discover a towel elephant! We immediately dubbed him Humphrey and placed him in a position of honor. We then went to see Duo Platchkov the dynamic juggling and acrobatic team which thrilled us with their stunts despite the heavy rocking of the boat. A quick stop at Spinnaker (the club) revealed it to be empty and Gwen went to call Andrew while I sought out an inside viewing area (there is none!) before bed.
Jan 7
Let’s just say... At Sea Day now means “Lazy day”. I really have nothing of consequence to report for this day.
Jan 8
Location: Piraeus/Athens
We didn’t arrive in Piraeus until 11am so we had a leisurely breakfast and then disembarked. We had planned to either take the metro or a taxi to the Acropolis and try and catch a hop-on/hop-off tour bus for the day. However, without a map or signs to the metro, we were forced to consider taxis who all refused to just take us to the Acropolis unless we paid them 165 euros to drive us around for about 4 hours to ALL of the sights. After turning down two cab drivers and even getting out of a cab when he admitted he wouldn’t just take us to the Acropolis, we finally surrendered to the tune of 120 euros. We weren’t entirely sure this was a good deal, but I think in the end we got lucky, as everything shut down at 3 due to strike. Our driver, however, still took us around for a couple more hours to peak through bars and from overlooks at a few more sites.
We started with the Acropolis, looking down in the temple of Dionysos before making the climb up past the Gates and the temple of Nike (under reconstruction) to the plateau. Here we stood in awe before both the Parthenon and the Erectheion. Before meeting up with our driver in time to get to the president’s palace and see the changing of the guard who wear HILARIOUS outfits and walk even more hysterically. I got video. One question: If they need to chase someone, do they have to use the silly walk? Having admired the stadiums built for the 2004 olympics on the way into town, we then stopped at the ancient stadium to flex our muscles a little. From there we headed to Zeus’s temple (an impressive sight and at one point one of the largest temples with the most columns ever used in a single structure). It was enclosed in a large park which also included Hadrian’s Gate, the ruins of Apollo’s temple and a roman bath. Continuing on, we stopped at Parliament for THEIR changing of the guard.
We then TRIED to stop at the National Archaeological Museum but it was now 2:30 and things were closing at an alarming rate. The ground floor of the theater of Dionysos was also closed. Our driver still took us round to both the Greek and Roman Agoras as well as the Clock Tower of the Winds before driving us back to Piraeus and to a very nice restaurant which was really rather out of our price range. Obviously he knows the people who own it or something. We settled on salads and a shared dish of shrimp and received two LARGE glasses of Oujo (sp?) on the house. Unfortunately, both Gwen and I hate licorice...so we couldn’t bear to choke down the white liquid. Noticing this, our driver asked if we didn’t drink. We laughed at this and explained our aversion to the taste to which he said “Is Greek drink! Everybody like Oujo!”. He spoke to the waiter who kindly brought over 2 LARGE glasses of wine instead. Over lunch, we tried to explain to the driver that we did NOT live with our parents and that they were NOT supporting us or paying for this trip. He was flabbergasted at the concept of two women working and living away from home, supporting themselves. He told us we should find Greek boyfriends who would support us.... RIIIIIGHT.
After a mildly awkward moment where the cab driver (old enough to maybe be my GRANDfather) asked me to go for a drink with him, we returned to the boat and went immediately to the hot tubs. After showering and changing and then grabbing a quick bite we decided to bust out the vodka we had snuck on board. Our veins flowing with liquid courage we brought the remainder to the club for 70’s night... That’s right. 70’s Night. Need I say more? Let’s just say we were absolutely ridiculous (did you know there’s a line dance to “Stayin’ Alive”?) and are now famous (or rather infamous) on board. People recognize us in elevators and the cruise director’s staff (the “fun police”) love us. Pictures may or may not be posted... we have not decided how global we would like to make our terrible dancing.... :-P
Jan 9
Location: Izmir/Ephesus
We had been intelligent enough the night before to order room service breakfast for 7am (it’s free so we are being SO spoiled!). We groggily went through the motions of getting dressed and arrived at our meeting point slightly bleary eyed. Besides being tired (5 hours of sleep will do that), I was perfectly fine. This is typical of me as I never get hung over (boy will I be in trouble when that stops! :-P). Gwen, however, was feeling stuffed up, headachey and nauseous; I think a combination of her persistent cold and a hangover.
As we found our bus, we discovered on the seats water bottles and goodie bags courtesy of Tursa Turizm (I think the national tourism bureau). The bags each contained a map, a postcard, a “blue eye” good luck charm, a tablet pendent (with explanation), a survey and a moist towelette. I was struck by just how desperate all of our hosts seemed to impress upon us the cleanliness and modernization of Turkey as well as its safety and interest for tourists. The bus trip included such spectacles as the BRAND NEW highway, Ikea, government planted forests and finally the fortress of Ephesus. Ephesus was actually built 3 times. Each time it moved as the river deposited more silt, moving the harbor. The original town was built somewhere around 1000BC, rebuilt around 600BC and then moved again around 700AD to be nearer to the fort for protection against invaders. We were going to see the second city (600 BC).
Arriving at the upper gate we walked through the “administrative” section of the city. Here was a small theater for council meetings, the senate house, government buildings and a roman bath. Walking down a lined roadway we passed the Temple of Artemis built to replace the original which was one of the seven world wonders. We then passed down a roadway to the medical district which included doctors, pharmacists (you can still see their signs!) and a tomb (perhaps an indication of the efficacy of these doctors?). There was also a temple to a roman emperor (I want to say Domician (sp?) but I’d have to check the map to be sure). Continuing on through the Gate of Hercules, past what would have been statues of great men of the city, we came upon the commercial district. This included houses and shop fronts (complete with mosaics in front of them to identify each shop), the fountain of Trajan, the temple of Hadrian and another large bath (we even saw the public toilets!). At the end of that walkway stood the breathtaking Library, the 3rd largest of the ancient world.
Here we had an oopsies and almost lost our guide, but recovered just down the road at the great theater where public gatherings were held. This is where Paul was barred from entering to preach as the people shouted “Artemis is our god!” somewhere in the book of Romans and then taken to a tower for safe keeping (St. Paul’s Tower). From there you could look down the column lined road to what used to be the harbor. We stopped at the gift shops and bought some BEAUTIFUL 100% Cashmere shawls.
On the way back, the bus stopped at a Persian rug making facility. Here we learned how silk is extracted from cocoons and how to weave rugs of wool, cotton and silk using a double knot method. We were given traditional apple tea and pastries and a brief presentation of the various types of rugs and then given the chance to purchase one. After all, for only $2,400 for a 3’x5’ rug, who could pass it up?
Arriving back on the boat we ate (Gwen was in desperate need of protein) and then napped. Waking up and deciding we deserved an incredible meal, we went to the French bistro on board. Oh my. I have not had mussels, onion soup like that since being in France. We stuffed ourselves on lamb and even scraped our plates clean of the remains of crepes suzette and crème brulee before heading up to Spinnaker for a comedy show and drinks with some of the cruise staff.
Day 6 Cruise Gwen
We were smart enough to order room service breakfast to wake us up the next morning. We got our stuff together and made our way to the meeting place. Apparently “Magnificent Ephuses” and the “Virgin Mary” excursions were well advertised. Beth and I were on bus 27! Ephuses didn’t leave much to the imagination. It was a different and the same as Athens because they were Roman ruins. This is where my camera battery died. Poor camera made it all the way through Athens, the party night, and most of today without taking a charge. Such an awesome camera! Thank you SO much Mom and Dad!
It seemed so brief a visit to Turkey. I’m sure it has much more to offer. Beth has a strong conviction that the Turkish government with really trying to pull in more tourists. The land was beautiful. I felt like Turkey was a very very young America with an exponential urban growth rate. They still hand weave carpets, and have a hard time finding girls who want to sit in front of a loom all day to work on the same carpet for 2 and a half year. I know I couldn’t handle it knowing how much more is out there in the world.
We got back on the boat immediately because our tour did not include lunch. By 2:30 I was the closest I’ve been to having an episode. Beth stuck with me and made sure we made a bee line to the buffet. Afterward, Beth took a nap and I almost finished my book. We got up for dinner at the French le Bistro. We indulged in a half bottle of Clos du Bois Chardonnay wine with dinner. I had muscles, rack of lamb with plenty of mint jelly, and crepe suzette but we missed the flambé show. Beth had onion soup, rack of lamb, and vanilla crème brulee. I would have to say...it was some of the best food we had on the boat so far. Typically this should have cost somewhere around $150...we paid $45, including gratuity. AMAZING. Afterward, we saw Second City and then bumped into Hencel Hill and Hazel Hill and sat talked and drank till 2 am.
It seemed so brief a visit to Turkey. I’m sure it has much more to offer. Beth has a strong conviction that the Turkish government with really trying to pull in more tourists. The land was beautiful. I felt like Turkey was a very very young America with an exponential urban growth rate. They still hand weave carpets, and have a hard time finding girls who want to sit in front of a loom all day to work on the same carpet for 2 and a half year. I know I couldn’t handle it knowing how much more is out there in the world.
We got back on the boat immediately because our tour did not include lunch. By 2:30 I was the closest I’ve been to having an episode. Beth stuck with me and made sure we made a bee line to the buffet. Afterward, Beth took a nap and I almost finished my book. We got up for dinner at the French le Bistro. We indulged in a half bottle of Clos du Bois Chardonnay wine with dinner. I had muscles, rack of lamb with plenty of mint jelly, and crepe suzette but we missed the flambé show. Beth had onion soup, rack of lamb, and vanilla crème brulee. I would have to say...it was some of the best food we had on the boat so far. Typically this should have cost somewhere around $150...we paid $45, including gratuity. AMAZING. Afterward, we saw Second City and then bumped into Hencel Hill and Hazel Hill and sat talked and drank till 2 am.
Day 5 Cruise Gwen
We got up for breakfast and then made our way down to the gangway. We were surrounded by taxi drivers that wanted to take us around Athens. We were quoted two different prices till we finally settled on the driver that said he would give us the lowest. We saw a lot: Parthenon, Theater of Dionysus, Roman Agora, Greek Agora, the new Olympic Stadiums (for 2004) and old Olympic Stadium, the Changing of the Guard at the President’s Palace, and at Parliament building. The driver was friendly, chain smoker, and he would gladly take pictures of us in front of places. He made some sexual remark to Beth while we were buying postcards, asking if she liked the picture of the statue with the large ... well you know where I’m going with this. We found out that everything closed at 3 pm due to a strike...so the driver still took us to places but we took pictures from the outside.
The streets were very narrow and we passed by people and buildings with barely inches to spare. Our driver got in two arguments with other truck drivers that were trying to block the streets. We met nose to nose with a delivery truck. We had just come up a hill where the taxi struggled up on a very narrow road and then the delivery truck appeared driving in the opposite direction. Our driver and the truck driver got out and yelled several things in Greek that Beth and I didn’t understand but were concerned. Then the delivery truck backed up enough to let us pull into this small parking lot and then we backed up and continued up the narrow streets. We were taken down to the pier, Beth and I knowing that if our restaurant faced the water, it was going to cost us. We were definitely not wrong in our assumption. The owner or server that “helped” us was very interested in Beth. That’s all I’m going to say about it. We were given Ouzo to drink on the house and I really wanted to toss it out to the stray cats outside the window. “It’s a Greek drink! Everyone loves Ouzo!” said our driver. Except, it tastes like licorice which happens to be the WORST flavor ever according to Beth and I. Once the driver realized we were not enjoying the very tall alcoholic drink that was provided...he bought us two very large full glasses of wine. We sat there in awkward company as the driver attempted to talk to us about “Where are your parents?” “Your boyfriend isn’t paying everything for you?” “You live on your own?!” Apparently its scandalous for a female to live outside of her parents home before she is married and providing for herself. Afterward, we paid the driver but not without a little hiccup, where he wanted to take Beth for a drink before the boat left. I insisted she was mine and we walked arm in arm back to the boat.
Once on the boat we got in the hot tub, drank our alcohol, showered, went to a magic show, and then up to the club for 70s night. Pretty much we represented for the ladies. We might have been a bit tipsy. That also might be putting it lightly. We had a great time dancing around, making a fool out of ourselves with the Cruise Director and his staff (Hencel, Hazel, Kenitus, and Jason). They were all decked out for the 70s. There are plenty of pictures and video. Once about 2 am rolled around, we stumbled back to our room and crashed.
The streets were very narrow and we passed by people and buildings with barely inches to spare. Our driver got in two arguments with other truck drivers that were trying to block the streets. We met nose to nose with a delivery truck. We had just come up a hill where the taxi struggled up on a very narrow road and then the delivery truck appeared driving in the opposite direction. Our driver and the truck driver got out and yelled several things in Greek that Beth and I didn’t understand but were concerned. Then the delivery truck backed up enough to let us pull into this small parking lot and then we backed up and continued up the narrow streets. We were taken down to the pier, Beth and I knowing that if our restaurant faced the water, it was going to cost us. We were definitely not wrong in our assumption. The owner or server that “helped” us was very interested in Beth. That’s all I’m going to say about it. We were given Ouzo to drink on the house and I really wanted to toss it out to the stray cats outside the window. “It’s a Greek drink! Everyone loves Ouzo!” said our driver. Except, it tastes like licorice which happens to be the WORST flavor ever according to Beth and I. Once the driver realized we were not enjoying the very tall alcoholic drink that was provided...he bought us two very large full glasses of wine. We sat there in awkward company as the driver attempted to talk to us about “Where are your parents?” “Your boyfriend isn’t paying everything for you?” “You live on your own?!” Apparently its scandalous for a female to live outside of her parents home before she is married and providing for herself. Afterward, we paid the driver but not without a little hiccup, where he wanted to take Beth for a drink before the boat left. I insisted she was mine and we walked arm in arm back to the boat.
Once on the boat we got in the hot tub, drank our alcohol, showered, went to a magic show, and then up to the club for 70s night. Pretty much we represented for the ladies. We might have been a bit tipsy. That also might be putting it lightly. We had a great time dancing around, making a fool out of ourselves with the Cruise Director and his staff (Hencel, Hazel, Kenitus, and Jason). They were all decked out for the 70s. There are plenty of pictures and video. Once about 2 am rolled around, we stumbled back to our room and crashed.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Day 4 cruise Gwen
We were woken up at 8:30 with breakfast. We ate our breakfast in bed and then promptly went back to sleep. We slept for another 4 hours. We then decided it was probably time to surface. We got dressed for our workout and went to the gym for an hour. At the gym, the two gentlemen from CO were there. They told us about their day in Rome (took a train saw things we didn’t get to, on their own schedule). I told them we were interesting in at least traveling to Athens together, for cheaper transportation costs. They told us about a group meeting for dinner at 8:30 in the Grand Pacific and then Spinnaker for the night. We agreed to attend to discuss our plans for the next day. We then had lunch and it was there Beth made our scheme for drinking our stowed away alcohol. We grabbed two sodas for a total of $5 a piece and then came back to the room to make the drinks and change for the hot tub. We lounged in the hot tub with the jets going and drinking our ever so cheap drinks for about 30 min before returning to the room for showers and journal time.
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