TALES FROM TURKEY

ISTANBUL:  We awoke to find ourselves anchored next to the Queen Elizabeth (smaller than our ship) on the Golden Horn in central Istanbul   It was a gorgeous day and we rushed through breakfast in order to join our brief introductory tour of the city.

Although Turkey is officially a secular country there are more than 10,000 mosques serving Istanbul’s 14 million citizens.  Fortunately, our tour guide took us through only one.  After visiting several of the standard tourist spots we were dropped at a carpet shop for a demonstration and a sales pitch.  I finally got Betty away before she spent next year’s savings (see below).

At this point we left the tour and went to the Grand Bazaar.  This should not be missed as there are over 4,000 shops crowded together under one roof.  There are so many jewellery stores that I think if every woman in the world bought one item there would be no noticeable drop in inventory.

We ate a delicious lunch ordered at random down some back street and then proceeded to get quite lost as we explored the labyrinth of streets in the old part of the city.  Eventually an English speaking policeman gave us directions toward a bridge we knew we needed to cross in order to find the ship.

Istanbul seems to be a Mecca of retail, and some of the merchants are quite aggressive.  Betty enjoyed the merchant who offered to show her “something she did not need.”   I think, however that the pitch of the day came from a restaurateur who assured me that his fish was filled with natural Viagra. 

Istanbul is on three land masses, two of which are Europe and are separated by the Golden Horn.  The newer part (suburbs) is in Asia across the Straits of Bosphorus.  As our second day was only a half day we decided to explore an area nearer the ship.  We were seeking Taksim Square as well as the Galata Tower.  We found the first but got quite lost and never did find the tower.   The area we explored was obviously a low rent district containing store after store selling used furniture.  Eventually we kept working our way downhill until we came out to the water and thus were able to find our ship.

HIGHLIGHT SO FAR:  On our third morning in Turkey we docked in the beautiful port of Kusadasi in Asia Minor.  This small resort city is the jumping off point for Ephesus.  Ephesus, once the largest city in Asia, was buried in silt in the 7 century and only discovered in the 19^th.  It is the major archeological dig in Asia ever since. 

Our tour bus took us the 20 km to Ephesus, and there we were truly amazed at the beauty of the partially restored city and the advanced nature of what was built by the Greeks, after Alexander the Great conquered Asia Minor,  and then subsequently by the Romans.  We sat in the 25,000 seat amphitheatre where Saint Paul preached to the Ephesians (no bad puns about epistles forthcoming).  The weather (21C) was perfect, but one should never come here in high tourist season as temperatures frequently reach 120F.

COUNTRY RUBES:  Our tour dropped us back in Kusadasi where I hoped to have lunch.  However, Betty suggested 20 minutes of shopping.  I never did get lunch.  Going into a shop in Kusadasi is very high risk as one is first given a glass of very fine wine, served in a perfectly matching glass, and a small pastry.  After the third glass of wine they get around to discussing prices.

After purchasing a Turkish carpet, a leather jacket for Betty and an Antelope skin jacket for Ron, Betty’s credit card maxed out and we had to switch to mine.  I suppose I did save a few Turkish Lira by involuntarily skipping lunch.

LEAVING TURKEY:  Tonight we set sail for Athens; but, despite facing debtor’s prison, I am sorry to be leaving.  Turkey was never very high up on my bucket list but the past three days have been great and I recommend this country as a place everyone should visit; after all a country that has 13,000 registered tour guides must have much to offer.  My only advice is that you should feel very secure in your relationship with your significant other before venturing into a shopping area.