Istanbul, Turkey

We had an overnight here in Istanbul, Turkey. I was getting over some pretty bad laryngitis and needed some rest, so the first day I only ventured to the area around the port with our fantastic Cruise Director, Mr. Leslie Jon. 

Leslie really knows his way around this part of the world and a walk around the vibrant city of Istanbul was not that different from being with him while walking around the ship. He knows merchants and restauranteurs and is stopped & greeted everywhere he goes. You certainly feel you're in great hands as you explore this exotic city. 

About 4-5 blocks from where the ship is docked is Leslie's favorite baklava shop. I thought I'd had baklava before, but this was really fantastic. They must have a dozen different varieties and we had a huge plate of pistachio (each!) which was delicious with such a flavor of real, fresh pistachio. Not to be believed.

Turned in early last night, got a good rest then Leslie and I ventured back out into the real city, joined by our friend from Monte Negro, Blazo, who is on staff.

We picked up the convenient and modern air conditioned tram that travels the center of the principal corridor, passed the famous Blue Mosque with its six minarets and got off at the stop right in front of the Grand Bazaar.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was much nicer than I had anticipated. Instead of one large room or area divided in stalls like one sees in much of the world, this market has actual little store fronts all facing little passages which run for days, like the layout of a small city. The unusual vaulted ceilings looked like they'd been painted centuries ago, but that may be just age and dirt. Still, it made for an exotic shopping experience.

Everything and anything is pretty much available here and I don't think they were arranged by any particular category. Jewelry of all sorts, of course rugs, silks, scarves, watches, hanging lamps, the usual T shirts, jeans and baseball caps of a sorts were in abundance. 

The merchants would stop you to tempt you with their products, but they were very polite and most spoke very good english. Not much of that annoying (but I suppose understandable) harassment one gets from vendors in many cities. The official currency is the Turkish Lira, but Euro and US dollars were also frequently traded.

Leslie was in rare form and EVERYONE seemed to know him and want his time (I think they believe he can send lots of cruise guests their way; altho that's not his role). The hospitality seemed very genuine; we visited an old man in his enclosed rug shop which has been in business since 1918. We were invited behind the counters of an open sided jewelry store to sit and the owner, who, by muttering into an old intercom on the wall, graciously made apple chi teas appear, carried by a worker who used one of the unique handled trays that are seen everywhere. 

Can't wait to come back and really do some shopping at the Bazaar when we return in a couple of weeks. One could knock out an entire Christmas list in one short afternoon!

After exploring a bit, we made our way to Leslie's favorite coffee shop and had a nice cup of cappuccino; delicious and pretty much like any good cappuccino I'd had before. Not the syrupy thick Turkish coffee I'd seen in documentaries. 

By now it was time for lunch (are you seeing a theme here?) and we went to a nice, modest little restaurant which even though it caters to a tourist clientele, served terrific an authentic Turkish menu.

I'll need to get some help with the names of everything, but we started off with a fresh little salad and then they brought a plate of delicous grape leaves rolled around a mixture of rice and spices (served cold). We then enjoyed a delicious appetizer which was made of a flat dough which was rolled a bit like a cigar or small Mexican flauta, stuffed with cheese inside then deep fried. VERY tasty.

Our main course was a sort of kebob, but unlike any I'd had before. Not the usual cubed meats and vegetables; they must take some sort of chopped beef, add lots of spices (this one was quite spicy) and either form it around the skewer, or make a little snake and then skewer it. Maybe someone can tell me how it's prepared but it comes out one long piece (skewer already removed). Served with both french fries and mixed rice sides. 

Dessert was a packaged vanilla ice cream cup of a rather depressing and gummy ice cream which was saved by a lovely piece of, you guessed it... baklava on the side. Not quite as fresh as we'd had the day before but I'm sure I ate it all.

We took a cab back to the ship in time for the lifeboat drill and now I'm going to relax for a bit until it's time to get ready for my show this evening. 

All in all, a terrific city with so much to offer and I really only got a sneak peek. I'm so happy I'm going to be coming back in a few weeks to maybe dig a little deeper into this wonderful city, founded by Constantinople, which has been the gateway between east and west for centuries.

Tomorrow we're visiting Nessebur, Bulgaria. I think I'm on tour again!

Santorini, Greece

Aug 28, 2010

I have several friends who have been working on ships and sailing the world for over 20 years and when asked their favorite port, so many have replied without hesitation, "Santorini".

So, I was really looking forward to visiting this wonderful Greek island for the first time. It did not disappoint.

Again, I volunteered to escort one of our organized tours which afforded me a terrific opportunity to see much more of the island than I would have on my own.

Just as a bit of background: the group of islands which includes Santorini was originally one huge island created by the top of a volcano ages ago. I believe it was around 1,700 BC the volcano erupted, blowing the center of the island to bits but leaving a circular group of islands surrounding what they call a "caldera", or "cauldron" in spanish (maybe Greek too?). There is some speculation (but I gather very little evidence) that the original island could have been the lost island of Atlantis which was destroyed in the cataclysm. 

This also left Santorini with huge cliffs that drop very dramatically into this "caldera" sea and give it it's famous crescent shape. Imagine you had a pie and the center exploded, leaving all sorts of edges but the center collapsed. The edges are the islands that remain of which Santorini is the largest.

The challenge of course is to get from the sea, up those sheer cliffs. There is no port and ships must anchor, although I did see, from a distance, a beach with black sand created thanks to the volcanic history.

Early in the morning our ship anchored for a short time to disembark those of us heading out for excursions. The island provides tenders which transported us to a very secluded little dock at the base of the immense cliffs where we met our tour buses. The number and severity of the switchbacks our buses executed to reach the top was impressive and a bit unnerving as we ascended like a little trail of ants back and forth to reach the top. The ship then set off to take the independent travelers to the main dock on another part of the island.

The first stop on our tour was to drive to the very summit of the tallest mountain on Santorini. From there we had a fantastic view of the entire island, also called Thira. The wind was tremendous; why they don't install some wind turbines is a mystery. Seems the perfect spot. It was a short stop, we got some wonderful photos and perspective of the island and moved on.

The principal crop grown on Santorini are grapes and the island is known for its wine. The vineyards are very unusual in that they are grown in small patches on terraces all over the island. I think something like 70% of the arable land is dedicated to this export. The vines are kept very close to the ground and wound around each other, creating a sort of basket as the vines mature over years. This protects the fruit (almost all white grapes) from the strong north winds and allows the foliage to take advantage of the dew both morning and evening which is the only irrigation the plant receives. 

We drove from the south end of the crescent shaped island to the extreme north end, crossing the narrowest part of the island which is only about 2 kilometers or 1.25 miles across at that point. The entire island measures only about 7.5 by 4.3 mi

Our destination was the village of Oia, pronounced: EEE-ah.

When one thinks of Santorini, indeed even Greece itself, many are thinking of the magical Mediterranean village of Oia. It's as if the Greek identity and even its flag are pulled directly from the blinding brilliance of its white washed buildings contrasting with the blue domed churches and azure sea and sky.

The village was very quiet, we were very fortunate to be the only ship in port which is so rare as to be practically unheard of. Built at the very top of the cliffs and and northern point of the island, homes, hotels, churches, restaurants and shops cling in terraced fashion down the face of the cliffs, reaching to the sapphire sea of the caldera below.

I suppose a poet or someone could write about it, but for me, the best way to appreciate it is to see it. I wish the photos did it justice:

Our final stop was the town of Fiera, located closer to the center of the island. This is also where the main dock is located, far below the town. Traffic was the worst of all of my travels this trip; drivers have no regard for pedestrians at all and we had a few scary moments getting our group of 30 guests from the bus parking area, up a steep road to the main square.

Lots of shops selling everything from junk souvenirs, to some very nice artwork, photographs, hand made textiles like linen shirts and beautiful lace table cloths and of course, loads of jewelry. It was a bit of walk, but very pleasant, thru the town to the stop located right above the actual dock area.

There are 3 ways to get up and down between the sea and the town of Fiera:

1. You can hire one of the famous Santorini donkeys to carry you up,or down, the steep steps. I think for thousands of visitors over the years, it's been a rite of passage to ride the donkeys of Santorini.

2. You may walk many hundreds of steps up the dozens of switchbacks which are carved into the face of the cliff. Quite a feat esp. because you share the route with the donkeys which create land mines for you to maneuver along the route.

3. In the mid-80's a funicular, or cable car, was installed and for a fee will gently and efficiently carry you up or down the cliff while affording a really terrific view. We were lucky that our tour included tickets for the cable car and that's how we descended to the dock to meet the tenders which returned us to the ship.

My only small regret was that working as an escort I wasn't able to try out any of the wonderful little sidewalk restaurants and the tempting Greek food, but I'm going to have many more opportunities on other Greek islands in the weeks to come, so it's no hardship.

We're at the small Greek island of Mitylene today but it's only a half day and also a tender port. I developed laryngitis yesterday and have almost no voice so I'm staying onboard and trying to get some vocal rest.

We arrive in Istanbul, Turkey in the morning;

Yamas! from Santorini!

Here we go...

Aug 28th, 2010

Well, I'm taking the advice of many of my friends and this is my first effort at blogging. I know, I'm 10 years behind the curve! The biggest reason to do this is I have many friends who, like me, have very limited or expensive internet access while "on the road". When I send out a big email with photos, it bogs down their systems and is costly to view. This way, anyone can peruse my updates (or not!) at their leisure.

I also hope to be able to post more, full size photos and perhaps a bit more detail than I was able to fit into the emails. It's just a more elegant way of handling this sort of thing, so thank you for signing up and following along! I do hope you'll continue to write me or at least post comments along the way.

John