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Friday, November 23, 2012
Friday, October 5, 2012
Last Blog from Turkey
This will truly be very short because our Internet connection is the worst we've had and we're really tired. So, four amazing things happened at the end of our trip.
1. The last night on the boat we were at Gocek, tied in to a slip at the dock. As dinner started, a woman and a man we didn't know came on board. They were greeted happily by the captain and went below. Some good friends come to visit the captain, we thought. No--a surprise from Dennis ( who is always full of delightful surprises). The woman was a belly dancer--and did we all have fun! The videos are much better, but some pics will need to suffice for now.
2. On the long drive from Gocek to our next destination, Sirince, Dennis asked if we would like to detour through Bodrum, his home town, to meet his wife Elif and three month old son, Kuzay. Yes, of course we would!
3. In the place we stayed in Sirince, we each had our own cottage at an inn atop a hill. It was beautiful.
4. We visited Ephesus. Those of you who have been there understand that the beauty, crowds, and sights of this ancient, once thriving port city are hard to describe. So, again, a few pictures will have to suffice.
Tomorrow a.m. We leave the hotel at 3:00 a.m. for the first leg of our flight back, which will take us through Frankfurt and then nonstop on to Denver. We'll be so happy to be back, but what a time we've had. Thanks for traveling with us.
Much love,
B n P
John with our belly dancer
Dennis with his new motorcycle in Bodrum
The family...bad pic
Pam n Kuzay--of course
Porch n front door of our cottage
From the living room
Welcome to Ephesus
Piecing shards together to reconstruct wall murals. Talk about a puzzle!
Mausoleum and library
1. The last night on the boat we were at Gocek, tied in to a slip at the dock. As dinner started, a woman and a man we didn't know came on board. They were greeted happily by the captain and went below. Some good friends come to visit the captain, we thought. No--a surprise from Dennis ( who is always full of delightful surprises). The woman was a belly dancer--and did we all have fun! The videos are much better, but some pics will need to suffice for now.
2. On the long drive from Gocek to our next destination, Sirince, Dennis asked if we would like to detour through Bodrum, his home town, to meet his wife Elif and three month old son, Kuzay. Yes, of course we would!
3. In the place we stayed in Sirince, we each had our own cottage at an inn atop a hill. It was beautiful.
4. We visited Ephesus. Those of you who have been there understand that the beauty, crowds, and sights of this ancient, once thriving port city are hard to describe. So, again, a few pictures will have to suffice.
Tomorrow a.m. We leave the hotel at 3:00 a.m. for the first leg of our flight back, which will take us through Frankfurt and then nonstop on to Denver. We'll be so happy to be back, but what a time we've had. Thanks for traveling with us.
Much love,
B n P
John with our belly dancer
Dennis with his new motorcycle in Bodrum
The family...bad pic
Pam n Kuzay--of course
Porch n front door of our cottage
From the living room
Welcome to Ephesus
Piecing shards together to reconstruct wall murals. Talk about a puzzle!
Mausoleum and library
Location:Istanbul
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Snorkeling and Barbering
This morning a story at breakfast, and a lesson in Turkish history. Before WWI there were Turks, Greeks, Kurds, Armenians, Jews living together in small towns all over the then Ottoman Empire. Often Greeks would ask Turks to pray to Allah for this or that, and believers in Islam would be asking Greeks to pray to Our Lady. By the end of WWI and the formation of modern day Turkey, Greece, Armenia, etc., the new governments of Turkey and Greece said all people must be the same. If you are a Turk living in Greece--get out, go to Turkey. If you are a Greek living in Turkey, go to Greece. Many towns fell into poverty and became dysfunctional because, of course, many of the artisans, for example, were Greek, herders Turkish, merchants Jews...so when towns became all of one kind of people, the diversity that makes a place a town, a home, was destroyed. And so it was in one small town called Porcha, close to where Deniz grew up. Many times during this forced evacuation, the people were bewildered and they gave the key to their home to a Turkish neighbor, saying, please take care of our house, for maybe in five years or so, we are returning. This happened between two families in Porcha in about 1920.
Eighty years later the grandson of the Greek people from Porcha, Turkey came to Porcha with his wife. They were taking a trip to search their roots. They came to Porcha and found it very changed: highways, high rise buildings, shopping centers. That was OK...they just wanted to see where their grandparents' home had been...maybe now under a road or a new shop. They went to the old neighborhood and found a home close to where they thought the grandparents lived. They knocked on the door and when a man answered, they explained who they were and what they were seeking. The man called his wife, and then walked the young couple around the side of their own home. Before them was a neatly whitewashed building. "This is the home of your grandparents," said the Turk. All these years we have waited for them to come home. Every week, we sweep and clean the inside. Every year we paint the house." Pressing the key into the young man's hand, the old man said, "Now, this house is yours." Then all of them were hugging and crying together. This is a true story that Deniz knows, but if you would like a great read about the those times, read Birds Without Wings. It is historical fiction and a great read.
After breakfast, our boat moved to a wonderful cove where we could snorkel over the ancient ruins of a town called Aperlae and check out the local fish. It was great. Then on to Kas where we had a real treat...first our gulet captain backed into an impossibly tiny slip without so much as touching the boats on either side. Then, off to town where the shops are beautiful, but biggest surprise, Deniz took the four guys to a Turkish barber. It was totally amazing. I'm just going to put up pics, mostly of John because he was the first to get barbered...just let me say: two shaves with a straight razor, hair removal from noses and ears, finished by a flaming wand, two hair washings, great scissored haircut, full face, neck and upper body massage. All for about $15 US. Deniz was so happy with it all that he got his own beard shaved off...this morning it looks half grown back. Our guys still look great!!
Ready, set...in we go
Pam in a small kayak
Foundation corner under water
Some kind of tubular fish
A flock of Calamari
Ruins that start on the hillside and continue as tumbled walls and foundations under the deep, turquoise sea
Pam helping Catherine back on board
John, lathered up...we're all crowded into the small shop, drinking tea, laughing, taking pics...the barbers just smiled and continued about their business
Nose trim
That orange by John's ear? A wand of flame that finishes ears and nose
Eyebrows
GREAT (and I mean it!) haircut
There goes Craig
Massage (John said we could all go to dinner and pick him up later)
The TA DA! Moment
Here is a " before" shot of John (right, at near end of table)
"How 'bout it, darlin?" "Ahhh...sooo smooth!"
Reflections on Dick's shave!
Eighty years later the grandson of the Greek people from Porcha, Turkey came to Porcha with his wife. They were taking a trip to search their roots. They came to Porcha and found it very changed: highways, high rise buildings, shopping centers. That was OK...they just wanted to see where their grandparents' home had been...maybe now under a road or a new shop. They went to the old neighborhood and found a home close to where they thought the grandparents lived. They knocked on the door and when a man answered, they explained who they were and what they were seeking. The man called his wife, and then walked the young couple around the side of their own home. Before them was a neatly whitewashed building. "This is the home of your grandparents," said the Turk. All these years we have waited for them to come home. Every week, we sweep and clean the inside. Every year we paint the house." Pressing the key into the young man's hand, the old man said, "Now, this house is yours." Then all of them were hugging and crying together. This is a true story that Deniz knows, but if you would like a great read about the those times, read Birds Without Wings. It is historical fiction and a great read.
After breakfast, our boat moved to a wonderful cove where we could snorkel over the ancient ruins of a town called Aperlae and check out the local fish. It was great. Then on to Kas where we had a real treat...first our gulet captain backed into an impossibly tiny slip without so much as touching the boats on either side. Then, off to town where the shops are beautiful, but biggest surprise, Deniz took the four guys to a Turkish barber. It was totally amazing. I'm just going to put up pics, mostly of John because he was the first to get barbered...just let me say: two shaves with a straight razor, hair removal from noses and ears, finished by a flaming wand, two hair washings, great scissored haircut, full face, neck and upper body massage. All for about $15 US. Deniz was so happy with it all that he got his own beard shaved off...this morning it looks half grown back. Our guys still look great!!
Ready, set...in we go
Pam in a small kayak
Foundation corner under water
Some kind of tubular fish
A flock of Calamari
Ruins that start on the hillside and continue as tumbled walls and foundations under the deep, turquoise sea
Pam helping Catherine back on board
John, lathered up...we're all crowded into the small shop, drinking tea, laughing, taking pics...the barbers just smiled and continued about their business
Nose trim
That orange by John's ear? A wand of flame that finishes ears and nose
Eyebrows
GREAT (and I mean it!) haircut
There goes Craig
Massage (John said we could all go to dinner and pick him up later)
The TA DA! Moment
Here is a " before" shot of John (right, at near end of table)
"How 'bout it, darlin?" "Ahhh...sooo smooth!"
Reflections on Dick's shave!
Location:Kas (Kosh)
Wandering Down the Lycian Coast
So, for the last couple of days they've cruised along the Mediterranean...anchoring, hiking, snorkeling, eating delicious food. Yesterday we went ashore so that we could hike up to the ridge of a mountain and see the remains of a Greek aqueduct. It was beautiful and from a distance looked ever so much like a long wall, lifting and dipping, snaking its way as it followed the land.
Back on the boat we swam, ate, napped, and during the cocktail hour, Craig and Brooke taught several of our group to play a card game. Pam won!!
As we stretched out under gathering clouds, we hoped that the rain would not come. As we drifted off to sleep, we had a great lightning show, and later on we were awakened by long, rolling thunder. The rain was not far behind. This was our first evening sleeping in our cabin. We didn't sleep very well.
After a huge morning hike up to Kaya Koy (the city of Birds Without Wings), all of us were exhausted...our guide included. The city ruins are incredible...much larger than I envisioned. After coming down through the ruins to the now living city, we stopped for morning coffee in a small shop. Pam and I downed two glasses of the best,fresh-squeezed orange juice ever. Back on the boat we decided, No Afternoon Hike! "Good tourists, good tourists," said Dennis. We pulled up anchor and set off. Now we are anchored in a beautiful cove. Clouds are gathering overhead and we can hear distant thunder. A faint rainbow is pushing up from the distant mountains, and we are so hoping to be able to sleep out under the night sky, cloudy or not.
Night lights in a distant town
Under way
Coming ashore
Looking back at Cevri II at anchor
A piece of the aqueduct
Craig, standing on an intact section of the aqueduct
"OK, so here's how it goes, you get five cards..."
Climbing up from the bay near Kaya Koy
Hiking up, and up, and up!
Ever the joker!
Walls and windows
No roof has survived, but here it is easy to see how water was collected...a run off the roof and water fills the cistern. Every house has this arrangement.
A window on long ago
Stone mosaic in a church yard
Inside one of the churches
And a cathedral...
Another storm...coming or going?
Back on the boat we swam, ate, napped, and during the cocktail hour, Craig and Brooke taught several of our group to play a card game. Pam won!!
As we stretched out under gathering clouds, we hoped that the rain would not come. As we drifted off to sleep, we had a great lightning show, and later on we were awakened by long, rolling thunder. The rain was not far behind. This was our first evening sleeping in our cabin. We didn't sleep very well.
After a huge morning hike up to Kaya Koy (the city of Birds Without Wings), all of us were exhausted...our guide included. The city ruins are incredible...much larger than I envisioned. After coming down through the ruins to the now living city, we stopped for morning coffee in a small shop. Pam and I downed two glasses of the best,fresh-squeezed orange juice ever. Back on the boat we decided, No Afternoon Hike! "Good tourists, good tourists," said Dennis. We pulled up anchor and set off. Now we are anchored in a beautiful cove. Clouds are gathering overhead and we can hear distant thunder. A faint rainbow is pushing up from the distant mountains, and we are so hoping to be able to sleep out under the night sky, cloudy or not.
Night lights in a distant town
Under way
Coming ashore
Looking back at Cevri II at anchor
A piece of the aqueduct
Craig, standing on an intact section of the aqueduct
"OK, so here's how it goes, you get five cards..."
Climbing up from the bay near Kaya Koy
Hiking up, and up, and up!
Ever the joker!
Walls and windows
No roof has survived, but here it is easy to see how water was collected...a run off the roof and water fills the cistern. Every house has this arrangement.
A window on long ago
Stone mosaic in a church yard
Inside one of the churches
And a cathedral...
Another storm...coming or going?
Location:At Anchor Somewhere
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