Our first day in Athens started poorly and ended well. We disembarked with approximately 200 other passengers for our Athens extension with Holland America.We boarded the provided transportation and were shuttled to their contract hotel. Any excursions or activities were on us to arrange.
When we arrived at the hotel there were huge lines because, not only did Holland America use this hotel, but at least two other cruise lines did as well. We were able to pre-check-in after about an hour but our rooms wouldn’t be available for several hours. They would keep our luggage for us but the large room where they put luggage had very little monitoring. I didn’t care so much about the luggage but we didn’t want to lug around our technology in shoulder bags to go out and about. They probably would have all been fine but we didn’t feel confident. So we waited with many other people doing the same thing we were.
An experience isn’t wasted if we learn from it which we did. Don’t do this again! We should have arranged for private transportation to a boutique hotel that wouldn’t have hundreds of people checking in at the same time. Then we could have checked in, left our luggage if needed, and gone about our day in Athens.
We did eventually get our room and were able to find our way to our evening destination. We had booked a food tour! That would be no surprise for those of you who have been reading for a while.
We found our guide, Pascal, and were joined by other couples from the US, England and Brazil.
Our first stop was for pork gyros and chicken souvlaki. They were both delicious.
During conversation we learned that, in Greece, their main meal is lunch. It is served sometime between 1-4. Dinner, served from 5-8, is a lighter meal. Thessaloniki and Crete are considered the best Greek foodie cities.
We walked through an area called Little Kook. It is decorated five times a year. Most recently it had been Alice in Wonderland but was now Halloween. Next would be Christmas. It is a neighborhood effort for both locals and tourists.
Our next stop was a very cool looking restaurant for Greek pies.
We had pies with spinach filling and some with a type of ground meat.
Our next stop was for a Greek pizza called Petnirly. This food tradition came to Greece with workers from the Black Sea. Notice the boat shape. Petnirly have a variety of toppings and are eaten at any time of the day.
After all those snacks we were off to dinner. This was served to us at a restaurant that used to be a famous coffee shop in the 1840s. It was an important gathering place after the Greek revolution.
We had moussaka, calamari, and a dish similar to moussaka made with pasta. We also had greek salad and tomato stuffed with rice.
We also had a view of the Acropolis from our tables. There is almost always a view of the Acropolis from anywhere in Athens!
Our last stop was for Loukoumades!
These are a deep fried doughnut type dessert with various coverings. What a way to finish!
On our tour, we learned that the earliest humans in Greece are from six millennia BC. Christianity grew out of this area. The 1204 crusades took Constantinople and split the empire. The Ottomans came in 1453 and ruled for 400 years.
The fight for Greek independence began in 1821. France, England and Russia were supportive and for a time Greece had a neutral German king. Athens became the capital in 1834.
Greece eventually had a Danish monarchy. In 1974, 72 percent of the Greek population voted against continuing a relationship with the monarchy.
Under Greece’s democratic style government, citizens vote every four years. They have a prime minister and a mostly ceremonial president. The Greece constitution is considered the most advanced constitution across Europe combining examples from America and post revolution France.
There are 11 million people in Greece, and five million of those are in Athens.
The Greek influence is so broad that there are 16,000 Greek words in English.
Our destination in Greece, on this day, was Corinth, both the canal and the ancient city.
In ancient times, several rulers saw a potential benefit in digging a canal through the isthmus between the Ionian Sea and the Aegean Sea. The first known intent was from the 7th century BC but they just couldn’t make it happen given knowledge and resources at the time. (The picture shows the canal eventually developed.)
Instead, early rulers developed a portage road so ships could be towed from one side of the isthmus to the other.
A second attempt at a canal was considered around 300 BC. Three Roman rulers considered the idea but each suffered a violent death before initiating the project. One of those rulers was Julius Caesar.
The canal idea was revived again after Greece became an independent country in 1830. It was deemed too expensive for a new country to take on.
The successful opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 sparked canal interest again. The Greek government passed a law authorizing the construction of a Corinth Canal. Construction began in April 1882 and, after some financing drama, was completed in July 1893. Construction took 11 years.
The canal connects the Gulf of Corinth in the Ionian Sea to the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. The canal is 4 miles long and only 80.7 feet wide at sea level. It is not passable for most modern ships and is now mainly a tourist attraction.
We traveled a short distance to the city of Corinth. Archaeologists believe the area of ancient Corinth was inhabited from the 10th century BC.
Ancient Corinth was one of the largest and most important cities in Greece, with a population of 90,000 in 400 BC. The Romans demolished Corinth in 146 BC and built a new city in its place in 44 BC. It was later made the provincial capital of Greece.
Corinth was once the richest city of the world. It had two ports, one on each side of the isthmus, with the ability to travel almost anywhere. The portage road allowed for travel between the Ionian and Aegean seas.
Paul visited Corinth during the time of Roman occupation. In 51 AD he lived here with Aquila and Priscilla. Paul was run out of Corinth but he wrote several letters back to believers in Corinth. Those are recorded in Corinthians I and II in the bible.
Paul came to this area to preach, likely from this platform.
This is the Temple of Apollo. Its structure corresponded to the golden rule of temple building. The number of columns on the short side = x and the long side = 2X + 1.
Aphrodite protected the city from her temple on top of the mountain. There were also Aphrodite prostitutes to take sailors’ money while their ship was moored at port, or being moved along the portage road.
Ancient Corinth had quite a history combining Greek mythology, the Rule of Tyrants, Roman rule and the missionary visits of Saint Paul, Byzantium history and devastating earthquakes and on and on!
The modern city of Corinth is outside the area of the ancient city because of destruction from a massive earthquake in 1928.
When we woke up and looked outside there were three other cruise ships anchored near Santorini! One of them, The Odyssey of the Seas, was huge. (It has a maximum capacity of 5500 people.) Hmmmm, that’s a lot of people on an island.
Santorini is one of 32 islands, called the Cyclades, forming a circle around the Island of Milos. A huge earthquake devastated Santorini in 1956. As a result, there were a lot of resources and attention put into the island. That made Santorini famous. Tourism is the primary industry, followed by wine making.
We visited the village of Oia, home of the iconic white buildings with blue accents.
The color scheme goes back to the late 1930s when there was a cholera epidemic. It was believed that the white paint had some kind of agent to reduce the cholera transmission rates. The blue is an accent in tribute to the Greek flag. It isn’t a rule that people must adhere to the white with blue but most seem to use these colors.
Although most views are stunning there are a few iconic ones. These people lined up to get one of those shots.
We walked the other direction so we could see more than that one view in our allotted time!
It’s a good life for this Santorini cat!
The island hotels and villas are beautiful with beautiful views!
There are still people in line to get the best picture. I’m happy with ours!
Our tour moved on and we had a quick photo opportunity at a beach with black sand!
The next stop went back into island history. In the 11th Century, a holy icon was received on Santorini. It appeared to move locations and the locals followed the icon before settling here. The current Panagia Episkopi Church is on the site of an 11th century monument to the Holy Madonna, complete with the holy icons.
This building is from the 14th century and survived a large fire in the 18th century.
The original holy icons were stolen and later replaced.
Our next stop was for refreshment. There is no agricultural production on Santorini except grapes for wine. The plants are small due to hard conditions with wind, heat and lack of rain. Eighty percent of the grapes grown on Santorini are for white wine.
We had a very nice stop at Santo Wines. We tasted one dry white, one dry red, and their specialty – a chocolate flavored red. We had a delicious snack of cheese and tomatoes and olives. The dry cracker was interesting.
Our initial thought every time we looked out across the island was that there was snow! No. What we saw was the mostly white houses on the island top.
The end of our tour was in Santorini’s capital of Fira. It was very, very crowded with passengers from four cruise ships, and other visitors, and the line to take the cable car down the cliff face was very long. We progressed slowly for about an hour before boarding. Unfortunately, we experienced a few people who were not on their best take your turn in line behavior. After waiting so long, the ride down took only moments!
There was another option, and we should have taken it! The zigzag wall is a stairway. There are donkeys on that stairway. I assume you can hire them to take you down but I would have just enjoyed seeing them while walking! Those that did walk down said it was fine, just very, very hot with no relief from the sun.
This was our view of Santorini as we sailed away. It was very beautiful but just too crowded with four ships! If we ever choose to return we will stay at a villa overlooking the sea. We could just sit and enjoy the view until the cruise people were gone!
Greece is a country of islands and the vast majority of them are uninhabited. We would visit three islands in two days. Santorini was next, but on this day, we visited Ancient Delos and Mykonos.
We rode a ferry to Delos, an island well positioned geographically to become a trade center in the Mediterranean. It was a prosperous trading port from 3000 BC and had a population of 20,000 people.
According to Greek mythology, Delos was the birthplace of Apollo and his twin sister Artemis, the children of Zeus and Leto. Because of Hera’s displeasure at Zeus’ philandering, Leto had to search for a place where she could give birth to her twins since Hera ordered all lands to deny her shelter. (Excuse me…Was this pregnancy Leto’s fault?) As the site of Apollo’s birth, people from around the world came to Delos to pay homage.
Eventually, a regional king tried to fight the Romans and it went badly for Delos and its citizens.
The island was abandoned for many generations. There are cats living on the still uninhabited Delos so maybe they have been on the island all along.
Since 1873 there has been excavation on the island and it was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1990.
With background absorbed, we were ready to explore Delos with our guide and with the aid of Augmented Reality Software tablets. Our tour description said “AR combines the camera’s content with a virtual one. AR essentially enables you to simply point the tablet’s camera at various locations of the site and view them in their original form, as they once stood thousands of years ago.”
Well, not so much. At best the tablet had interactive software that allowed you to choose from a menu showing what expansion information you would like to look at.
While we were getting instruction on the tablet, it started to rain. Our guide said it never rains in the Greek Islands- but we had a storm that afternoon!
Most everyone retreated to the visitor center to wait it out.
One of the island cats had the bench and no one ever made it move. We just left it alone and stood.
Eventually the rain lessened so most in our group took off to explore Delos. With the rain, the Augmented Reality Software was not really usable. We were just trying to see as much as we could between showers.
We followed our guide and at one point she asked us what we wanted to do. People said just keep on. She was a good sport and we all got very wet.
I don’t honestly remember what we saw. I couldn’t take notes because of the rain.
I took very few pictures and then when I did, the shutter wouldn’t close. I gave up taking pictures and eventually gave up the tour. I was soaked and went back to the ferry to wait.
Randy kept on with the guide. The sun came out and his clothes were the type that dried out quickly. These lions are from the Terrace of Lions.
Tours were supposed to come and go throughout the day – but now everyone who had been there during the storm just wanted to go. The tour guides ordered in a second ferry because there were way too many of us on Delos to go back at once. (The tours that came after us appeared to have a lovely afternoon!)
We motored to Mykanos and the sun was out. It was lovely but, unfortunately, I was still very wet and cold. The choice was to find a warm, dry sweatshirt or go back to the ship.
The stores by the port just had souvenirs and T-shirts. I wanted a sweatshirt. I didn’t have to love it, I just didn’t want to hate it.
It took a bit of searching through the labyrinth of little paths!
My sweatshirt was finally purchased and here I am in front of the iconic Mykonos windmills.
The first windmills on the island were built by the Venetians in the 16th century when grain production and milling were an income source.
We wandered around the port area and enjoyed the views and the famous white buildings.
We enjoyed the rest of our afternoon in Mykonos and returned to the ship just after it began to get dark.
My camera mostly died on Delos on September 28, 2023. Randy tried to dry it out and coax it along but it was pretty much done. It had been around the country and around the world for many years. We would have to use our iPhone cameras going forward.
It isn’t very often that a cruise ship spends an overnight in a city allowing for tours on both days. Istanbul was one of those rare opportunities.
Our tour the first day had been called Istanbul 1 and had about 40 people. It was designed to go with Istanbul 2 the next day. Instead I booked a small group tour on the second day – also through Holland America – with only 10 people. We prefer small group tours when they are available.
Our guide told us the population of Istanbul is 18,000,000 but that number is only an estimate because the city has taken in so many people as refugees from natural disasters and civil strife.
Five million Istanbul residents live in Asia but work in Europe. They use bridges, tunnels and ferries to cross the city.
Istanbul, formerly known as Constantinople, has a long and rich history. Constantinople was once the capital of the Roman Empire. Constantius II had a 15th century BC obelisk sent from Egypt in the year 357 to commemorate his 20 years on the throne.
The obelisk, named the Obelisk of Theodosius, is the oldest monument in Istanbul. Six cities around the world have genuine Egyptian obelisks.
The base shows the process of erecting the obelisk. It took 55 years to accomplish the task.
Its geographic setting made Constantinople one of the richest and most significant cities of all time. From the fifth to ninth centuries, it was one the most crowded cities on earth.
Our next site was The Sultan Ahmet Mosque, more popularly known as the Blue Mosque.
It was completed in 1617 just prior to the death of its patron at age 27.
It is so named because of the blue tint to the interior.
Of course, there were modesty requirements for women. The requirement was enforced.
The mosque once had ancient rugs instead of carpet but after some of the rugs were stolen, the remaining rugs were removed. We were told that the rugs that were removed are on tour but I was unable to find a schedule.
Men pray on the bottom floor while women pray in the side galleries.
It was impossible for us to get an exterior photograph from a distance to see its grandeur. This drawing gives a better perspective.
Our next site was the inspiration for the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia. This was the largest building on earth for 1000 years and still ranks number five.
Hagia Sophia, or St. Sophia, was built in the years 532-537. It has been in continuous use for 1500 years. That has helped it remain in such good condition.
It was the first basilica with a domed roof. They did that 1500 years ago!
St. Sophia was built and served as an orthodox Christian church from its beginnings until 1453. At that time the city fell to the Turks and St. Sophia was converted to a mosque.
The central altar is now slightly offset to face Mecca instead of Jerusalem.
It was turned into a museum and operated that way for 80 years. One year ago it was made a mosque again by the “hard line, right wing government in Turkey.” Those were our guide’s words.
Turkey is 99.9 percent Muslim and he said that about 50 percent are active. Our tour guide was part of the .1 percent. He described himself as an Orthodox Christian.
Next, we visited the Grand Bazaar.
Our next stop was for a classic Turkish meal. It was very good.
It was almost like comfort food to see something resembling cherry jello.
Our guide, who had been so attentive and personable, was now getting phone calls and seemed distracted. Randy finally asked him if everything was okay. He then told us about his son who plays junior tennis for Istanbul and was playing in a regional match. Our guide was missing it for work and his wife was trying to keep him informed. His son won and would be playing his next singles match (either the finals or semifinals) the next day. He was hoping to catch his son’s doubles match later that day.
We walked down the Grand Rue de Pera, hub of cultural life. Nearby is the Hotel Pera Palace where Agatha Christi wrote Murder on the Orient Express – a train route that had termini in Paris and Istanbul.
We saw that Istanbul too has cared for street kitties.
We said goodbye to our guide whom we had enjoyed very much. He was highly educated and a very good communicator. Small group tours really are the best when you can get them.
We returned to our ship prepared for a late afternoon sail away. We still had some interesting sights to see on our way out of Istanbul.
The Blue Mosque is on the left and St. Sophia is on the right. It is a unique (to us) landscape.
From 1460 on, the Ottoman Empire ruled much of the world from Topkaki Palace. It was the administrative center and the main residence of the sultan.
There are more than 7000 mosques in Istanbul. Sailing away, Randy was able to count 16 large mosques from our balcony on the ship.
Istanbul and Rome alternate as the third most visited city in Europe behind London and Paris. We would be happy to visit again someday.
Istanbul is the only city in the world that is located on two continents – Europe and Asia. It was once the center of the world as the second capital of the Roman Empire.
It also has 7000 mosques! This sighting was the first of many we saw or visited.
We were waiting for our boat to cruise the Bosporus Strait when we saw this vessel- a water vacuum cleaner.
The Bosporus Strait, the narrowest in the world, connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara. The Sea of Marmara connects with the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas.
The Bosporus Strait is natural with a length of 31 kilometers and a maximum width in the north of 3.7 kilometers. The narrowest point is 700 meters wide.
There is our boat!
We were offered a Turkish snack called Simit. It is kind of a pretzel-bagel often served for breakfast. It was served with hot tea. Turkey is famous for coffee but residents drink way more tea per capita than coffee.
Most of the historical highlights are on the European side of the Bosporus Strait.
Those highlights included mosques and nineteenth century Ottoman palaces.
This building was the second palace from the Ottoman period. It is now a hotel.
This is the Bosporus Bridge built in 1973. It was the first bridge between the continents.
This bridge, from 1989, goes between the shortest distance between the two continents. I wonder why they didn’t build that one first.
There are now three bridges and an underwater tunnel for cars and trains.
That is a very large Turkish flag!
The Rumeli Fortress was completed in six months, beginning in 1452) by Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror as preparation for a siege against Constantinople (the former name of Istanbul).
The 53 day siege resulted in the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire in May 1453. After conquering the city, Mehmet made Constantinople the new Ottoman capital.
We left the boat and walked to The Spice Market, also called the Egyptian Market.
It dates back to 1663.
Istanbul was the final destination on the Silk Road and a distribution center throughout Europe.
Spice trading with Venice began in the 13th century and eventually included spices from India and Southeast Asia.
As we were finished in the market, we enjoyed watching the antics of the men in the ice cream booth. Think Seattle’s Pike’s Place Market but with ice cream instead of fish.
The market is adjacent to the New Mosque.
Also nearby was the Galata Tower. When built in 1348, it was the tallest building in Constantinople. After the Turkish conquest in 1453, the tower was allowed to survive and was turned into a prison.
It was from the roof of the tower that Herarfen Ahmed Celebi strapped on wings and jumped making the first intercontinental flight. He left the European side of the city and flew to the Asian side of the city in 1638.
The tower’s roof was destroyed during a storm in 1875 and remained that way for many years. In 1965, the roof and interior were reconstructed and opened to the public. It has been a museum since 2020.
That evening we went on a Kebob Dinner Tour. The company was great and our food was delicious.
The options were many and I chose this picture from six that I took of various courses.
I was able to try raki – a strong liquor similar to oozo in Greece. I liked it very much but I like black licorice. Randy doesn’t, so he didn’t. The picture shows my beer, my raki and my tea. Sheesh!
It came up in conversation that my birthday had been the previous day. The couple we were sitting with informed the waiter and they sang and brought me a celebratory rice pudding dessert. It was one of the best things I ate on the whole trip!
We returned to the port and went again into the cleanest bus loading and drop off area we have ever been in anywhere. Istanbul, in general, is very clean.
We concluded day one of our two day stay in Istanbul on September 26, 2023.
Next Up: Day 2 in Istanbul visiting the Blue Mosque and St. Sophia
From our Kusadasi tour guide we learned that Turkey has a population of 85 million. Ninety-nine percent are Muslim, but he said only 15-20 percent are serious about it.
In 1934 women got the right to vote in Turkey, before many western cultures.
Turkey is mostly in Asia and has eight neighbors, some in the Middle East and some in Europe. These include Greece, Bulgaria, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Iraq and Syria. (What a neighborhood….) I didn’t see Azerbaijan on this map, so looked for more information.
The border between Turkey (shown in green) and Azerbaijan (shown in orange) is just 11 miles long!
There is archeological evidence of inhabitants in Turkey from 10,000 BC. Mesopotamia, as this area was called in ancient days, was the most developed part of the world in 3000 BC
Our guide stated that religion started in Turkey and is second, after Israel, in biblical history. Mount Ararat is in Turkey where remnants of Noah’s Ark are believed to be. Early Christians lived in Antioch. Saul of Tarsus was born in Turkey. Later named Paul, he taught extensively in Ephesus. There is also the Virgin Mary’s house.
We began with a visit to the Virgin Mary’s house where Jesus’ mother is said to have lived the last years of her life. Jesus entrusted his mother Mary to his follower John. John came here, so she would have been here too.
Mary’s house was probably a house church in the first century AD. Evidence exists that it was used as a church for a very long time. Making a church out of a revered person’s house was a tradition.
There are 31 references to Mary in the Koran, so she is important for Muslims too.
The Statue of Mary was a gift from a rich man from Lima, Ohio. He came in 1948, saw the house foundation, and believed the evidence that Mary had lived here. He had the house rebuilt in 1951.
The Virgin Mary’s House is now a Catholic shrine. It was visited by Pope Paul VI in 1967, Pope John Paul II in 1979, and Pope Benedict in 2006.
John, disciple of Jesus, spent his last years in this region near Ephesus, and died in 100 AD. A small chapel was built over his grave.
The Basilica of Saint John was built on the same site between 527-565 AD.
The tomb of St. John was under the central dome.
This was the baptistery.
Walls protected the basilica from attack by Arabs in the 7th – 8th centuries AD.
With the eventual conquest by the Turks, the basilica was used as a mosque for a brief time until it was destroyed in an earthquake in the 14th century.
Modern excavations began in 1973.
Our tour provided a buffet lunch and folkloric show.
Our last stop of the day was to learn about, and have the opportunity to purchase, Turkish Rugs. We were offered apple tea, wine, or raki. Raki is Turkey’s version of an anise liquor – like oozo in Greece.
The proprietor told us that a rug’s value is based on how many women worked on it, for how many years, and how many knots there are per square inch.
We had the opportunity to see and walk barefoot on rugs made of wool on wool, cotton on wool and silk on wool.
The rugs we were shown ranged in cost from $450 to $87,000. The good news was that you only paid for the rug. Taxes, shipping, and any duty is paid by the Turkish government.
The rugs were beautiful. The options were endless. Special order was possible. We were thoroughly impressed but had no interest in purchasing a Turkish rug.
We were happy to see that six to eight couples on our tour seemed very interested and started engaging with all the sales associates. That made it easy to slip out.
We were close to the port so we just walked back to the ship.
When we returned to our cabin we heard “Man overboard! This is not a drill.” The alert was for the port side, which is where our cabin was located. We went onto our balcony and people higher up could see that someone on the ship had thrown a life ring into the water. We saw medical personnel heading aft and a lifeboat being prepared for launch. Then all went back to normal.
We learned later that it was not someone from our ship that had gone overboard but rather it was a local man who was swimming fairly close to the ship. He was questioned by the police and presumably released. It really had nothing to do with the ship – other than we had a man overboard alert which was a new experience for us .
The next day was our last sea day of the cruise.
We went to the City on the Sea presentation.
We have seen a few of these “ship operations” presentations and they are always interesting!
Then we watched the Visiting Istanbul presentation as it was our next port. It wasn’t meant to scare us like the one for Egypt had been. Maybe Istanbul isn’t as scary or maybe the cruise director got some feedback on her previous presentation.
Randy went to his last Mixology class and I saw him get his Alcohologist Diploma.
He really enjoyed these classes held on sea days throughout the cruise.
While sitting in the bar we heard over the announcements that we had just gone under the 1915 Canakkale Bridge. The bridge opened in 2022 and connects Turkey’s European and Asian shores. It cost $2.8 billion and has the longest distance between its two towers, 1.25 miles, of any suspension bridge in the world.
The numbers 1915 in the name commemorate an Ottoman naval victory against the French and British during World War One
If we had known it was coming, especially if it was the “most of” or “best of” we would have gone somewhere on the ship to see the whole span! Instead, this is a picture from the CNN Travel website.
We had our last sea day on September 25, 2023. That just happened to be my birthday and when we went to dinner, the dining room staff knew. I ordered the desert on the right and then received the one on the left for my birthday. If I had known it was coming I wouldn’t have ordered the ice cream!
When booking this cruise I was most excited about the two ports in Turkey, Kusadasi and Istanbul.
The primary point of interest near Kusadasi is ancient Ephesus, one of the best preserved archaeological sites in the world.
Ephesus was chosen as a city site to sit between two hills.
Archaeological evidence goes back to 1000 BC but the buildings in the city are generally from the 3rd century BC.
The road has an interesting combination of stones used over time. The white one has been specifically scored to reduce the possibility of slipping when wet.
This is the oldest known building. There was once an eternal flame, helping to recognize it as a temple.
In 133 BC the city became Roman. A population of about 250,000 made it the third or fourth largest city in the Empire.
It became rich because of middleman fees in trade.
There was no natural source of water onsite so water was diverted to Ephesus. They used pipes made of lead.
These are examples of the decorative art.
These adjacent slabs show ancient Greek and Byzantine Greek writing. (Did you see the cat? I looked at that picture 20 times before I noticed it – one of those ever-present kitties!)
This is the only original statue remaining in Ephesus. He was a doctor based on information engraved on the base platform.
The streets were built by the wealthy and they had their statues made and displayed along the way.
The archeology rule in Ephesus is that there must be 60 percent original material to rebuild.
This is Hadrian’s temple with its Syrian arch. The temple was dedicated in 118 AD to Hadrian, Artemis and the people of Ephesus.
This is a sidewalk of mosaic.
There are samples of mosaic throughout the excavated buildings.
The Terrace houses were for the wealthy and important people of Ephesus. A major project has commenced to excavate seven terrace houses. The roof alone cost $11,000,000.
The first house we entered was the largest using the great room concept.
This was their water access.
Replacing the marble on the walls is like a jigsaw puzzle.
Throughout the seven house complex there are frescoes and mosaics.
This is a Medusa mosaic. She was once a beautiful woman and not what the legend has become.
This is a photo of a photograph showing the size of the villa houses project.
The Celsus Library was originally the tomb of Roman Senator Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus. The library was built above the tomb and became the third largest in the Roman empire holding 12,000 volumes. The library and its contents were destroyed in 262 AD after an earthquake.
The facade was destroyed by an earthquake in the 10th or 11th century. Austrian archaeologists found 70 percent of the original material so rebuilt the facade of the library between 1970-1978.
We walked through the arch into the agora.
The agora was a marketplace and a space for people to socialize
It was a two story market.
The Apostle Paul came to Ephesus twice, briefly on his second missionary journey and for two to three years on his third. Acts 19 in the Bible tells of his time in Ephesus. Paul preached in the agora and in the theater. He established a school in Ephesus when he was no longer welcome in the synagogue. It is believed Paul was imprisoned here about 55-56 AD.
The origins of the great theater date from the Hellenistic period from 323 to 31 BC. It was reconstructed and expanded in the 1st century AD.
If you walk all of the levels within the theatre it totals 11 kilometers. That makes seating for 25,000.
The theater remains active for events today. Singers such as Elton John and Celine Deon have performed there.
This is the city end of the 600 meter Harbor Street. Legend tells that the city fathers washed the road with wine when Cleopatra and Mark Anthony came to Ephesus from their ship in the harbor. That is supposedly the beginnings of the concept of using a red carpet for VIPs.
On the map the number 12 shows Harbor Street. The harbor eventually silted in so Ephesus was abandoned after the 6th century AD.
At the end of this post about Ephesus, I would like to thank Randy. I tweaked my back the day before our stop in Kusadasi and my ability to go to Ephesus at all was in serious doubt. As this was one of my main desires on the cruise, I loaded up on Tylenol and decided to try. Randy walked behind me, or held my hand, for hours making sure I didn’t get out of precarious balance or fall on an uneven surface. The only time he left my side (or backside) was to go get us drinks, or to go to the top of the theater to take pictures. He took a lot of the pictures in this post. Just getting through Ephesus, and taking some notes, was all I could manage.
I was there! It was a successful day and I have loved writing about it and viewing it again through the lens of the camera and not the lens of my discomfort!
The day before docking in Alexandria, Egypt, our cruise director put fear in all of us about going into Egypt. She went on and on about leaving jewelry, watches etc on board. We were told we must take our passport- but be sure not to lose it! We were told we would be highly pressured by vendors and everyone, especially women, needed to dress conservatively.
Her strategy seemed to be that if anything went wrong while we were in Egypt it wasn’t going to be Holland America’s fault! We had a shore excursion from the ship into Alexandria so we weren’t too worried. We weren’t going to be on our own.
An Egyptian family on board was not happy about the way she represented their country.
The vast majority of our shipmates left the ship before 6:00 am to visit the attractions near Cairo and Giza. For a couple of hours it seemed like there was no one else still on the ship! We had plans to tour throughout Egypt a few months later so opted to stay and visit Alexandria instead.
Alexandria is on the Nile delta in the north – marked with the number 4.
In 2000 BC the community that became Alexandria was a small fishing village. In 331 BC Alexander the Great wanted a capital city in the center of his new empire. He chose this small village and stayed for six months. He is believed to be buried in Alexandria but it is not known where.
Alexandria’s population now totals seven million people, ranking as Egypt’s second largest city. Omar Sharif is from Alexandria. Daphne du Maurier, author of Rebecca, also lived in Alexandria.
Our guide was Zaharia. She was a valiant saleswoman on the attributes of her “cosmopolitan” city.
Hearing what she said and seeing what we saw didn’t always go together.
Zaharia said Alexandria is a modern Mediterranean city, taking care of and educating women. She said a woman’s head covering is more practical than religious in Alexandria – a fashion accessory that means you don’t have to fix your hair everyday! “I wear my head covered because I like it. If you told me I had to, I wouldn’t.” She also said “We speak Arabic but we are not Arab.”
Zaharia told us that all the religious prophets were in Egypt at some time. Muslim, Christian and Jewish people have, and continue to live together cooperatively here. She believes a focus on education, and sharing that cooperative history, makes people in the city more tolerant.
“There have been many, many groups that have had to leave their homelands and have been able to find a good new home in Alexandria.”
This cruise is the first time Holland America has visited Egypt since the pandemic and we were the first cruise to arrive this season. The local people were always waving and were very welcoming. Sixty-seven percent of income in Egypt is from tourism so having a welcoming attitude makes sense.
Zaharia asked us to consider, that if vendors seem aggressive, it is because they are trying to support their families in a country where the average income is very low. American dollars are a very desirable currency.
We had discreetly armed security on the bus and walking around with us. It was a very warm day and our guards wore their suit coats or vests.
We had police and military escorts.
Some of our security was not so discreet. Three busses from the ship traveled together. We never felt unsafe.
Our first destination was the Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa. The catacombs were discovered when a donkey fell through the surface in 1892.
This photo shows where ground level was before excavation.
We went down 100 feet to see one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages.
Any tomb in Egypt is required to be under the ground.
The catacombs are the largest Roman burial site, (not Christian), discovered in Egypt.
The catacombs consist of three tiers of tombs and chambers cut into the bedrock. It was constructed in the second century A.D. as a single-family crypt and expanded.
Much of the lower two levels were under water for many years so those bodies were destroyed. They had not been mummified.
The water had to be pumped out. The openings are placing bodies at different levels – an ancient elevator of sort.
There are 300 plus extension rooms for humans and animals, some were horses, dating to the early years AD. Likely, many more will be discovered.
There are some bones on display but most of the items found here were moved to the National Museum.
While there are Roman and Greek elements, the purpose and practice was purely Egyptian.
Leaving the catacombs, we drove through other parts of town enroute to our next destination. We passed a neighborhood dedicated to selling auto parts.
There was another neighborhood dedicated to selling textiles. Notice the woman waving at our tourist bus. This happened frequently.
We drove past Pompey’s Pillar at the Temple of Serapis. It is an 88 foot tall, 7 foot wide column of polished Aswan Rose granite. The temple was once one of ancient Alexandria‘s most important buildings. Despite its name, the pillar was erected to honor Diocletian in the fourth century A.D.
Our next destination was the Kom El-Dikka Roman Theater. It is the only remaining Roman amphitheater in Egypt. It was discovered in 1960 while foundation construction was underway for a new apartment building. The first item that was found was a statue of Alexander the Great.
The theater once had 13 semi-circular tiers of white marble imported from Europe. The theater contains galleries, sections of mosaic flooring, and marble seats for up to 800 spectators. Part is original and part is restored.
Also onsite are Roman Baths, and a college of humanities.
Excavation continues with money from UNESCO. Archeologists assume about 40 percent of the site has been excavated.
Before excavation, the area was once a WWII battlefield.
And just like in Greece, there were cats everywhere. The street cats didn’t always look well in Alexandria but these cats were healthy and friendly. We noticed tour guides giving them food they had brought in.
While riding to our next destination, Zaharia talked to us again about her city and Egypt. She said that military service is compulsory for men lasting one to three years depending on a man’s education.
Women must serve in social service work for one year. The Arab Spring in 2011 removed President Mubarak and the protests were generally about social issues.
Alexandria does not have a subway system but does have a tram system. It was built by the Dutch 100 years ago and is still in use.
This Sunken City area is where remains of the old Alexandria library are underwater. The library was built in the 3rd century BC and had 700,000 volumes. Visitors to Alexandria knew to bring a volume for the library in order to be well received.
Julius Caesar was trying to attack an enemy in 48 BC and destroyed the library accidentally. Only one original manuscript remains.
Alexandria University donated land in 1990 for a new library. While surveying they discovered remnants of the old library underneath and nearby underwater.
The new Alexandria Library is the second largest in the world by volume. (The US Library of Congress is the largest.) When the Alexandria Library reaches its capacity it will again be the largest in the world.
The Great Library of Alexandria was closed on Fridays – and it was a Friday.
Our next destination was the Royal Jewelry Museum, housed in a former royal palace.
The museum has 11,000 pieces of jewelry that belonged to King Farouk and his family.
The king and his family left in 1952 with only 72 hours to prepare.
Farouk was the last monarch of Egypt, ousted after the Egyptian revolution.
The Abu Al Aubus Mursi Mosque is the largest mosque in Alexandria.
Both men and women are able to go inside. We did not have that opportunity even if that was possible for visitors.
We visited the Alexandria National Museum in a building that was once owned by Omar Sharif’s uncle. It was also used as an American consulate before becoming a museum.
The collection includes thousands of items spanning from the Pharaoh era through the Greco Roman times into the modern history.
Here is a sampling of what we saw.
This was our guide Zaharia. She was very knowledgable at all of our Alexandria sites. She loves her city.
At the end of the day we were having a quick dinner on the Lido deck. The man who served our drinks had been to Cairo on a crew tour to see the pyramids. He had to pay a fee for his tour but we thought it was great that he and others had the opportunity to go just like passengers. Of course, he had to work his shift when he got back but still seemed very pleased to have gone. He said they will be have the opportunity for a crew tour in Kusadasi, Turkey next week and another in Jerusalem on the next cruise.
I know that was a really long post. It was a really long day, but not nearly as long for us as for those who went all the way to Cairo.
Epidaurus is a UNESCO site known for unique medical facilities and healing treatments with curative baths and spas. It is dedicated to the ancient Greek God of Healing, Asclepius.
Asclepius was the son of Apollo. His rod, with the snake entwined, is the genesis of the modern symbol of medicine. This is a plaster reproduction of a classical statue from AD 160.
The ancient Theatre of Epidaurus was constructed in 4th century BC. The theatre was restored in 1954 and is considered to be the most perfect ancient Greek theatre with regard to acoustics and aesthetics.
I am standing at the center of the circle area. Randy was seated in the highest row taking the picture. He could hear me speak at a normal volume.
The theater is still is a working venue for modern concerts and recitals.
This theater cat is one of many we saw in Greece. They are well cared for strays that often have veterinary care. We saw hundreds throughout our Greek ports and never saw one that seemed to be under stress.
Because of its exceptional architecture and aesthetics, the theatre was declared a UNESCO site in 1988 along with the Sanctuary of Asclepius.
The sanctuary was built in the 4th century BC and provided accommodations for patients and their companions.
It is estimated that the sanctuary had 160 rooms and a restaurant for 5000.
Greek baths made spring water part of the healing process. The healing waters and soil characteristics were thought to contribute to an exceptional olive oil chemistry to assist with healing.
A Sacred Geometry used for the sanctuary temple.
Only free citizens could visit the Epidaurus Stadium.
Health care considerations in modern Greece are that everyone who lives in Greece is eligible for care under the country’s health program. A person must work 50 days per year (after age 18) to be eligible. Students can be covered under parents for an additional eight years. New mothers must go back to work after four months.
The second half of our tour took us to the Castle of Palamidi overlooking the town of Nafplion.
Greece was geopolitically very important between Asia, Europe and Africa and had several rulers and occupiers.
An existing structure was expanded into the current castle fortress rom 1711-1714 by the Venetians during their second occupation.
Palamidi and the surrounding area was taken over by the Ottomans in 1715 and remained under their control for more than 100 years.
In 1827 the Greek Revolutionary army took the castle from the Ottoman Empire.
The castle fortress sits 700 feet above the town of Nafplion and its harbor.
We can see our ship in the harbor.
We heard various numbers for the amount of steps between the castle and the city, somewhere between 850 and 999. Although we were driven to the top, we had the option to walk down. We didn’t.
We were in Epidaurus and Palamidi on September 19, 2023.
Serene Wandering 