8/31 A short sail of 20 miles and we're in a different world. The Turkish people seem to have found house
paint of a different color. We have hardly seen any thing other than white since we entered the Mediterranean.
The landscape is broken up by minarets. Our cruising guide recommended that we clear into Turkey at a marina having
them do the paperwork for us. What a good idea! Glenn went on a harrowing car ride through narrow streets to four
nondescript buildings. The driver left him in the car and went in to the doctor, customs, immigration and port police
to have paperwork completed for us. We received a transit log. We also received one in Croatia which we just turned
in when we cleared out and one in Greece that had to be stamped by the port police of every port we entered. Turkey
is like Croatia. After clearing in we went and got some Turkish lira. Fortunately, it was recently revalued with
several zeros at the end removed. It's a good thing or we would have had to carry a separate bag just for our money.
The exchange rate is 67 cents for one lira. We found a nice big grocery store and Glenn bought lamb. He loves
lamb I don't even like the smell of it cooking. We walked down two streets, afraid of getting lost, and managed to get
a Vodaphone card for our phone. Our touring is made up of traveling from Vodaphone store to Vodaphone store. Back
to the boat. We were squeezed in to a very tight spot on the dock, I don't know how Glenn did it.
9/1 We have
19 Kts of wind and we have to squeeze out of our spot and slide backwards onto a fuel dock. It took a long time of just
moving the boat by pulling the lines and then two men helped us at the fuel dock as the wind was blowing us off. Quite
a tense spell there. We are making short trips for two days to set ourselves up at the head of the Dardenelle Canal.
One anchorage was at a beach with the sounds of a horse, cows and roosters and the call to prayer from a minaret. When
we were in the town of Akatoy we could here the singing from several minarets at a time and it was very beautiful. It
was like an echo. The sound is very holy and calming.
9/3 We put a blanket on the bed, it is 60 degrees in
the boat so we had hot oatmeal for breakfast. (wimpy Floridians) We begin our trip up the Dardenelle Canal today.
There is a very heavy current (against us) and we are very close to the shipping lanes. We got up bright and early and
it took 10 1/2 hours to go 44 miles. The next two days we spent going up the Marmara Sea which is wider and therefore
no problem with the current.
9/5 We have arrived in Istanbul. We are staying in a marina since we will
be gone all day "touristing". There is a MALL right beside the marina. It is named the Galleria and
it could be the Galleria in south Florida. It is full of stores and fast food names familiar to us. It is huge,
beautiful and has an ice rink in the middle. Better for us, it has an even bigger grocery store. I bought a shawl
for our trips to the mosques.
9/6 The nice girl at the marina gave us the bus number and times for the bus
we need to get into Istanbul. We went to the bus stop and a bus did go by at the proper time but it said airport and
had a different number. We waited a while and when no other bus came along we agreed to take one of the any Dolmuses
that had honked at us as they drove by. These are minivans that pick up and drop off where you want and just keep loading
people in as they go. We told him we wanted to go to the Blue Mosque. He stopped at an island in the middle of
the road and pointed his finger and said Blue Mosque. Out we jumped. It took us about 15 minutes to figure out
where we were by finally finding a tram stop with a name. There are very, very few street signs in Turkey. We
figured out the tram destinations and where to get a slug for it and off we went. I guess the finger was pointing to
the tram we could take and not the Mosque as we had supposed. Instanbul is busy, crowded and beautiful. Wearing
of the shawl and long skirt is optional in Turkey but there are a lot of women dressed in that style. I read a pamphlet on
the Islamic religion and it was very interesting. Islam is the last of the three Abrahamic religions preceded by Judaism
and Christianity. The five requirements are to pray five times a day, fast for Ramadan, make on trip to Mecca in your
lifetime, believe in one God - Allah, and the giving of charity. They believe that Jesus was a prophet and accept Biblical
prophets. They believe Jesus had a virgin birth and respect him, his name is mentioned in the Qur'an a hundred times.
Muslims believe in the original form of all the revealed books mentioned in the Qur'an: the Torah of Moses, Psalms of David,
and Gospels of Jesus. It also mentions the Scrolls of Abraham. We happen to be here in the month of Ramadan.
The sounds of the call to prayer from the minarets are actually quite lovely. In a large city you can hear more than
one at a time and it sometimes sounds like an echo. It is very peaceful to stop and listen to it.
Our first
stop is to visit the Tomb of Sultan Mahmut. To go in to a religious place one must remove their shoes. Men and
women have to have shoulders and knees covered. Women cover their heads and men remove their hats. There are shelves
to put your shoes on or plastic bags provided to carry them in if you prefer. From the Tomb we went to the Blue Mosque.
This is huge with ancient handmade tiles all over. The entire floor space is open for praying on your knees with forehead
on the ground or sitting and listening to a sermon. The women have a separate area to pray in.
From
the Blue Mosque we went to the Hagia Sophia. This was originally a church and then converted to a mosque in the 15th
century. It is more than 1400 years old. There are Chrisitian mosaics still in it. We had lunch by a carpet store
(not too difficult to do as there are carpet stores everywhere.) There was a young man working at the carpet store,
they stand outside and try to get your attention and lure you in to their store. He wasn't being very successful and
he was really funny. We were talking to him during lunch and then afterwards we went into the store to let him
practice on us. The owner was very nice and we told him we definitely were not buying a carpet as we live on a boat.
He still taught us about the different types of carpets and kilns. He explained about the thread count, the patterns
of different regions, the wool and silk threads, and then took us up stairs to show us the old saddle bags and carrying bags
that had also been hand woven. It was really quite interesting. We then went to the Museum of Islamic Arts which
had a beautiful collection of rugs and an exhibit of a Turkic nomadic tent, the yurt.
We decided to take the train
home as the most direct method. The station that we would be getting it was the original station for the Orient Express.
ALERT
ALERT ALERT WE HAVE RUN OUT OF PEANUT BUTTER ALERT ALERT ALERT
There hasn't been any
in a store since Italy and that was very expensive. We will have to bring a suitcase full with us next year.
9/7
A walk to the train station and back to Istanbul. Today we went to the Topakapi Palace. It took us four hours
to talk around it. The Sultan's treasury was unbelievable with the size of the emeralds, diamonds and pearls.
The embroidered clothes were exquisite. The tile work inside all the rooms makes me want to tile my house. We
also visited the harem section. It was controlled by the Sultan's mother. In reality approximately 5 harem women
were chosen as special and they were allowed to have the Sultan's children. There were at times 1,000 women there.
They were chosen for their beauty and intelligence from around the world.
From here we went to the Basilica Cistern.
We were trying to figure out which way to turn when a Turkish man asked us if we needed help. He walked us to the cistern
giving us some of the history of it. Glenn finally asked him if he was a guide and he said no but he did have a carpet
store if we cared to visit it. He was a salesman true, but he was pleasant to talk to. Everyone we have spoken
to has been exceptionally friendly and helpful. The cistern was a lot more interesting than I expected. I usually
go to these places for Glenn. It was laid out in 532 to supply water for the Palace. When the Ottomans conquered
them they were unaware of it for a century until they found people catching fish and collecting water by lowering buckets
through holes in their basement. For some unexplained reason two of the columns are stood on heads of Medusa, one upside
down and one sideways. No one knows why.
We are being bold tonight and staying in town to see a show of the
Whirling Dervishes. First there was some traditional music played and then they danced. It was even better
than I expected. They spin around and around with their heads tilted and their eyes closed going around in a small circle
as a group. I took ballet and I know what it is like to make pivots. I don't know how they can do this.
Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures. I am so glad we came. We took the train home and even though
it was only 9:30 it was basically empty. Every other Mediterranean country we have been in seems as if they stay out
until midnight even on week nights. We had asked the train conductor if this was the train to Atakoy and he said yes,
walked us into the car, pointed out seats for us and then showed us the schedule on the wall and counted the 8 stops until
we got off.
9/8 It started pouring rain last night and it is still raining so we broke down and took a taxi
in to the Grand Bazaar. A good way to spend a day, inside shopping. There are 15 exits for this maze of streets
with thousands of booth-like shops. They are somewhat grouped in to types of items sold. The main items are carpets
(surprise!), ceramics, leather, beautiful hanging lamps, antiques and jewellery. From here we went to the Archaeological
Museum, he Mosaic Museum and the Tile Pavillion. I've run out of superlatives but we really enjoyed all of these museums.
We finished off with a visit to the Spice Bazaar which was even more crowded than the Grand Bazaar. We bought some loose
tea here. Glenn kept dragging me away from the Turkish Delight.
9/9 There is a forecast of rain for a couple
of more days and we have seen basically everything that we wanted to so we are leaving today. As we sailed along the
coast of Istanbul we noticed that the water was cloudy and there were chairs, shoes and other household items floating in
the water. We later learned that the rain last night was the worst in 80 years and parts of Istanbul were flooded.
26 people were killed. It seemed strange to be so close to a disaster and not even realize that it was happening.
9/9-9/13
We have sailed back through the Marmara Sea and Dardenelle Canal with the current this time. We stopped at a couple
of small ports along the coast as we headed south. Our button for our anchor windlass broke and Glenn had to haul it
up by hand. He sure wouldn't be able to do that too many times. Of course, my mechanic managed to fix it.
9/14
We have stopped at a pretty little harbor named Behramkale. From this town we walked uphill (once again it is ALL uphill)
to the ruins of the ancient town of Assos. It is barely excavated and there were only a few other people there.
We were able to better see how the ancient sites looked and the process of excavation. We felt like Indiana Jones finding
pottery shards all over the ground. Unfortunately, we couldn't keep any. There was also a graveyeard complete
with several sarcophigi. We sat on a fallen column and ate our sandwhiches under the shade of a tree.
9/15
We have anchored in a little harbor named Dikili. Actually we are anchored outside the harbor wall and tied to it alongside
several huge fishing boats. We went to the local Vodaphone store to find out where the bus station was, our theory being
that they usually speak English. The owner gave us complete directions along with the bus prices. We walked forever
and couldn't find it. We spotted a teenager walking down the street and asked him, he called his brother over from the
beach and they tried to help us. We walked back to Dikili and this time there was someone in the information booth.
He provided us with a map. The town has a lot of little shops, restaurants and open vegetable and fruit markets.
This is pretty typical of the larger sea harbors. Several that we went to were empty or had a couple of houses.
9/15
We started walking down the street towards the bus station and a bus pulls up beside us and asks where we were going.
We told him Pergamum and he motioned for us to get on the bus. They drove us to the bus station for free. We changed
buses and off to Pergamum. A long walk through town and uphill (what did I tell you?) towards the ruined town.
3/4's of the way up as we were discussing the fact that maybe we should have taken a "taksi" a car pulled over and
offered us a ride. It was a young French couple we had said hello to when walking up the hill at Assos. They had
picked up a young Turkish man who was a newly graduated guide going up to Pergamum to learn about it. The ruins at Pergamum
were interesting but we actually enjoyed our own adventure at Assos better. As we were leaving we ran into the young
Turkish guide and he asked if he could walk down with us. He told us about the history of the region and a little about
himself. He studied in the university for two years to become a guide and had learned Russian, Japanese, English,
French and German. He told us when he was a teenager he had a dream that he met a man from America and he couldn't understand
what he was saying. The man told him since he couldn't speak English he wouldn't be his friend. Our young tour
guide woke up crying from this dream and decided he would learn languages because he wanted to make a lot of friends.
He has to go into the military service in two months for 15 months and is married with a 6 month old girl. The military
service is required of all Turkish males. After we reached the town we went to the Pergamum Museum and took the
bus back home. We stopped by Vodaphone to check about internet with the helpful owner. The owner, Mustafa, told
us to have a seat and offered us a tea. We told him no thank you and after a couple of minutes he said, "If you
have tea, I have to have tea and I want some." He went and ordered some and they delivered three little glasses
of tea to us. It is Ramadan and I think the Mustafa was allowed to drink tea if he accompanied us. We sat
and talked to this man for an hour. He was a former Air Force weapons specialist. He has traveled to 20 countries,
scuba dives, parachutes and wants to ride a motorcycle to the Silk Road in China. His wife is to ride a motorcycle with
him, he says she is better on it than him. This is one of the reasons we travel, to meet all of these interesting people.
The next day we walked (surprise) up the hill to see the Botanical Garden. There was a house there with the door open,
a plate of food on an outdoor table, but no one home. We wandered around for an hour and then went back down to town.
(Okay we do go downhill once in a while.)
We left in the midafternoon to the nearby anchorage of Bademli Limani.
It is between an island and the mainland with olive groves onshore and several hot springs along the shore. We dipped
our hands in a couple of the springs and went in to a stone covering that is built around a larger spring. A man was
sitting in it for his bad knee. We were going to go back in the evening but there was just too much algae and growth
in the springs along the shore. We have had a spa of our own since we married and I guess we're a little spoiled.
We discussed buying the area, providing a towel service, tiling it in and setting up a little cafe and bar. Just a little
something to do when we retire.
9/20 We are anchored off an island nearby on our route south along the coast
of Turkey. It is named Karaada. There is one house on it with power provided by a wind vane and several solar
panels. As we sat relaxing on the boat a tourist boat came in. The people started to depart the boat and about
10 donkies came around the house and trotted in a line to the boat. They let the people pet them and someone from the
boat fed them. A little while later we heard "hello" from beside our boat. One of the passengers had
swam over as he saw that we were from Florida. He was Turkish and had lived in Florida for a few years. We had
a nice conversation and then he swam back to the boat.
9/22 We are now in the harbor off Segacik. There
is a huge marina that was started and then they must have run out of money. It looks as if it would be really nice.
There is also a park and square in the town that looks as if it was built up for the huge revival that would come to the town
from the marina. It is a shame to see the plans of all of these people ruined. We actually bought lunch today,
our second meal in a restaurant in Turkey. It was delicious. I had small pieces of beef with tomato and okra.
The seasoning was great. Glenn had meatballs with tomato and okra with a different seasoning than mine. They also
gave us a salad and an entire loaf of bread. We almost ate it all. In payment for that we then headed off walking
to the next town where there are some ruins. It was a pretty walk along the road with pine trees, pretty houses and
a very nice cafe beside a campground. We stopped here to use the bathroom and checked out the dessert for our way back.
The owner was talking to us, Mustafa, and they have only been open there for a month. The setting is beautiful with
a view of the water down the hill, pine trees and swinging benches, hammocks and tables and chairs placed around the property.
We continued our walk up the road and finally came to the ruins of Teos. We did our usual climbing all over the place,
it had a really nice amphitheater. We then headed back to Teos Park. By this time we were thirsty and ended up
having beer and raki. We had been reading about raki, the national drink of Turkey and had wanted to try it. You
fill the second half of the glass with water and it clouds up. It tastes like anisette to me. Glenn drank that,
I had my beer and we had complimentary cheese and nuts with it. I guess I won't be able to try a Turkish dessert after
all. We swang in our seat, under the trees, listening to the American songs redone to Turkish music and singers.
It was the first time I've really felt like a normal tourist. It was so relaxing I could have fallen asleep. As
we were leaving Mustafa offered us a candy. It was in honor of the three day celebration marking the end of Ramadan.
I believe they call it "The Sweet Days". We stayed for about an hour and then walked back to the boat.
We highly recommend this place for anyone visiting Turkey. Their website is
www.teospark.com. Phone numbers 0 232745 77 17 and 0 532 694 88 66. Back in town we passed a car all decorated for a wedding and
then further down the beach saw a restaurant all decorated up for the reception. There were a lot of people barbecuing
on the beach and as we walked by I sniffed the air. The people barbecuing invited us to come join them. I would
have liked to but we were pretty whipped from all of the walking.
9/23 On to Kusadasi, our clearing out port
for Turkey. We have to go into the marina here as there is no anchoring. It is the first marina built in Turkey
and it is huge. However, not huge enough as we ended up rafting beside another catamaran. Glenn steered up a narrow
row and there at the end parallel to the dock between the two rows of boats they were waiting for us. Fortunately, the
marina staff used their dinghy to push us sideways up to the boat. We could never have done it otherwise. They
have a book exchange here! My first since America. They have 54 feet of bookshelves with the books organized by
language. We met a couple from England a few boats over where I first exchanged books and then continued on to the marina
exchange. I think I have 25 new books to read. It's amazing that I am here working on the internet instead of
laying down reading. Actually, I have had plenty to read this trip as I bought myself a Kindle from Amazon last spring
before we left. You can download books that are out of copyright for free and also buy any book Amazon has and
download it. I have had plenty to read and it has actually been interesting reading some of the books written in the
late 1800's and early 1900's. It is certainly a collection I never would have found in a library or for sale in a bookstore.
We checked out the procedure we would have to go through to clearout on the 25th and then walked a bit through
the town. They had women weaving carpets in front of the stores and it was interesting to watch them. Some of
the carpets were especially pretty. One cost 150,000 Euros. Another small one, 18X30, was 14,000 Euros.
They were exquisite. We had a good laugh with the salesman of the 150,000 Euro one. We told him we would have
to sell our house to buy it and then wouldn't have a house to put it in.
9/24 A walk through town to the bus stop
and off we go to Ephesus. When we got off the bus there was a group of 6 of us. A couple from Wales, another from
England and us. We agreed to take a minivan together up to the house of the Virgin Mary and then our driver/tour guide
took us to the top entrance to Ephesus so that our walk through the town would be downhill. This is the largest
ruined city we have been to. It goes on and on, is in wonderful condition and the library is huge and quite complete.
The British couple on the boat by us had loaned us their Ephesus guide which made it even more interesting. We had some
interesting conversations with the couple from Wales. The country sounds as if it is beautiful, all green with the people
living in the valleys. Another place I want to go.
9/25 The marina wanted 50 Euros to clear us out of Turkey
so we decided to do it ourselves. It really wasn't that bad as Kusadasi is a huge ferry port and the customs, port police
and harbour master are all quite near each other. It only took a little over an hour. As a celebration on the
way back we spent our last Turkish lira on ice cream from the grocery store and ran back to the boat to eat it. 20 miles,
four hours later and we are in Greece. We have to clear in to Greece all over again. We are in Pithagorio, the
birth place of Pythagoas of Pythagorean Theorem fame, on the island of Samos. The harbour master was interested
in where we got our boat name. We explained the lifestyle of meerkats to him and he decided he was going to google them.
Since it was dark by the time we finished we decided to eat dinner out. We split a Greek salad and a gyro platter.
Yum.
See the chapter entitled Greece for the rest of 2009.
