August 14 İstanbul, Turkey

 August 14, Sunday - Istanbul, Turkey

This is another port that we visited 13 years ago. Boy is the port different. But first, we did some scenic cruising to get here. 

The Dardanelles Straight is a narrow body of water linking the Black Sea with the Mediterranean Sea. The famous feature today is the world’s longest suspension bridge. It was the sail under this bridge that highlighted this scenic cruising. It was a nice sight and consumed a lot of digital space on the cameras onboard.

In the afternoon we docked in Istanbul. We had been told that a new port, Galataport, had been built. It opened just 9 months ago. It is spectacular compared to the old along shore port that we had used in 2009.

Alice and I went ashore to explore the port. A long walk past immigration and security points led to a longer walk to tour bus parking and shopping. We are not taking any tours here. They all include the things that we did very well on our last visit. Then we were here for 4 days and did some private touring as well as using public transport before boarding our cruise. So we headed to the shops.

The shops are extensive. The shops are expensive. Yes, both are true. High-end fashion, jewelry, and watch shops abound. On the outside perimeter of this large center, we found restaurant after restaurant. A thorough walk around and a visit to the information center got us oriented before we returned to the ship.

Before going to dinner we plotted our attack for tomorrow. We would walk to the church of St. Anthony of Padua, Alice’s friend Tony. He has helped her find many things. Then we would walk to Taksim Square with its Republic Monument. maps.me was a big help in plotting this for us. We went to a delightful dinner and show before retiring.

The photos that follow are in reverse order. We did arrive in daylight. all are taken from the ship except the one with the ship in it. That is from a plaza around the shops in the port. We did stay up until 11:30PM to see the lights change on the bridge. In 2009 there was a terrific color show at night. With all of the dinner cruise boats gathering in the area we thought it might be happening still.  WRONG! The lights on the new (to us) tower did change, however.

Notice that during the day one of the boats passing us was hosting a wedding. Big heart out front.

Left to right are Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia, and Blue Mosque

This was a day filled with new things despite being a return to Istanbul.

August 13 Kusadasi, Turkey

 August 13, Saturday - Kusadasi, Turkey

We are in Kusadasi again. This time we have a mission. We learned from Nada, our breakfast waiter, that August 17th is Indonesian Independence Day. The Indonesian crew will celebrate with a party after work that night. Alice decided that we should get a celebratory card to give to them on that day. As we left the port we stopped at the tourist information booth. After giving us a map and pointing out some places we might visit the young lady graciously told us of two stores where we might find greeting cards.

Off we went. She mentioned that we would pass a building that housed a music school. Before we got there we came across a beautiful fabric mural hanging on a wall outside. It was composed of hundreds of small crocheted squares. Each was done by a different woman. They were collected and assembled into this work. We do not know what it celebrates. There was nobody around to ask.

Just a short distance away we entered a courtyard in the center of a building. Some of the building was in use and other sections were undergoing renovations. We found some beautiful tile work. There was also a fountain in the center of the yard that was not running. We were the only people here. As we walked around a woman appeared at the far side. She went into a small office marked security and then came back out toward us. I thought we would have to leave. She was actually coming over to turn on the fountain for us. She was the security guard. She did not mind us being there and tried to explain the place to us. Indeed, the music school was upstairs in an area being worked on. we thanked her and made our exit.

To the music school

Looking out to the street

No walk of ours would be complete without a visit to a park. We found two. They were close to each other. What luck. First was an archeological park. This had many segments of columns in different styles. There was a board with a map and key for what we viewed. It was in Turkish and did not help us. We did appreciate the "garden" and marveled that it was present in this place.

Less surprising was the nearby children's park. The apparatus looked new and modern. It was very different from what we encountered in other ports.

The next landmark in our directions was Starbucks. We were to turn right there. There were multiple streets converging to the right. We chose the wrong one. We ended up asking for directions at a hotel. Of course, the “we” was actually Alice while I waited outside. Just a Guy thing. The clerk gave the guidance necessary to get us back on track. Google Maps was also employed. We arrived to learn that this was only a bookstore and that they did not sell cards.

We headed to the second source we had been told about. On the way, we passed the hotel that had provided directions earlier. Alice said the man had been so helpful that maybe he could direct us. He suggested a stationary store and printed a map for us. It was not too far away. When we got close to where it was supposed to be we did not see any sign of it. We asked some men having coffee in from of a small store where we might find the stationary store. One man stood up and said that is my store. He walked us back 2 shops. There was no visible sign. There were also only birthday cards. That would not do. We thanked him and set out again.

Neighborhoods

The second shop that the lady at the info center had recommended was located in the marina. We could see the marina in the distance and headed toward it. We mentally waved as we again passed the hotel. We did not stop. At the marina, we discovered a shopping mall. D & R was the shop we wanted. When we found it we were concerned because it was another bookstore. We could not find cards anywhere. The clerk took us to a box on a counter near the back that had an assortment of cards about 2” by 2”. These had a greeting on the outside and nothing inside. You write your own message in Turkey. One card said Congratulations in Turkish. It was red and white and would work just fine. We even chose 3 other interesting-looking cards that will be put to use at home.

Now to pay for them. They were 4.5 Turkish lira each or .50 euros each. Fine. We had no lira so we produced a 2 euro coin. No go. They could only accept paper euros. The smallest bill is 5 euros. The owner said no problem just use your credit card. We charged 18 lira which Capital One promptly notified was a foreign transaction for $1.18. We could not believe it. We were encouraged to use the card for what was just $1.18. And we got 4 nice little cards for just $1.18. 

We talked and giggled about this all the way back to Oosterdam. We stopped to thank the info lady and she was amazed that we came back to her.

On the way back to Oosterdam

A super yacht coming to visit

What a fun day.

August 12 Piraeus, Greece

 August 12, Friday - Piraeus, Greece

Because we were just here on August 3rd we stayed onboard today and did our best to catch up on things.

For me, that did not work out very well. I am still 2 weeks behind on the blog.

August 11 Katakolon,Greece

August 11, Thursday - Katakolon, Greece

This is a return visit on this long cruise. I was unable to sleep and got out of the room early to work on the blog. Out on the promenade on deck 3, I was able to get a shot of the moon setting over the city. Beautiful.

We chose to take a tour on the small motorized train. It took us out of town and up into the hills. We passed another small town and some farmland before ending at a vineyard and winery. We could get off there for a tour and wine tasting. The next train would pick us up in 40 minutes. We decided to stay on this one and return to the city. 

Back in Katakolon we did another tour of the marina and took some pictures of boats, the waterfront and workers on Oosterdam. We also discovered a small grocery shop loaded with crew members this is where the come to buy water a 1/3 of the onboard price. They came with trolleys of all sorts. Some were retired luggage carts and others were just wheeled suitcases. A store employee directed them to a rear entrance where they loaded as much as the trolleys would bear and returned to to the ship. Our waiters told us that this is a normal process every time they stop here.

These last pictures show almost the entire town. It is small, peaceful, and lovely. The pace is slow even when the ships are in. It is spread out enough that you are not jostled by crowds of tourists. This is probably because the thinking is that there is nothing here. all of the archeological sites are somewhere else so most passengers take excursions out of town. That makes it special for those who stay behind. That makes it special for us. We love it here and we would not mind returning someday.

We returned to the ship grateful for our dock position. The Celebrity ship that arrived after us was located much farther from the gate.

This was a very nice visit.