My Cruise to Greece and Turkey: Part 3: Izmir, Chios and Karfas

Thurs. July 13--Izmir, Turkey

The clock tower in 
the main square of Izmir, Turkey

The main attraction of Izmir is 45 minutes away--the ruins at Ephesus and the home of the Virgin Mary. We had seen both the last time we were in Turkey, so this port of call was not a highlight. Izmir itself is a large city with a massive labyrinthine bazaar and a cruise pier a few miles from the center of town. Jerry stayed on board and I took the shuttle bus in. I wondered around the boiling city until I found the tourism center and acquired a map which led me to the agora of Smyrna, an ancient metropolis founded by Alexander the Great in the 4th century BCE. I trudged pass souvenir shops, restaurants, and fish markets to emerge at the ruin with its columns, running water, headstones, and archways (including the Faustina gate, named for the wife of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius who rebuild the city after a devastating earthquake.)

Oddly enough, the highlight of the agora for me was browsing in the tiny museum gift shop. Amid the magnets, postcards and reproductions of busts and statues was a display of classics in English for 69 and 79 Turkish lire--the equivalent of $3 or $4 dollars US. The titles were off-beat, second-tier works by major authors--Jacob's Room and A Haunted House by Virginia Woolf, A Tale of the Stone Age by HG Wells, The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell, several short works by Stefan Zweig, etc. I was suddenly transported to the Strand Bookstore. They were all cheap and had simple, attractive covers. All published in Turkey in English. I don't know why I wanted to but I took a picture, maybe to capture this unexpected island of rare English literature in a remnant of the ancient world. I wound up buying two postcards, a magnet that said Turkey with pictures of different cities in each letter and Chess by Zweig, a slim novella I'd never heard of before with a preface on Zweig. I will have to read the other titles at some point.

Red Ginger specialty restaurant
on our ship

The shuttle bus was waiting at the preordained spot and I got on. I'd toyed with the idea of finding of a beach but it was too much trouble in the tripe-digit heat. Lunch at the Waves Grill on board--teriyaki salmon with French fries and cole slaw followed by a sinful creme brulee ice cream with chocolate chips, almonds and caramel sauce. This cruise is making me fat.

Speaking of fat, tonight was our reservation at one of the two specialty restaurants on Deck 10--Red Ginger, an Asian Fusion elegant eatery where I had one of the best meals ever (and the food has been excellent throughout the cruise). Miso Soup, Crispy Ginger Calamari, Lobster Avocado Salad, Grilled Sea Bass (exquisite) with a side of broccoli and shiitake mushrooms, Dessert: Carmel Tapioca with vanilla almond cookie. 

Grilled Sea Bass--excellent

The famous United Nations
sky shot in North by Northwest

After dinner, we watched Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest which turned out to be a perfect capper on the evening. Somehow I was in the perfect mood to receive this brilliant thriller. Hitchcock's beautifully detailed shots and Ernest Lehmann's intricately arranged screenplay fit together, creating a glossy visual world where sleek refined surfaces like refined NYC bars and railroad stations conceal imminent, ever present danger. By hailing a messenger boy at the wrong moment, ad executive Roger Thornhill (an unflappable and glittering Cary Grant) is yanked from his comfortable Madison Avenue bubble and thrust into a treacherous maze of horrors. Stretching credulity, Cary handles his sudden status as a fugitive from justice like a seasoned spy. 

Hitchcock reveals that anywhere in the calm USA can be a nightmare, even the United Nations or the Mount Rushmore monument, turning the heads of our dead presidents into a slippery death trap. A ritzy auction in Chicago, the cafeteria in a tourist attraction or an empty cornfield become arenas of death and menace.

Martin Landau's character Leonard, the "right-hand man" to principal baddie James Mason, was a coded homosexual. A stereotypical nasty gay villain of the era. I didn't pick up on it till late in the film when he says to Mason his "woman's intuition" tells him not to trust double-agent Eva Marie Saint. And then Mason says Leonard is "jealous" of Eva Marie and that he's flattered. 

Fri. July 14--Chios and Karfas
The island of Chios--Another port where we weren't sure what to do. Jerry's guidebook didn't offer much information, plus it was staggeringly hot. Fortunately, the dock was right there on the main street of the town, so we didn't need to tender in or take a shuttle bus. After wondering around for a bit, I spied the tourist office and we asked what to do there. The nice lady suggested hiring a taxi to take us to the Archeological Museum and then to the beach. We could negotiate a price for the driver to pick us up after a few hours in time to return

On the beach at Karfas.

to the boat. So that's what we did. We got a boisterous driver named Betty who drove us to the beach town of Karfas after an hour at the archeological museum (interesting exhibits). Betty dropped us off at a beachside restaurant where we were served enormous Greek Salads and Gyros. They were right on the beach and had lounge chairs and umbrellas like at Santorini. I asked the waiter if there was a charge for using their beach furniture. He said as long as we ordered a drink or two we could sit and relax wherever we wanted. Two luxurious hours on the sand, wading in calm waters. Heaven. Betty picked us up at 2:30pm in time to get back to the boat. The whole thing was 90 Euros--50 for the taxi ride to the museum and to and from the beach town and the lunch was 40. Much less than an excursion from the ship. 

After dinner which we shared with an Irish couple, the Barricade Boys had a dance party show with everything from the Beatles to Boogie Wonderland.

The beach at Karfas