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.

My Cruise to Greece and Turkey: Part 2: Crete, Marmaris, Bodrum

Mon. July 10--Crete

Our guide Karen at the Phaestos Palace site

We rose at 6am to get to our excursion for the archeological site at Phaestos from the Minoan era (12th century BC). The trip to the number one ancient palace Knossos was full, so we had to take number two, Phaestos. We docked and took abus for 1 hour and 15 mins. to the site. Our guide Karen was very informative. She is originally from the Netherlands and has lived on Crete for 30 years. She gave us lots of information about Crete and its occupation by the Romans, the Byzantines, the Venetians, the Ottoman Turks and finally their union with Greece. She also gave us her thoughts on the current Greek economy, the European Union, etc. 

We were too tired to do anything after the four-hour tour including the long drive back to the boat. After lunch and lounging on the pool deck, I played Team Trivia, scoring 12 out of 15 (I correctly guessed that Elizabeth Taylor had been married 8 times to 7 different husbands). Then high tea on the Horizons deck. The string quartet played unusual selections like "Three Little Maids from School" from The Mikado and The Beatles' Yellow Submarine as I sipped Earl Grey and munched little salami sandwiches and sweet pastries, just like at Harrod's. 

My Cruise to Greece and Turkey: Part 1: Athens, Santorini

The view of the parthenon from
our hotel in Athens

For my fourth cruise trip, we decided to go with Oceania Cruises, based on a recommendation of a friend who said the intimate, medium-sized ships allowed for better service and less crazy crowding getting on and off the ship. A ten-day cruise of the Greek islands and Turkish seaside cities worked out best for our schedule during the summer. It's been a delightful and relaxed trip. I haven't felt pressure to rush around and see ruins or historical sites. The important thing is to escape and take it easy. Here's a rundown of the trip:

Thurs. July 6--Athens
After our flight from JFK to Zurich to Athens, we checked into our hotel at the Greek capital, the Great Bretaigne (overlooking the Acropolis and the Parthenon) and had dinner at a local restaurant (very good). The flight was SwissAir--watched the first episode of Season 2 of The White Lotus (what's all the fuss about with the entire cast nominated for Emmys?) and Season 5 of The Handmaid's Tale (I'd lost interest after the first four seasons, but thought I would catch up.)