April 30: Our last day in Athens

Today was our last day in Athens, and we spent it arranging for our trip to Venice, a day earlier than planned; visiting the Greek Agora, including the prison where Socrates died and the Hephaistion; the Stoa Museum; the Keramikos, an ancient cemetery; and the National Archaeological Museum, which is one of the best museums in the world.

April 29: The Acropolis

We were forewarned by several other travelers that Athens could be a bit difficult to schedule, since several museums are not open on Monday (tomorrow), including the Acropolis Museum; all museums close at 3:00, withe the exception of the Archeological museum, which is open to 6:00, and the fact that there is a general strike planned for the first of May, Wednesday.  We opted to see the Acropolis Museum and the Acropolis today, then when everything closed, we wandered the Plaka district for a while, picked out some things to covet, and had a snack.  Our laundry has been done in the tub, and is festooned around the room.  It was a hot and muggy day, but any day is a great day to explore a world class museum.

April 28 - Delos, Mykonos, then on to Athens

It is hard to believe that onloy yesterday we were on a ferry arriving in Mykonos, and today we are in Athens!  We went to the island of Delos today, and were thrilled to see the richly historic island, even though it ended with a sprint not to miss the last boat of the day!  We arrived in Mykonos with half an hour left to see the archeological museum there, then had a meal near the harbour, and climbed the cliff back up to our hotel.  We were delivered to the airport, had an uneventful 35 minute flight, and were met at the airport.  Ian complained that on our tour visit to Athens, we spent 40 minutes on the Acropolis, and and hour in the gift shop below.  Ironically, our hotel is a block from the gift shop he has so reviled!  After we checked in, we went for a walk and saw the Acropolis Museum -- less than a block away, and the Parthenon lit up and glowing above us.

Ian part way down the stairs and roads to the harbour.  It took about 10 minutes to go down -- and about 20 to climb back up!

April 27, 2012 – Iraklio to Mykonos

Today was another travel day.  We took the Ferry from Heraklion to Mykonos – 5 hours on Hellenic Seaways’ Flyingcat 4.  It was a smooth and uneventful trip.  We stopped in at Santorini, Ios and Paros on the way, but the ferry only puts in long enough to unload and load passengers.  One disadvantage of these conveniently fast ferries is they have no outside deck. Our hotel, the Alkyon, is located on the hill behind the town with beautiful views down on the town and out to Delos and beyond.

April 26th: Happy in Heraklion!

Although the city is ALWAYS called “Iraklion” here!  Don’t you love it when a plan comes together and you get a day with few problems? 

April 25, 2012 – Gortys and Hiking

Or Gortyn, or Gortis, or any number of variants.  Whatever it is, we ditched the GPS today.  It is proving almost worthless except for finding the bigger towns.  I suspect this has to do with spelling, but the GPS doesn’t recognize any of the versions of town names that are on any of our maps.  Fortunately, all the villages are very well marked with road signs, so if you have a decent map it is easy to navigate by tracking your position from village to village – sort of like subway stops.

April 24, 2012 – The Minoans

Today we managed, in spite of poor GPS directions and two maps with conflicting information, to see the Minoan sites of Phaistos and Agia Triada (Church of the Holy Trinity).  We were amazed to see such old ruins in such amazingly good condition.  After an afternoon on the beach, we returned to our hotel for a second blissful night.

April 23, Crete: Ready, set, nowhere to go

 “The best laid plans o’ mice and men gang aft agley.”  Our day was completely agley, but we saw some amazing countryside as the GPS led us blindly through the mountains of Crete.

April 22, Lindos, Rhodes, and Travel Highs and Lows

Today marked our one month anniversary of travel, and the halfway point for Ian’s trip.  We rented a car, and drove to Lindos, halfway up the eastern side of the island.  Although we had been there before, the unparalleled beauty of the site, and the advancement in reconstruction efforts made us very glad we had returned for another visit.  We also enjoyed a scenic drive across the island to Ancient Kámeiros, which had closed at 2:00, as do almost all sites in Greece in this, the off season.  This left us with three hours of car time and nowhere to go!  We attempted a couple of beaches, then headed off to Rhodes airport for our flight to Crete.

April 21, Rhodes: How the other half lives!

What a luxurious day!  No ferries to catch, no appointments to keep, nothing we need that we can’t live without.  At breakfast, we made arrangements for dinner at our boutique hotel.  Since we were the only guests to do so, we have a private award winning chef who is going to make us an authentic Greek meal.  We met a couple from Britain, Averil and Nick, who have spent some time in Rhodes before, and gave us many helpful hints about how to spend our day.  If ever a day were well spent, this was it!  We walked completely around the city walls in the dry moat; saw the Grandmaster’s Palace, which might more accurately be called “The Kos Mosaic Museum”; strolled the city streets and did everything touristy, from having mezedes on a street corner to following tiny ancient passageways “just because” and even eating ice cream; to exploring the archaeological museum; to soaking in the huge double Jacuzzi, each with a good book, and letting the dust from four weeks of travel wash away.  Soon we will return to the vaulted breakfast room for our anticipated gourmet dinner.  This afternoon we listened to a street performer singing the ubiquitous "Those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end," and I was thinking how much less stressed I am at this point in my life than when I was young and callow.  

April 20: Kos to Rhodes

We had a wonderful day in Kos.  First we took the public bus to Asclepion – no, not the same site as we visted near Pergamum in Bergama, but another centre of healing, therefore, an “Asclepion”.   We tried to visit the restored “Villa Romana” we had seen the day before, but it has been closed since September, according to a very small sign on the gate.  We explored the town of Kos in the windy sunshine, going out on every wharf nearby, and had a meal on the harbour. 

All too soon, it was time to board our ferry to Rhodes.  The ferry ride was a bit dull and rough, but through the small salt encrusted window Ian managed to see the very Venetian looking town of Symi at a ferry stop. 

Ian had looked up the walking route to our hotel, and knew that it was only “steps”, which it must be if you don’t get lost, but I was very worried about the unique paving system – river rocks set on their sides – which I remembered from our last trip to Rhodes.  Unlike our last trip, we found the shops in Rhodes mostly locked and barred, since the cruise ships had left, although the odd shop keeper did come out and ask hopefully “You came on a ship?”  We found our hotel, in a courtyard right off the Street of Knights, and it makes up for all the luggage lugging we have done.  We got an upgrade, and I hated to leave the Jacuzzi, the big screen TV,  the elegant dining room, and even the little television in the bedroom to go out for dinner, but sacrifices must be made!  Not only is it the best hotel I have ever stayed at, it’s nicer than my house!

Dinner was delicious – steamed mussels to share, then gemista for Ian and moussaka for me, and a bridal party came to the restaurant.  We even saw a cat that looked a lot like ours.

Since we now know what “airplane seating” means on a two hour cruise, we are really excited to enjoy the six hour cruise from Heraklion to Mykonos, past Santorini, and four other islands.  really excited.

Tomorrow we explore the town of Rhodes!

The "treatment" level of Asclepion, where Hippocrates worked.

April 19: Yia Su from Kos, Greece!

The host at our hotel looked at our three backpacks, the rucksack of souvenir guidebooks, and my enormous green drag along suitcase and offered to take us to the ferry.  We did without the morning breakfast of bread, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers and cheese, that has been our daily routine for four weeks, and by 10:30 we were in sunny Kos.  We got into our hotel right away, bagged all of our laundry and had it sent out– I didn’t ask the cost, and now I’m frightened – then explored the amazing town of Kos.

Kos was a regular Greek fishing village, looking like any other, until it was levelled by an earthquake in 1933, especially the Chora neighbourhood.  People were surprised to find an almost intact ancient Greek town hidden just below the surface.  It has since been excavated, and some very interesting mosaics, frescoes, and buildings have come to light.  We also explored Kos harbour – lots of little fish – and climbed all over the crusader castle.  We saw the plane tree of Hippocrates (the medical oath guy) and the mosque and hamam that testify to the long residence of Turks in the area.  For me, the highlight of the day was sitting in a seaside café in the brilliant and too-long-absent sunshine, enjoying a Greek salad in Greece, with happy people all around us.  I have had to stop myself from saying “Thank-you” and “excuse me” in Turkish, and am working on my Greek phrases.  “eef chaer-ee-STO’!  Dinner was in the wonderful Ideal Diner, just a block from our hotel, and full and happy we are ready for a nice long sleep.  If every day in Greece is a lovely as this one, we are in for a wonderful stay.

April 18: Bodrum in the Rain

We woke up this morning thinking that we were early to rise, but we were rather later than usual, not really stirring until 8:00.  The sky was so overcast that it seemed much earlier, and promised rain, a promise that it more than delivered.  We saw the yachts and harbour of Bodrum, and we saw the Maritime Archaeological Museum, located in St. Peter’s castle, in the rain.  This museum is dedicated to finds that sponge divers and others have found in the coastal waters off Turkey, and include two amazing shipwrecks that are almost entirely intact.  We saw the remnants of the Tomb of Mausoleus in a very heavy rain, and attempted to wait out part of the storm in the thieves’ tunnel.  We then walked up to the theatre in the rain, then, soaked through, we walked back to our hotel, took a wrong turn, and ended up with a wet but scenic hike through the entire town. 

April 17th: In transit

We drove from the spa hotel near Salithli to Bodrum.  In Turkey, each driver is supposed to have a card for using toll roads -- you can't use cash.  We didn't discover this until we were at the toll booth in Izmir on our way to Assos, and were unhappy to discover that one had not been provided with our rental car.  I set the GPS to avoid toll roads, and planned a route myself that bypassed Izmir, but I missed my turnoff, and Ian had to navigate a horrible route that appeared to head in the wrong direction right through the huge city of Izmir (the second biggest in Turkey).  Eventually, we were headed in the right direction, and after an hour of rather stressful driving decided to reward ourselves by visiting the ruins of Kalaphon, but although we followed the signs, they disappeared once we entered a village in true Turkish fashion, so we didn't quite get there. 

In Gimli's defense, she did take us to our hotel, which did not have a street number, but as Ian was too busy navigating one-way streets right down in the busy tourist centre, and I was looking for a building, we missed the little sign that pointed down the alley.  Frustrated, we decided to return the car and take a taxi back, but the GPS couldn't quite find the car rental place.  We went into a travel agent, were directed down the road, and took a small walk down the one-way street that had taken us an hour to circumnavigate the harbour.  We were both very relieved to find the office.  By this time, it was nearly 4:00, and Ian doesn't stop for bathroom breaks, so I was distracted!  It took us fifteen minutes to find the rental contract, which was exactly where it was supposed to be, but I missed somehow, and then the rental agent offered to drive us to our hotel -- once he figured out that we were staying in the "Ahr-TOONCH" hotel, and not the "AR-tunk" as we pronounced Artunc.  I take back everything I have even implied about Ian's aggressive adaptation to Turkish driving, as the car company driver took our little car down alleys and over pedestrians at a pace that would have made me close my eyes, if I hadn't had the foam mattresses blocking my vision from all but the back side window!

Our host was surprised to see the foam mats, and asked if we planned to sleep outside.  We were really glad to have them to put on the mattress that is really, I fear, a boxspring.  I will be very sad to leave them behind tomorrow, but perhaps Greek mattresses are more accommodating.  

Anyway, we took a brief walk around the harbour, had a Starbucks iced coffee latte, went to the town square for a pide, sitting opposite the Burger King, and stopped at the bakery for some dessert.  I was pleased to buy a book in English (Agnes Grey, by Anne Bronte), as I have been without one for weeks, and Ian bogarts the Kindle.

This morning we are off to see the Maritime Museum in St. Peter's Castle, the Tomb of Mausolus, from which we get the word "mausoleum", and the remains of Helicarnasus, where Herodotus, Ian's hero, was born.  Ironically, we looked up the address of the ferry agent so that we can buy the remaining tickets for the Greek ferries we will be taking, and it is the same agent we burst in on yesterday.   I think we need to buy Ian a souvenir T-shirt as well, as we need laundry done, but Ian is a bit concerned about wearing a "Bodrum" T-shirt into Greece.  We'll see what happens!

April 16: Sardis, Land of Croesus

Today we drove from Assos to Salihtli, and saw the ancient site of Sardis.  This is the land of the Lydians, and must have been a very rich place, since their king was Croesus, as in "Rich as".  We have settled into our Spa hotel, enjoyed a very nice dinner, and are beginning to sort through our things and get ready for pedestrian life again, as we give up the car tomorrow.

April 15: Troy -- Achilles and the Hellespont (Dardanelles)

Ian's day to blog.  Margaret's evening to snore.

Today we visited Troy and then continued north to the coast to look across the Hellespont to the Gallipoli peninsula and Europe.  The memorial to the battles fought there in the first world war stood out on the horizon.  We attempted to find the tomb of Achilles-the Achillieon, but there were no signs.  The search did lead us to a beautiful and deserted beach.

The Hellespont looking across to Eurpoe

April 14: Bergama and Assos: The Deluge and The Theatres

The rain that had begun to fall during our walk around our Bergama neighbourhood yesterday evening turned into a heavy rain today, complete with wind and lightning.  We got a private viewing of the Bergama Museum; toured the ancient spa and medical town of Asklepion, named for Asclepius and where Galen learned his art; drove north through an incredible rainstorm up the coast; then wandered around the ancient site of Assos, where Aristotle lived between leaving the Academy in Athens and tutoring Alexander the Great.  As the weather cleared, we walked around the lovely little resort town where we are staying, and watched the island of Lesbos appear slowly out of the mist.

April 13: Pergamum

Ian's turn to blog!

Pergamum

Today we left Selcuk and continued north up the Agean coast to Pergamum – modern day Bergama.  We checked into our hotel, a beautifully restored 220 year old stone house.  Once settled into our room, we were provided with a map and directions to the Acropolis by the friendly owners.  On our way to the Acropolis we stopped off and looked at the Red Hall.  A very large Roman era brick building that was a temple for the Egyptian cult gods.  While such brick buildings are common in Italy, they were rare in Asis Minor.  From the Red Hall we walked to the cable car station that took us up to the Acropolis.  

April 12: A Day at the Beach (Dilke Ntnl Park)

Since we had nothing more pressing to do, we decided to sort out the pebbles on the beach, first by size, and then by colour.

 

Today really felt like a vacation.  We dawdled over getting ready to go out, then had a relatively trouble-free trip to Dilek Peninsula National Park.  This park was set up to protect the last of the Anatolian wild horses and what our guide book refers to as the “rare” Anatolian cheetah, although a poster in the park suggests that the last cheetah was shot in 1974.  We spent a couple of hours on the beach, watching an acrobatic cormorant, and could practically have walked to Samos across the flat turquoise water.  The stones on the beach were amazing, and we could see the harbour where the Athenian navy once stood guard in the Fifth Century BCE. 

Since this park is as close to the natural landscape of the area as possible, and home to many native and endangered species, it was easy to imagine Pythagorus walking down a similar beach, or Alexander the Great travelling down the same path we took through the mountain canyon, seeing much the same sights as we enjoyed today,

After two beach visits and a hike, we went to visit one of the many Zeus caves dotted around the Mediterranean, this one where he reportedly brought young ladies for nefarious purposes, and then struggled up a goat path to see Panionion, the place where the Ionian League met. 

We drove through Kuşadasi, a busy city with apparently no traffic rules, and were glad to return to the charm of Selçuk.  We had some lovely mezes (appetizers) and my favourite Turkish fast food, pide which we ate while watching the neighbourhood storks making leisurely trips back to feed the kids.  Now we are enjoying the early evening in our hotel room, since we have a long day tomorrow:  the trip to Bergama to see Pergamon!

Click "Read More" to see our pictures.

April 11: Ephesus - From Artemis to St. John the Divine

Today was our Ephesus day.  In some ways this was covering old ground, as Margaret and I have both been here with school groups before.  However, on those occasions we were on a tour and limited to what the tour and time allowed.  On this visit we were able to explore the site more thoroughly.  In particular we were able to enter the "Terrace Houses" where we saw remarkably intact dwellings with marble and mosaic floors and walls and frescoes in excellent preservation.  Much here was as good as you will see in Pompei.  We also saw the Cave of the Seven Sleepers; the Ephesus Museum, where many of the treasures from Ephesus are displayed; the Church of St. John; and had an up close view of the Citadel, which is has been temporarily closed for nine years.

April 10: Miletus, Priene, and Rain!

Today was dedicated to the Ionian Greeks.  After a lazy morning attempting to wait out the rain, we left Didyma for Miletus.   Between rainstorms, we got a chance to see ruins from the Greek town that was home to the philosopher Thales, a beautiful theatre, and the ruins of the town.  We also saw several creatures, including a weasel, but Flora was in direct competition with Fauna today, as we saw fields of wildflowers that are cultivated – and in my garden – at home.  The museum was excellent, with artefacts from the Mycenaean and Minoan ages – some amazingly intact – right up to the Roman era.  We then crossed the famous Meander River – twice, as it lives up to the word it created – and headed to the hillside town of Priene.  It was a thrill to know that we were walking and sitting where Alexander the Great had been.  We passed the ancient town of Magnesia, and arrived at our comfortable hotel in Selçuk.  Tomorrow will either be Ephesus day or museum day, depending on the weather.

April 9th: Temple of Apollon in Didim

We got a nice early start this morning, planning to stop at Labranda, and perhaps another site on our way to Didim.  Unfortunately, the Garmin tried to steer us in what was clearly both the wrong way and a transmission killer, so we turned it off and decided to look for highway signs instead.  I thought we must have missed the Labranda sign, but instead we had missed our turn and were on the way to Bodrum.  Knowing I couldn’t use the Gimli to get to Labranda (she has a TERRIBLE track record for finding ruins) I plugged in Didim instead, and we spent the next hour going down the peninsula to Didim on a goat track.  Yes, it was picturesque, but the stress of navigating between potholes, donkeys, buildings and tumbled over rock fences was making Ian increasingly taciturn:  not usually a good sign!

We were rewarded for our frustration with a lovely temple, a beautiful hotel in a 150 year old Greek house, a delicious dinner, and the adventure of a thunder storm.  The lights have just come back on so that I can upload this.  Forgive any errors made while typing in the dark!

April 8: The Dalyan River

Today we took a boat cruise down the Dalyan River to Turtle Beach, through intricate channels among the reeds that reminded me of the African Queen.  Thank goodness the captain knew what he was doing.  On the way we saw the rock cut temple tombs particular to the Carian people, and understood the design idea behind the Neried monument from Xanthos.  We went down to the lagoon, where we caught glimpses of sea turtles, then walked along the sandbar that is Turtle Beach.  We travelled with three other couples, and over the course of the day had some wonderful discussions.  After a delicious lunch, we went to the mud baths and hot springs.  If you really want to get to know people fast, a mud bath is a great way to break down the barriers!  We went out to the lake, where we saw lots of birds, then returned to town, to the opposite side of the river, and walked down the rural roads to see the ruins of Caunos with a young family we met. 

April 7th: Xanthos and Letoon -- Turtles and temples

Today we bid good-bye to our pension in Kalkan and headed for the tourist resort of Dalyan.  On the way we saw the ancient sites of Xanthos and Letoon, which were the capital of the Lycian League and its religious centre, dedicated to the goddess Leta and her twin children Artemis and Apollo.  These two sites together form a UNESCO world heritage site, and we saw many amazing examples of architecture and tombs, including an amazingly well preserved Roman road.  After an hour of rather frantic searching, we found our pension in Dalyan, and after checking the beds, we were glad we had brought our mats along.  The evening was spent in a successful search for cooler clothes, in arranging our river boat excursion for tomorrow, and getting a really nice meal in the garden of cats.  As we didn't have an Internet connection, these are being posted a couple of days late!

Click "Read More" to see the photos.

April 6: Myra, Kekova and Semena -- Feel the heat!

Ian chose the title for today's blog, as it topped 24C today.  The sun was out, and we were ready for adventure!

Ian was back on form today as we went to see the rock-cut tombs at Myra, home of Jolly old St. Nicholas.  We then headed through the area called Kerkova, which means “land of thyme” to the villages of Kaleköy and Üçağiz.  Next, we hired a boat and went for a bracing swim, a tour of the underwater ruins of the ancient city of Simena, and a fast climb to the top of a hill and the castle built by the Knights of Rhodes partially upon ancient Lycian foundations.  A lovely lady, Anyna, walked up with us, and showed us all of the local plants.  We gave a Polish couple a ride back to Kalkan, then went for a stroll around the town before enjoying a delicious meal.

April 5th: Patara: a Day at the Beach.

A bit of a slower day today to recover from some major ones.  A trip to the the beach and the ruins of  the ancient beach town of Patara, a visit to the Thursday Market in Kalkan, and the purchase of the worst souvenirs you can imagine. in fact, we will leave them here in Turkey, but oh how we love them right now!

April 5a: This and That and Toilets

Some thoughts while Ian sleeps.

April 4th: Lycia: Climb every mountain, ford every stream

Today we went east along the Mediterranean coast of Turkey to the ancient chimera, which has been burning for 3000 years.  After a strenuous climb to the top, accompanied by two busloads of students from Belgium, we saw the flames and the Hellenistic sanctuary at the top.  We spent a while sitting on a beach where sea turtles lay their eggs – beach umbrellas are NOT allowed!  After a ridiculous detour, we went on – literally fording a stream -- to the ruins of Olympos.  This site is set in the forest, and is part ancient city, and part natural glory.  We saw several tortoises, and Ian was able to save one from certain destruction on the highway.  We even got a few pictures of lizards!

Family and family friends:  my contact list was accidentally deleted,  so I am working off my four year old list on Webmail for email addresses.  If you  haven't heard from me in a while, would you mind sending me an email, so I can get your updated information?  I have reason to believe my emails aren't going out properly.

April 3: Aphrodisias and a long drive

We can probably hear the muezzin better than anyone else in Kalkan, since we are on a level with the speakers of the minaret and they are only 40 feet away.  Fortunately, as the final call to prayers is broadcast, we are listening to the comforting sounds of a very good singer.  Today we saw the beautiful city of Aphrodisias, and made our way to the Mediterranean coast.

April 2: Hieropolis

 Today we explored the marble cliffs of Pamukkale, which is Turkish for “Cloud Castle” (you’ll see why, and explore the city of Hieropolis, which was a Phrygian, then Greek, Roman, and Byzantine city.  It is also the site were St. Philip met his untimely end.  The day started off cold and rainy, and we were glad to have the umbrella, but the sun broke through, and we ended up carrying our wet weather gear.  Another interesting and rewarding day, with feet waked to nubs, then soaked in a spa.

April 1st: Aezani, Blaunum and Güney: Vistas, breezes, and Romans

It’s hard to rank days into favourites because they are all so different, but today would really be a contender.  We indulged ourselves this morning, after getting our laundry all done last night, by sleeping until we woke up, no alarms allowed.  After a mighty breakfast, we set off for the small town of Aezani, where a Roman town with a very complete temple of Zeus may be found.  We walked around the village and the ruins – intermingled – and nearly brought home a lovely puppy that followed us. We drove through amazing countryside, going from cold and snow and beige fields to warmth and green and olive trees.  We stopped in the old Roman city of Blaunum, near Güney, which is an unexcavated sight high on a hill top.  We took back roads, some unexpectedly tiny, and Ian’s amazing driving took us through tiny cliff side villages, through traffic jams of sheep and goats, and down dirt roads – that may actually have been dikes.  We’ve arrived in Pamukkale , tired but very happy.  In fact, Ian is never more happy than when staring at ruins.