Week 17 1/2 Rhodes and Athens, Greece with Ephesus and Istanbul, Turkey

We were back to Greece for three days in this set of photographs as well as three days in Turkey.

In actuality Greece was split up with Rhodes, then the three days in Turkey, followed by two days in Athens. If you are now confused think how I feel after this bouncing back and forth! The cruise continues to amaze me with all the wonders of the ancient world to the middle ages and to modern times. The people in all these places were friendly and so glad to share their country with us. We also get to sample the various foods and customs in each of the ports. We found that we liked the foods of Greece better than that of Turkey with the exception of my Turkish Salad (tomato variety) that I wrote about under Israel.

Rhodes, Greece is a beautiful island with a long history. The Palace of the Grand Masters is a sprawling fortification and the historic quarter is Europe's largest active medieval town. The Knights of St. John of Jerusalem conquered the island in the 14th Century A.D. bringing great wealth from the Holy Land during the crusades. This was also a hospital for the Crusades as well as the home of the Head Knight. The Palace was damaged during a siege by the Ottomans and has since been restored. It has been used in modern times to host international conferences as it is somewhat isolated being situated on an island. The harbor of Rhodes was once home to the Colossus of Rhodes, a large statue to the Greek Sun god, Helios. It was said to be 105' high at the entrance to the harbor. It was erected in 282 BC and was toppled in 226 BC. The remains of this bronze statue was broken up for scrap by Arabian forces in 654 AD.

Entrance to harbor at Rhodes

Ancient Windmills at entrance to harbor

Main Street inside fortress walls to Palace

Remains of the hospital

View of Palace entering from main street

Main gate to enter Palace

Marble sculpture in Palace

Mosaic floor of Medusa

Palace throne room

View from Palace to harbor

Knights street to Palace and offices

Harbor fortification

After leaving Rhodes, we sailed to Kusadasi, Turkey to visit the ancient ruins of Ephesus. This ancient city is said to be one the best-preserved cities in the whole region. Ephesus was one of the largest metropolises of the ancient world. There were over 250,000 residents and over 50,000 slaves. This city was home to another wonder of the ancient world- the temple of Artemis. That temple does not remain but the facade of the Library of Celsus and the massive amphitheater still remain. Recently, the excavations have revealed a number of homes of the cities wealthiest residents. We did not take that part of the tour but our friends said it was amazing. It also has ties to Christianity and Christ. It is here, St. John is said to have preached and Mary to have lived out her final days in a tiny stone house.

Port

Theater seating over 10,000

Area of the Public Baths

Temple columns

The main street with houses, shops, and temples

Temple on main street

Hadrian's Temple

Arch above Hadrian's Temple

Looking bacon the Colonnade and Celsus Library

Library of Celsus

Statue on front of Celsus Library

Mazeu-Mithridate's Gate

This gate is said to have been a gift to the city as it provided a beautiful colonnade from the main street to the library. Across the street from the library was the city's brothel. There were underground tunnels from the library to the brothel so that the men could visit without being seen. The gate was a gift from the two women who owned the brothel.

Remains of a carving of the Goddess Nike

The city had a very advance hospital and separate pharmacy. This is the stone identifying the location of the pharmacy. Note the mortar and pestle. There is a second one identifying the hospital. The hospital staff has only one snake where today's has two snakes.

The walkway around the harbor has a various sculptures adding beauty to the city of Kusadasi. Here are just two. The city has a busy shopping district and they have lots of Turkish cotton items. I bought a cute cotton dress for casual wear for a really great price.

We headed to Istanbul that evening.

I have always read about Istanbul and its fascinating history so it was wonderful to spend two days in this vibrant city. We travelled through the Straits of the Dardanelles on our way there and then we were able to take a boat ride towards the Black Sea on the Bosphorus Strait. The city is a mix of cultures- Western and Eastern cultures. The city provides easy access to the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. It was once the end of the Silk Road and the Spice caravans where the items were sold and taken all over Europe and Africa. The most famous mosque is the Hagia Sophia which was founded as a basilica and converted to a mosque, then to a museum, and now it is a mosque again. We also visited the Grand Bazaar- the world's largest covered market with nearly 3000 shops and cafes. Of course this was Jeff's favorite stop (like never).

Roman hippodrome ruin. Located near the Sultan Ahmed Mosque most commonly called the "Blue Mosque".

The mosque is currently under extensive restoration so it was difficult to see much of the inside.

Here is the ceiling over the main chamber of the mosque. Ignore the scaffolding.

Here is the main chamber of the mosque. The Imam reads the Koran and gives the sermon at the podium on the right. The center wall marks the direction of Mecca. Only men are allowed on the floor area and women are in a rear balcony area often times behind screens.

A passage or excerpt of the Koran is always above this alcove

A stained glass window and the beautiful blue tiles that decorate the walls

Close up of the podium

Our second stop was to the Topkapi Palace. This was once the center of Ottoman rule and home of the Sultans. Today, the gardens and the museum now housed here bring in tourists. We were getting rained upon and the wind was cold so we did not see much here.

Part of the gardens

We then headed to the Grand Bazaar.

Here are some shots of the Grand Bazaar. So much jewelry, Turkish delight (pomegranate with pistachio was my favorite), clothes, leather, rugs/carpets, and almost anything else you need is sold here.

Our evening ended with a trip to a Sultan Palace where we were treated to a cocktail party and a wonderful choir/instrument concert. The performers are from all the three religions and the various ethnic groups of Turkey. They sang and played songs respected by Muslims, Jews, and Christians as well as Armenian, Kurdish, and Turkish music. It was just so emotional. They have been nominated several times for a Nobel Prize but have not received one yet. They deserve one.

Our second day in Istanbul was to view the city from both sides- European and Asian. We viewed the remains of the ancient walls of Constantinople, the remains of Roman walls around the city, and then visited the Rustem Pasha Mosque. The tiles inside this mosque are so beautiful. The outside is also tiled making it the most richly tiled mosque in Istanbul. After this, we boarded a tour boat to go up and back on the Bosphorus Strait. It was cold but finally stopped raining.

Bazaar outside of Rustem Pasha Mosque

Domed ceiling goes from octagon shape to round at the top. Beautifully painted

The center piece of the mosque which points the way to Mecca

The Imam's podium

Examples of the blue tiles

Galata Tower was originally a watch tower for the city gates.

New bridge connecting Old Constantinople with the eastern section of the City

Jeff did not make this black and white. The weather was so gray and rainy this is how it photographed.

Second bridge over the Bosphorus Strait and is the oldest of the three bridges that connect East to West

Note all the seafood restaurants built under the bridge. Really fresh fish there we were told.

We now headed for Athens, Greece after a day at sea.

We docked in Piraeus, Greece which is one of the largest harbors in the world. They actually have 5 different harbors. They have a brand new cruise ship terminal which is really nice but it takes over 2000 steps to get from the entrance to the ship. The same the other way as well.

Athens is known as the "birthplace of democracy". Its legacy stands atop Acropolis Hill, the highlight of ancient Greece. The Parthenon and the surrounding structures reflect that society from over 2,600 years ago. Our first day we took the modified included tour and were treated to an amazing day. We viewed and/or made photo stops at some of the main sites inside the city limits. We then proceeded towards the Acropolis, where we walked up the hill to see the ruins of that once thriving civilization. We spent 90 minutes listening to our tour guide or walking on our own to see the various sites.

This was followed by a trip to a restaurant where we had a traditional Greek dinner, buffet style, and listened to traditional music. Dancers provided entertainment as well and when the got the audience involved much laughter was heard.

Temple of Athena Nike

Odeon of Herodes Atticus used for speeches and entertainment.

Upper roof level of Parthenon

Parthenon

Propylaia- the gateway to the the city.

The Erechtheion- the temple to Athena and housed the goddesses

Another view of Erechtheion

Side view of main entrance to Erechtheion

Side balcony of the Erechtheion

Theater of Dionysos

View of a castle on neighboring hill

Athens from Acropolis

Athens Olympic Stadium used in 2004 along with Olympus

Our second day we travelled to the ancient city of Corinth. This was once the most powerful cities of antiquity. On our way there we visited the Corinth Canal. This is a 4-mile long waterway carved through steep limestone connecting the Gulf of Corinth in the Ionian Sea with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. This was constructed with the help of Hungary in the late 1800s. It is still in use today. It does not have any locks.