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Venice to Turkey 18

Day 18, Pamukkale, May 21

We arise early and have breakfast and get on the bus by 6:30 AM. It’s a long drive today to Pamukkale (pronounced paam-oo-kaal-ey. Thank goodness for professional bus drivers. It’s raining and miserable for most of our morning ride. There are a few fun views out of the bus windows!

The weather clears and we stop at a unique mosque, Sultanhani Belediyesi, with living quarters that we can visit. The marble walls and carvings are immense and beautiful! Rug collections on display are everything from pristine to ragged and torn.

Several different rooms with signs describing them in English. Very helpful. Who knew that a ‘harem’ was a room in which to sleep and pray? Or that a ‘living room’ was a Council Chamber? ‘Bread’ is a scent? A ‘bath’ serves a Social Function? Very interesting philosophies!

A cafe outside the mosque depicts the ‘Fairy Castles’ sells potato chips that you recognize but read the packaging.

Back on the bus for another few hours. The weather is clearer and we pass through attractive countryside. We stop for lunch for one hour and get back on the road. The steps down to the restrooms are quite interesting.

An hour later we come to a stop again. This time it is for a crane on the road ahead removing the wreckage of a two truck crash. We are backed up for most of an hour and we get out of the bus and stretch our legs. We are near the front of the traffic and we watch the crane do its work. As we get underway again, we see that one of the accident vehicles caught fire and burned.

So I don’t know what time we were scheduled to arrive but we can add an hour to that. There is something magical about stormy skies where the sun shines through occasionally! We stop for the mandatory driver’s rest in Dinar for 45 minutes. We have 90 minutes left to ride. So we have been on the bus from 6:30 AM to 5:30 PM with only a few stops and one traffic delay. We will stay in Pamukkale tonight.

Goat farmers herd their flock along the roads. We drive through Karai and limestone deposits.

We next visit these thermal limestone and travertine pools in Hierapolis. They are fed by 35C (95F) mineral rich springs! It is about a half mile hike in to the pools. We even get to wade into them without our socks and shoes. The water is warm and we have to be careful for it is slippery.

Elee is feeling somewhat more adventurous and wants to wade into the deeper pools in the distance. I opt to get out and walk on the boardwalk above them. It starts to rain and Elee comes back out but not before getting soaked.

We try to take shelter under the trees above the boardwalk but we are not very successful. The rain lasts about a half hour and we are drenched by the time it stops.

The rain has lent a mystical aura to the sky and the light and our cameras love it! This is truly a miraculous place in the world! The rain stops and we walk the half mile to the bus, a few pounds heavier with water!

After visiting this UNESCO site, we drive a short distance to the Adampira Spa Hotel where we will spend the night. Dinner is a huge buffet with some very good food and, as always, fabulous soup!

We retire to our room and get chargers plugged in. Showers will happen tonight to save sleep time in the morning. After being up early the last two days, we will get to sleep in to the late hour of 6 AM!

Venice to Turkey 15

Day 15, Leave the Ship, May 18

This morning we pack the last items our bags and go to the buffet for breakfast. We have our last decadent morning meal and visit with an Aussie couple from Sydney that we have met several times on the ship. We forgot their names (shame on us) but I will refer to him as the “Arrive Alive” guy. If he reads this, he will know! I grab a couple shots of a mosque right off the side of the ship.

Then it’s to our room to collect our bags and head off the ship. We have elected to handle our own luggage as it is faster. We hire a cab and go to a hotel to be picked up for our next tour. We have to wait in their lobby for a couple hours. It turns out we probably could have walked to this hotel as the ship is right in sight of the hotel.

We are picked up by a black van at 11:30 AM, right on time. The van picks up 6 more people and then brings us to a large tour bus. There are a total of 20 people on our tour. So we will have plenty of room on the bus, being a standard 47 seat bus.

Our tour guide, Oz, is personal and well spoken. Our driver is Akmed. Istanbul officially has 16.5 million people but it is estimated there are 3 million more, undocumented. Gee, where else does that happen? We are headed for Ankara today, the origin of Angora Wool from special goats.

All the flags around Istanbul are in preparation for the celebration of the beginning of the country on May 19, 1919.

Noon in Turkey is not considered 12:00, but instead is when the sun is highest in the sky.

We go across the first bridge to connect continents built in 1973. In a short while, we go through the modern section of Istanbul with modern architecture and a mosque or two thrown in!

Huge flags hang from the walls, some with the image of the president. About 30%of the country likes him.

We stop for lunch at a highway roadside restaurant area. We don’t know the names of what we eat, but I have an eggplant and pepper dish and a bowl of spicy lentil soup.

We head out again and drive 4 hours. Then we stop for 45 minutes as per Turkish law. The law states that tour bus drivers have to take a 45 minute break after driving 4 hours. It also states that drivers cannot drive more than 6 days in a row and then have to take a day off! Then we drive for about two hours to our hotel where we will have dinner.

Not many photos today as the drive is interesting but not overly spectacular. Fun sunset as we come into Ankara!

5.7 million people live in Ankara. Not as many as Istanbul, but still enough to cause traffic jams. We arrive at our hotel, the Meyra Palace Hotel. It sure is palatial! Everything down to the furniture and room lights are shiny and ornate. Crown molding is ornately decorated.

Dinner in the hotel dining room is tasty yet unspectacular. We didn’t recall that meals are a part of the tour. At least it is money not spent! Food we could have at home. Chicken was dry. Salad was undressed. Oh well, can’t have it all. We settle in the room looking forward to tomorrow.

Venice to Turkey 14, Part 2

Day 13, Istanbul, May 17, Part 2

We are quoted €8 round trip to the river boat and think it’s a bargain. So we get in the taxi and happily ride the 15 minutes to the boat. We get a view of the Galata Tower on the way. This Tower will become more important later in our vacation!

Once there, it takes 15-20 minutes to find the correct boat. It turns out the boat wasn’t back from a previous cruise until the last minute. We find the boat and board it right as sunset was beginning. We get underway and begin capturing photos of the city as it lights up at night. The cruise lasts 2 hours and the views are great! We even pass by our cruise ship as we start the tour! And yes, those are random rainstorms you see in the cloud formations!

Continuing on, we watch as the city wakes up at night. A lot of the passengers on the cruise go to the lower lever because it is enclosed and the crew serves them tea and biscuits. I opt to stay up top and keep my camera entertained.

We finish the cruise and are glad to get off the water for it is very chilly. Luckily, we dressed appropriately. As we wait for our taxi driver, suddenly The Call To Prayer erupts from loudspeakers all around us! It seems that we are surrounded by approximately 6 mosques, all broadcasting simultaneously! We find our taxi driver and go back to the ship. I ask him for €10 change from the €20 note I hand him and he looks at me strangely.

He informs me the fare is €80, not €8. I object and insist we were quoted €8. He either calls his boss or pretends to and the price drops to €50. Still not acceptable, I argue the price again. We settle on €40 round trip and I cave in. So beware of scams like this and possibly get your quote in writing.

We get back on the ship and get most of our packing done as we get off the ship in the morning.

Good night everyone!

Venice to Turkey 13

Day 13 Thessaloniki, May 16

We had a ships tour scheduled today that we managed to cancel at the last minute in lieu of riding the HOHO Bus and doing our own thing. We have been less than impressed with the ships tours as their organization is somewhat lacking.

So we have a leisurely breakfast in the restaurant and get off the ship around 9:30 AM. We see the HOHO Buses right in the taxi area. How convenient!

We pay €18 for the bus and board it right in front of the ship. It takes us around the city, stopping at all the ancient buildings and we get off at the top at the Fortress of 7 Towers, or the Heptapyrgion, an old castle. It actually had 10 towers, and we never find why it is called 7 Towers. Situated at the highest point of the city within the Situated at the highest point of the city within the historic Ano Poli (Upper Town), the fortress offers panoramic views of Thessaloniki, the Aegean Sea, and on clear days, Mount Olympus days, Mount Olympus. We don’t spot the Mount.

Walking around the ruins keeps our cameras engaged and we marvel at the vistas. We walk back down to the bus stop and ride for a bit more. We get off at the Rotunda and the Arch and entertain our cameras once more.

We choose to get a bite of lunch here and have a tomato and cheese dish along with an eggplant dish. Wash that down with some local beer and wine and life is good! More street art and graffiti are everywhere.

While we eat, we watch the HOHO Buses come every 15 minutes. So we time our finishing eating a couple minutes before the bus comes.

We step over to the bus stop and wait. And wait. And wait some more. A half hour later another HOHO Bus comes and accepts our tickets. There is a White Tower that we would like to see but it means we will have to ride the bus two more times. So when we get back to the stop at the ship, we opt to just get off.

Back on the ship, we get back in shipboard mode and begin by relaxing in our stateroom. We visit with Patrick and Sue from the west coast of Ireland in Palomar Restaurant during dinner. Fun chat!

Tried to get seats for “The Prom” in the theater tonight but it was standing room only. We stood and watched for a short while but sitting down has a real value. So back to our stateroom it is to catch a movie. While watching the movie, I felt a bit of movement so I looked out the window and there are two meter seas! Yay!

Venice to Turkey 11

Day 11, The Island of Rhodes, May 14

Leisurely breakfast in the restaurant this morning. Not in any particular hurry. We have until 4:30 to get back to the ship. We get off at 8:45ish. About 50 meters away from the ship is the Hop On Hop Off Bus. We get on and there are no available seats.

So we get off at the next stop and walk around for an hour until the bus comes back. We walk around and find a farmer’s market next to the Old Town Wall. We walk in to Old Town and cars and bikes drive in and out on the same medieval road. We walk back to the bus stop and reboard. There are a couple seats up top where we like to sit. There is only one bus, and the bus schedule has precise arrival times for each stop. A couple stops later, we arrive at the Acropolis (remember, ‘Acropolis only means ‘Top of the City or Hill’) and a lot of people get off. So now we get to pick our preferred seats.

We ride the entire loop this time and get off at the Acropolis the next time. We walk around the Acropolis and check out the ruins of what appears to be Olympic arenas and the Temple of Apollo Pythios.

We walk down and find our way through the town to a bus stop. We stop in the heat for a couple glasses of cold white wine and some interesting snacks. The driver of the only bus recognizes us by this time and gives me a fist bump. We ride the bus to the entrance to Old Town and get off. We enter the walls of the old city and find it is filled with chatchkey vendors. We do walk around and find a couple of souvenirs to buy.

Now our legs and feet are really tired and we find our way out and back to the ship. Joannaline, our waitress in Hudson’s tonight, AKA ‘Sexy Anytime’ is quite the character! So we also get a few shots off the ship and kick back for the evening.

After dinner we turn in. See you again tomorrow!