 |
| Adios, Aegean Odessey! |
 |
| For 12 days - bring Xanax |
(Fifteenth Female Blog) Finally, back on land! Docked in Istanbul this morning and skeddadled off that tub!!! We love Istanbul despite the incredible hordes of people. Are hoping for fewer crowds tomorrow, because today was the last of a four-day celebration to end Ramadan. Of interest are all the tourists from Arab countries, the women covered in varying degrees in black—some with only small eye slits, others showing the face, others showing the upper face, and many, many Converse-style black sneakers peeking out from under the robes! Turks are covered far less, being a theoretically secular state, but some women wear headscarves out of solidarity with today's ruling pro-Muslim party.
[Male interjection - the males also dress a little funny:]
 |
| Dwarf Brooks Bros. |
One thing we haven't mentioned is how many Asian tourists are over here, in Europe and Asia. Not just the predictable Japanese but far more prominently Koreans and Chinese. Splashing out with their newfound wealth...
 |
| [Male note - Acropolis rerun - Ephesus etc. to come, if the Turkish SIM card ever wakes up.] |
|
But I musn't start here. Need to cover our ports in Turkey, which were generally disappointing aesthetically but valuable historically. The ruins of ancient Ephesus were astounding and beautiful, not to mention its resident cats. We ran out of cat food quite early on... I really think the Acropolis in Athens plus the remains of Delphi and of Ephesus would be enough for those looking for ancient civilization (though I must say we're glad we saw what seems to remain of Troy, mostly because we finally had a guide who made it come alive).
[Male Note: SIM card woke up!]
 |
| Ephesus Library |
 |
| Ephesus Theatre |
 |
| More Rubble |
 |
| Rubble Kittie |
And we've been so blessed by perfect weather, almost all the way through our cruise, and now in Istanbul. We send inadequate photos with this posting, because it's hard to make rubble look good. But we did meet a lot of charming moggies who were a lot more photogenic.
Our hotel here, thanks to a tip from friend Julia, is just perfect: a haven of peace between the Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque. Covered with wisteria vines, enclosing a lovely garden inhabited by three fine felines... plus a great breakfast and excellent coffee and tea! It´s amazing how important creature comforts become when you´re traveling... or at least, when WE´RE traveling! (Oh, have I mentioned that yoghourt is a completely different and superior substance in the Aegean? But you knew that...)
We´re not going to be buying much, though the wares in this metropolis are quite tempting... mainly because I have a horror of haggling, which is a necessity. Also, the folks trying to drag you into their shops and restaurants make vendors in Mexico seem subdued; it´s hard to keep smiling and shaking your head when you want to give them a good shove and run! This afternoon we´re meeting friends from Vallarta at the Grand Bazaar, which I´m dreading. Photos of that to come next time...
 |
| Bazaar Bunnies |
[Gratuitous Moggie Shot:]
 |
| Istanbul Cat Delivery Service |
No comments:
Post a Comment