Day 9: Istanbul

Our last day in Istanbul was fast paced.  We took the Tram to the Blue Mosque which is an historic mosque in Istanbul.  It is known as the blue mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior.  It was built in 1609.  There was the echoing call to prayers as we approached the mosque.  There was a definite dress code for women for their knees to be covered and a scarf over their head.  For men it was long pants and a shirt and no shoes for anyone.

Next we toured the home of Ottoman Sultans for 400 years.  There were 300 rooms, 9 Turkish baths, 2 mosques and, of course, the mandatory area known as the Harem.  Harem stands for “a place forbidden” and it is the private quarters of the sultan.  It cost extra for the Harem and we decided not to look.  There were enough rooms for everything, including a circumcision room (I’ll let you think about that one).

These Turks are definitely masters of the hard sell.  Standing in line leaves you as fair game for all manner of sales pitches.  At every shop there is always a man standing in the door to go with you every step of the way.  We were not comfortable with these sales techniques and so we are not bringing much back from Turkey.

Blue Mosque 1

Blue Mosque 2

Sultan's Palace

We always try to navigate the Tram

Day 8: Between Europe and Asia

Early this morning we sailed through the Dardanelles which is a narrow strait that separates Europe from Asia (Greece from Turkey).  We got up early to listen to a historian describe the Battle of Gallipoli (Greece) where the allies tried to attack Germany through a back door in W.W.I.  It did not go well for Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain.  In the afternoon we docked in Istanbul and headed for the world famous Grand Bazaar.  There are 4000 stalls in the Grand Bazaar.  Everything was on sale such as Rolex Watches which started at 40 Euros but were quickly reduced to 10 Euros ($12 US).  You negotiate for everything in the Bazaar. 

The Turks were some of the original carpet weavers but because they were nomads, they ended up sharing their talent with many people in the Middle East.  We spent time watching some carpet weavers (see photo).  These two women had been working on the same carpet for three years.

Only 2 of 4000 stalls in the Grand Bazaar

Carpet Weaving is a tedious business.

Do I need to tell you that this is a belly dancer?

When we got back to the boat…because we were in Istanbul, we were treated to Turkish music and belly dancers.  Personally I liked the belly dancers better.

Day 7: Athens, Greece

What a spectacular day.  We left the ship as soon as it docked at 7:30 AM.  We headed straight for what is arguably one of the most important historical monuments in the world, The Acropolis.  The Acropolis is a mountain of marble.  The Parthenon is a huge temple at the top dedicated to Athena, the daughter of Zeus.  Parthenon means virgin and Athena was a virgin…at least that is what she told her father.

All of the structures on the Acropolis are under reconstruction in a project that will last until 2055.  There is lots of work going on which includes taking the buildings apart and rebuilding from the ground up.  On the grounds of the Acropolis are other temples and two amphitheaters.

At other locations we toured the Temple of Zeus, The New Acropolis Museum, a 60,000 seat Olympic stadium used when the Olympics were revived in 1834.  We also had time to walk through the Plaka, an old historic neighborhood with winding streets and tons of gift shops.

Our guide was wonderful.  He gave us lots of tales from mythology.  The mythology was interesting but a stretch in terms of believable.  

Parthenon under reconstruction

Tourists at Athena Temple (On the Acropolis)

Acropolis: Picture taken from the Museum

Amphitheater in marble taken from atop the Acropolis

Day 6: The Olympics and Zorba

Today we landed in Greece and we explored the ruins of Olympis.  The first Olympic Games were held here in 776 BC and every 4 years thereafter for the next 600 years.  During the Olympic competition, the city-states were bound by a sacred truce to stop fighting and take part in the athletic events.  This location was also the ancient sanctuary of Zeus and so the games were a religious tribute to Zeus.  In an Olympic year the Olympic torch is still lit at this site.

 The participants in the early games competed in the nude and for that reason, women were not permitted to watch the games.  There was only one winner in each event (no 1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd place). The winner received a Laurel Wreath of olive tree leaves for his head.

We had lunch at a Greek restaurant where we were introduced to Zorba Dancing.  It was participatory and lots of fun.

Olympic Stadium: Start and finish lines are in marble.

Zeus...now we know what he looks like.

Ann at the Temple of Zeus

My imitation of Zorba the Greek

Greece, as you know, is in the midst of a serious economic depression.  It is very evident as you drive through the countryside and see tons of garbage piled high on the side of the road.  The country apparently cannot afford to fund the position of garbage collector and other service areas.

We have now set sail for Athens and the Acropolis.

Day 5: A Day at Sea.

We spent the entire day cruising at sea on the way to our first stop at Olympia Greece.

Today was relaxing and lots of fun.  Leisurely breakfast followed by working on our tans…great lunch…speculator dinner.  We had lots of things to do all day long such as seminars, workshops, participation activities and entertainment…typical cruise activities.  After dinner there was a stage show, piano bar and even the casino, if you were so inclined.

Tomorrow is our first stop at Olympia, Greece, the first home of the Olympics.  We have scheduled a tour to learn about the Greek culture and finish with “Zorba the Greek”.  It should be fun.

Stage Show

Piano Bar

Someone told him he could sleep with us.

Casino

Day 4: Last Day in Venice / Board the Ship

We had an unscheduled day so we walked a trail through Venice that included lots of small shops.  The time spent gave us more opportunity to view the character of Venice.  Ann and I both love this town.  It is unique in how it is designed and what it takes to live here.  The uniqueness is in the fact that the locals have to walk everywhere and they have to carry whatever they purchase back to their homes.  There are small restaurants in every block that all serve some kind of spaghetti and pizza…and it is all good…especially with a couple glasses of wine.

You might remember…exactly one year ago, George Clooney got married in Venice.  The wedding was said to cost 12 million Euros or approximately $15 Million.  The guides told us that the town swelled in population.  There were 6 cruise ships docked and there were thousands more people than they would normally have…all trying to get a glimpse of the world’s most eligible bachelor and his bride.  The natives are still talking about the event as it was most certainly a big attraction.

We boarded the cruise ship today at 1PM (5AM EST).  We had the standard life boat drill and then we were off on a new adventure.

Two good looking tourists: Barb and Brad.

To give you some idea of the crowds at St. Mark's Square.

Nieuw Amsterdam

Day 3: Florence

This morning we boarded a high speed train to Florence for the day.  A list of the city’s “Favorite     Sons” reads like a who’s who of the Renaissance.  We scheduled an afternoon museum tour so we could see some of the works of Michelangelo, Leonardo de Vinci, Botticelli and others.  We got to see representative works of all the men.  By the way, did you know that Leonardo is from a small town in Italy called Vinci…which is exactly how he got his name, Leonardo of Vinci.  One thing for sure, you can’t do Florence in one day as there are so many marble statues and paintings to see.

Ann made an interesting observation about the difference between Florence and Venice.  Venice is significantly less stressful than Florence because there are no cars bustling around.  Florence is a mad house of cars, bikes, motor scooters and throngs of people.  Our guide says that the Italian are all crazy drivers and the only way a pedestrian can deal with it is: (1) cross your fingers; (2) Close your eyes; (3) run.

Barb and Brad took the train today to Milan.  Barb is going to post some pictures on Facebook about their day.

Leonardo de Vinci's "Baptism of Jesus"

We saw lots of important things in Florence.  We covered a lot of ground and our bodies are starting to revolt.  Ann says she has more pain than her 77 year old body can stand.  Our pedometer said that we took 16,125 steps today and walked 7.6 miles.

Michelangelo's "David" (a copy)

Botticelli's "Birth of Venus"

Tomorrow we have a small tour to some of the islands around Venice.  We will board the cruise ship in the early afternoon

Day 2: Venice on Tour

In the morning we had a walking tour of Venice.  It started at St Mark’s Square in the midst of thousands of tourists and 15,000 pigeons. A dominate feature of the square is the Bell tower with a statue of the Angel Gabriel on top.  Gabriel is the weather person for all of Venice.  He predicts the weather according to the direction the statue is facing.  If you live in Venice, you only have to look for the angel Gabriel to know the weather.  Gabriel was pointed to the South and it was raining…that is all I know.

St Mark’s church was really interesting.  The story goes that originally a Venetian stole the bones of the Apostle St Mark and brought them to Venice.  As soon as the bones got to Venice they started building the church…1000 years ago.  St Mark’s bones are buried inside the high alter.  It is a very beautiful church. It is also called The “Gold Church” as there is a huge amount of gold leaf everywhere in the church.  The gold dramatically reflects light and it is something to see.

We learned that Venice was founded in the 4^th century as the Roman Empire was crumbling.  It was founded because it was a safe haven.  It was built on marsh land with sandbars everywhere.  You had to know the specific path for your boat or you would get hung up on a sandbar.  The enemy had problems attacking the city because no one told them where the sandbars were located.

The tour ended at the Rialto Bridge…the oldest of all 400 bridges.   

We had lunch at a nice restaurant that had at least 100 bras nailed to the ceiling.  We asked what the story was and none of the employees seemed to know how it started except that you had to be at least a 34B…3 shots of whiskey probably would have helped.

The afternoon was a boat tour of the city.  At the end of the day, my Fitbit said we walked 4.6 miles.

Gabriel, the Weather Man

The lunch stop

St Mark's Church

Day 1: It Was Physically Challenging: Venice

We were first challenged at CVG to make the 50# weight limit with each suitcase.  Ann’s bag weighted 49.5 # and mine was 50.5 #.  Whew!

The plane ride was 11 hours.  We did not get many Z’s but we had 40 free movie choices that helped to ease the ride.

When we arrived in Venice we already planned on taking the bus to the train station and from there it was said to be an easy walk to the hotel.  The easy walk was not that easy.  To set the stage, we have two 77 year olds, each with a 50 # bag plus a back pack and a carry on.  We had to pull the bags over 2 bridges that had multiple steps and not a smooth runway.  We made the smart move by hiring a porter to get us over the bridges.

A nice lunch and an even nicer dinner with Barb and Brad, on the Grand Canal, made the day special.

Tomorrow is all sightseeing and learning how to navigate the water bus schedule.  There are no cars in Venice but there are 117 islands, 150 odd canals and 400 bridges. I have the feeling that it is a place where it will be easy to get lost.  I'll let you know.

Opening Blog

Ann and Mike Hall are off on a new adventure.  On September 21, 2015 we leave for Venice, Italy.  We will spend three days in Venice and then board Holland America's "Nieuw Amsterdam" for a 12 day cruise which includes several Greek islands, plus Athens, Istanbul, Ephesus and Santorini.  We return to Venice on October 7th to fly home to Cincinnati.  The special thing about this trip is that our daughter Barb and son-in-law Brad are joining us from Australia to share this adventure.  The plan is to submit a blog each day for fifteen days.  It will be a whirlwind fifteen days but there will be tons of things to see in these Old World empires that previously we have only read about.