Almost there!

Well here we are with one more sleep to go!  There is much excitement in 3 different homes; my two sisters and their husbands, Lesley & Dave and Barbara & Russell and ourselves are embarking on a cruise of the Greek Islands aboard the Queen Elizabeth.   Our plans have been in the pipeline now for about 3 months and finally the day has arrived, well almost.  I've taken time out from the frantic packing to start this blog as there really will not be time later or tomorrow as we must be gone by 9 o'clock.  Isn't it amazing how everything can run quite smoothly until the last minute.  The sweet girlie at the bank was to order our euros yesterday (Monday) for Dave to collect this morning.  Yes you guessed it - she .... just..... forgot to put the order in!!!  So, they are ordered today for collection tomorrow when we would have liked to leave home by 8.30am.  Oh well, what can do!!

Anyway, here is a map our cruise will take.  We will fly aboard an Emirates flight to Dubai where we will spend about 4 hours waiting for our flight to Athens where we will spend the rest of Thursday and Thursday night, embarking the ship on Friday at 14.30.  I will try to write a brief account daily and post photos and  when we are back home, will put more detail.  You are welcome to visit anytime to see what we have been up to and where we are doing it!

We're Off - Athens

We arrived in Dubai at 3am on Thursday having not slept a wink except one or two of us who found 3 spare seats, lifted the arms of the seats and had a few hours kip!!!  Five hours later after having spent time in the Diners Club lounge we set off for Athens - a five hour flight.  We were most impressed with Emirates - the meals were superb and the cabin staff most courteous at all times and needless to say they looked beautiful in their uniforms even after an 8 hour flight!

One of the lovely air hostesses.  By the way it was with her permission that I took her photo!

                                                                                                                                                                        

At this point, let me introduce you to my two sisters. 

From left to right - Barbara, Moi, Lesley

And here they are with their hubbies Russell (behind) and Dave, of course disregarding the guy on the left who was one of our tour guides.

This is what happens when you've been all night without sleep!

ATHENS

We arrived in Athens at about 2.15 and were met by George from Manos Tours who were recommended by friends of Les and Dave last year when they did a similar cruise.  We were taken straight to the Plaka Hotel which we had booked from SA.  Undaunted by our lack of sleep, we dumped our bags and set off for the Acropolis.

The sacred rock of the Acropolis was for many centuries the most important religious centre of the city of Athens.  In the middle of the 5th century BC when Athens was at the height of its power, the Parthenon, the Propylaea and a little later, the temple of Athena were all erected between 447 and 406 BC.  The various temples built on the site must have been beautiful, lavishly decorated with marble and bronze statues dedicated to the gods.   The Parthenon survived the ravages of time pretty well, serving as a church and then a mosque, until finally it was used as a munitions depot during the Turkish Occupation of Greece. In 1687, during a battle with the Venetians, an explosion tore through the building and caused much of the damage seen today. There was also a damaging fire in ancient times.

Many of the columns have been repaired and there is on-going discussion as to whether they should continue restoration or just let it be!

The Amphitheatre

Here we watched preparations for a music concert to take place in the evening.

A view from the Acropolis over the city of Athens

As far as the eye can see, in all directions, stretches the city of Athens; one of the most inhabited cities in the world!

A quick change into warmer clothes (it was really cold with a chilly breeze) and we headed off into the Plaka (the old town) looking for a little restaurant suggested to us by the hotel where we were staying.

Thnasis restaurant

Here we all are looking a little jaded but not wanting to miss out on anything in our short time in this fascinating city.  Here they are well known for their kebabs and of course their delicious Tzatziki (ooh my mouth waters when I think of this Greek Yogurt sauce)!!

(Thnasis) Where we had our kebabs and Tzatziki

After a lovely evening we sleepwalked I mean set off to explore the "old city"  before a good night's sleep, or what was left of the night by the time we stumbled in to our hotel.  We were now looking for Baklava and didn't have to look far - almost every bakery, of which there were many on every street corner, had it in different shapes and sizes.  Mmm was it good!!!  Now for some typical Greek coffee.

Meliaztos Cafe

We came across this cafe, still in the Plaka, where we were greeted by a very friendly young lady and the cafe owner/manager who made us feel so welcome (of course)!  She explained how typical Greek coffee is made:
  
"The old traditional way of making a good Greek coffee was using a brass or copper briki, which is a long-handled coffee pot and then it was boiled on low heat to allow the flavoursome compounds to
dissolve.  Old traditional heating sources included a tray, about 10 cm (4 in) deep, filled with sand. The tray was placed on the burner to heat and when the sand was hot, the briki was placed in the hot sand. This allowed a more even and gentle than direct heat." (This is taken from Kopiaste….To Greek Hospitality)

Heating the brikis in the tray of sand

Pouring into cups

She explained the process to us as she was making it.  Sorry about the blurry photo!  Oh what delicious coffee this was.....

Russ and Les enjoying their cup of coffee

Dave and Barb enjoying theirs

The owner/manager then brought us each a little square of cake, no charge, which he called "Milk Cakes" very similar to our milk tart (melk tert) in SA but tasted completely different but delicious!

Milk Cakes

Bidding us farewell as we left!

Well, if we thought that we were going to sleep after this strong coffee, think again!  Absolutely nothing was going to keep me from falling asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Plaka Hotel, Athens

We managed to find our way back to the hotel and up to the roof garden we went to take this photo of the Acropolis lit up at night.  As usual, a photo does not do justice to the absolutely stunning sight.  We were fortunate to have a room that looked onto the Acropolis.

The Acropolis lit up at  night

THE NEXT DAY IN ATHENS

We had arranged to meet George outside our hotel at 10am so after a wonderful breakfast with delicious thick Greek yogurt and honey and a full English breakfast, we had a quick trot around town once again as Les and Dave wanted to show us the different market stalls selling an unbelievable selection of fruit and vegetables, nuts and olives and of course olive oil.  How I wish I could have bought!

Don't we look a happy bunch?

Fruit and Veges

Dried fruit and nuts

Just a quick note on George.  I have mentioned before that Dave and Les had done a tour with him on their last trip.  They found that he had grown up in Nelspruit, Mphumalanga and had gone to school in Pretoria so his English was perfect and he knew exactly where we all live in SA.  What a find for us!!  He was born in Crete and has lived in Athens for many years and was genuinely pleased to be showing us a small part of his country.  Little did we know what he had in store for us!!!

George collected us in front of our hotel to take us on a drive along the scenic coastline of Athens, passing through beautiful seaside suburbs with their marinas and beaches.  Many call it the Riviera of Athens.  On a clear day you can see at least 7 rocky islands out in the Aegean Sea.

Our first stop was Cape Sounion, the southernmost tip of the Attica peninsula in Greece.  This is the site of the ruins of the ancient Greek temple of Poseidon, the god of the sea in classical mythology.  One can read about the legend and history here about how Aegeus had leapt to his death off the cliff, thus giving his name to the Aegean Sea, an interesting story.  The temple whose columns still stand today, was probably built around 440 BC on a 200 foot hill.  The wind was howling and it was freezing cold so we did not walk up to the site but I photographed it from lower down.

The Temple of Poseidon

The two Daves and Barb braving the cold wind!

On the way here George let slip that he had a surprise for us if there was enough time!  So making sure that we did not spend too much time here, we were anxious to find out about our next stop. 

Oh wow, he treated us to lunch at Akroyial, (which means next to the sea) {thank you Maria} a restaurant where we had a typical Greek meal of seafood (prawns), shrimps, tiny little fried fish (can't remember what they were), many different breads and Tzatziki, not forgetting the Ouzo which he showed us how to drink!!!  Oh my word, this was probably the best meal I had on the whole trip. 
                            

George showing us how it's done!

The Greeks also speak with their hands!

Thank you again George, it was unforgettable.......

George then wrenched us away from this beautiful little seaside restaurant, packed us into his e-class Mercedes Benz Sprinter mini bus and delivered us to the port of Piraeus where we were to find our ship!

Hey, so I'm just a quilter trying to write a travel blog!  If you've enjoyed reading the beginning of our fabulous trip, please read my next post.  We will be embarking the Queen Elizabeth and our first port of call will be the Greek Island of Mykonos.

Queen Elizabeth Ship - Mykonos

George has brought us to the port of Pireaus where we will embark our beautiful ship, the majestic Queen Elizabeth to begin our long awaited cruise of the Greek Islands.  Check the size of the gangway in relation to the ship!

Queen Elizabeth Cruise Ship - Mid ships

She is so huge that I had to take 3 photos to get her all in!

Fore

Aft

Have to use the correct terminology see!  What a beauty she is.  Our cabin stateroom with a balcony was 3rd from the front port side on deck 4.  Les and Dave and Barb and Russ were 3rd and 4th from the front, also deck 4, starboard side.  Here is a pic of our stateroom looking from the door towards the balcony.  Very comfortable king size bed with plenty of room on each side. 

Our Stateroom

A glass of complimentary champagne on the balcony

The lifts to the left and right

Staircase

I will randomly post pics taken on the ship but I would like to take you to our first port of call - Mykonos.

MYKONOS

We docked at about 8am as we did on most days, usually still having breakfast at this time, definitely as with all meals, not to be rushed!

Mykonos lies at the heart of the Cyclades Islands and has been described as "the jewel" of the Aegean Sea.  With its maze of narrow alleyways, well preserved traditional windmills and tiny red-roofed churches, the town offers a delightful mix of culture and custom.

Typical whitewashed buildings

Windmills in the background

This island is spotlessly clean and we were advised to wear sunglasses because of the glare off all the white buildings.  The whitewash reflects the sun and helps to keep the houses cool, as did the small shuttered windows and graceful arcades.  There were lots of golden beaches with crystal clear water.  We walked from the docks along the busy road till we came to the red boat landmark and then along the harbour into town.  We wandered through the quaint town with its narrow little streets with tiny houses whose front doors opened directly off the street.  Oh my, compared to our homes with huge gardens!  The narrow winding streets break the force of the wind and they also foxed pirates (in the 16th century) who might have got lost in the maze!!!  Not difficult to imagine as many a moment was spent trying to figure out which way to get out.

Narrow streets

I managed to get this pic without any tourists!!  Note how clean the streets are.

Neatly painted blue doors to this home.

A shop with beautiful ceramics - so tempting!

Walking up one of the narrow streets between the homes

Perhaps the most enjoyable occupation in the town is strolling aimlessly, appreciating the architecture of the houses with their arched ground floors, outside staircases, trailing creepers and colourful potplants.  

While walking through this quaint town, we came upon Petros the Pelican.  The story goes that in 1958 a wounded pelican was found off the coast of Mykonos shore by a local fisherman.  The pelican was nursed to health and remained on the island supported by locals.  It soon adopted the name "Petros", as a joke between the locals, as "petro" in Greek means rock, stone but metaphorically Old and Grumpy.  To great disappointment by locals and tourists alike, Petros was hit by a car on 2 December 1985 and failed to recover.  Subsequently, three new pelicans reside around the main town of Mykonos.  One, honorifically, was given the name Petros.  I must say that I was a bit dubious about that beak bearing in mind the Grumpy part of his predecessor!

Petros the Pelican

I do believe that we were very lucky to come across him as others have visited the island a number of times and have failed to see him!

After lunch Dave and I took a taxi to Aghios Ioannis, 2½ miles south of the town, the beach where the film "Shirley Valentine" was filmed in 1989.  This was the highlight of our day as we have watched this film a number of times and always said how exciting it would be to actually go there.  Well, 24 years later we were really there, and we were not disappointed.  Bearing in mind that obviously the place has changed and is more built up and the restaurant where a lot of the filming took place has been added on to, but one can still clearly see where it all happened.  

This sign has quite probably drawn many tourists!

The beach as it is today with many tourists soaking up the sun.  How I just love this photo....

Recognize this road?

Yours truly taking it all in!

Thus ended our first day on a Greek Island.  All had to be back on board by 5.30pm to leave port by 6pm; our next port of call being Kusadasi, Turkey.

Kusadasi, Turkey.

We arrived in Kusadasi, our stopover port in Turkey, while we were having breakfast, as is always the case, and hurried off the ship to find a taxi to take us to Ephesus which is about half an hours drive north of the port.  We found Levo next in the taxi line and settled our price with him before setting off.

Levo with Barb and myself

Les and Dave had been to Ephesus on their trip last year so decided to rather relax on the ship and take an amble into town a bit later on.

Entry into Ephesus was 25 Turkish Lira each which caused a bit of a hassle to change Euros.  We entered through the Magnesia Gate and walked down the Marble Road absolutely in awe seeing all the ruins of a once beautiful city.   A bit of history -

"Over the centuries, a succession of empires - Greek, Persian, Roman, Byzantine and finally Ottoman - ruled over the city of Ephesus.  Yet no matter how many times it changedd hands, the city remained one of the most vibrant metropolises of the ancient world.  Located on Turkey's western coast, nearly 300,000 people lived there at its height in the second century A.D.  Its busy seaport ferried goods from Asia to Greece, Italy and beyond.

Ephesus' greatest claim to fame was its temple to the goddess Artemis.  One of the "seven wonders" of the ancient world, it was almost four times larger than the Parthenon in Athens.  According to the New Testament, the Apostle Paul preached in Ephesus, prompting a riot led by silversmiths who crafted shrines to the goddess and feared for both their livelihoods and the future of the temple".  Today, a few columns are all that remain of the temple and we unfortunately did not get to see it.

Facade of the Library

The most impressive structure in the restored city is the facade of the Library of Celsus. Built long after Paul was there (between 115-125 CE) by a son to honor his father who was the governor of the province of Asia, it is thought to represent the standard monumental form of the Roman library. It faced the East, probably for better lighting, and contained a collection of less than 15,000 rolls.  Between the library and the theater, carved in one of the paving stones of the street is an advertisement for the brothel . The Goths destroyed the library when they invaded in 265 CE.

The road the Apostle Paul walked from the harbour to the theater.

Paul began his first visit to Ephesus where we ended ours - at the theater. He would have landed at the ancient port of Ephesus and walked the mile or so east toward the city along Arcadian Street facing the theater. We began our visit at the eastern end of this ancient city ruin, walked west down Curetes Street, also called the Marble Road, and ended our tour at the theater. The harbor is no more and the coast line is about 5km away due to silt deposits from the Cayster River over the centuries.

The last attempts to stop the filling up of the port by the river were made during the 2nd century A.D. They were all unsuccessful. This caused the city to loose its trade links to the other cities by the sea. And it was the beginning of the end for the city of Ephesus.

The Great Theatre which has in parts been reconstructed

Part of the arch is the original construction

   

Public latrines

                     I still can't get my head around this!  Note the provision for water-borne sewerage on the left!  Boy that trough was deep!

A milestone

These milestones were used on the old Roman Roads.

One of the many stalls on the way out of Ephesus

Levo's family business

On our way back to the ship Levo asked if we would like to visit his family business selling Turkish carpets.  I'm sure he does this with all of his clients and of course we said that we would love to see but we probably were not going to buy!!  Unfortunately there had been a power cut in the town so it was difficult to see very well in the dark but the handmade carpets and rugs were really beautiful.  Alas, no sales for the family!

We then made another stop at a wholesale leather outlet (also owned by a friend of Levo) and oh my word what beautiful garments.  The owner gave us a bit of a sales talk which was actually quite interesting and told us that this leather is known as "silk" leather and yes it really was very soft.  Dave tried on a beautiful off-white jacket and very confidently said that he had no intention of ever taking it off - until he worked out the price at over R5000!!  He took it off quite smartly!!  Unfortunately none of us took any photos.  The smell of leather in that place was oh so delicious!

After lunch Dave and I left the ship to explore the fascinating Turkish markets outside the port gate - the Grand Bazaar and Orient Bazaar.  They were obviously very touristy but nevertheless quite quaint; very small shop spaces but boy how they could cram them full to overflowing!  We bought some beautiful silk/cotton scarves for our four girls.  Hope they will like them!

Silk/Cotton Scarves

 
And our favourite - Turkish Delight made in Turkey!!!

Turkish delight

Today was a full, busy day so off back to the ship we went to dress for dinner; informal tonight but it still means jackets for the men and smart/casual for ladies.

We left the shores of Turkey at about 5.45pm for our next port of call, Rhodes.  Please join me on our next excursion to what has been one of our favourite islands on this trip.

The 4 of us returning to the ship at lunchtime.