May 26, 2013 Patriachate and St. George Church, Chora Monastery and Pammakaristos Church and fly to Kaysar in eve.

Today we all went to attend liturgy at the St. George Church at the Patriarchate in the Phanar neighborhood. Not only were there local Orthodox faithful attending but lots of Orthodox from other countries. The service and sermon were very moving. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St._George,_Istanbul

After Church we took a few photos and then got on a bus to go to the Chora Monastery which is now a museum.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chora_Church

We were told by many that have visited this church/museum of its beauty and history and were really anticipating our visit this afternoon.
We arrived at the Monastery and stopped for lunch before our visit. We ate at a local cafe next to the monastery and the food and atmosphere was good.

We then paid our entrance fees and entered the Monastery and were overwhelmed by the beautiful icons - both mosaic and painted.

We were told that all the icons in the Church showed the the story of Christ and the Virgin  Mary.
We could follow the history by looking at each side of the inner and outer narthex and the center of the Church. We spent about 1 1/2 hours here and fortunately it was not too crowded so we can hear the guide's explanations, see the icons and take photos.

We had a few minutes to buy books and cards before we had to get on the bus for our next stop at Pammakaristos.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pammakaristos_Church

The church had been converted to a mosque before it became a museum.  The icons were made of mosaic and very beautiful. Our group was the only visitors so it was not crowded or noisy. We heard our guide's explanations and took photos of the icons.

After our visit we got on the bus to go back to the hotel. Tonight  we fly to Cappadocia .

We arrived in Kaysar and took the bus to our hotel the Peri Tower http://peritower.com/en/home/. It is a very nice property and wonderful rooms and the food was great. However it is far from everything- not even a little store to buy water or snacks or essential items. 
Had a buffet dinner and then retired to our room.

2015 Greek Celebration Cruise on the Celebrity Equinox

I am excited to be able to offer another fun filled Greek Celebration Cruise on the Celebrity Equinox in Jan 2015.

May 25, 2013 Istanbul/Constantinople and Halki Island

Today we headed to the old City to visit  a Church and a Monastery. Our first stop was at the Church of St. Mary Blachernae - http://www.triposo.com/poi/Church_of_St2e_Mary_of_Blachernae_28Istanbul29.

We went in to view the church and pray and light candles. During our visit a school group from Greece entered the church. Our two Priests let us in singing the hymn Christ Has Risen! since we were there after Easter.
We then went to the area with the faucets for Holy Water and had a sip and the church assistant provided us with bottles to fill with the Holy Water so we can take it home.

We then took a short visit to the gift shop and then to the bus to go to the next stop, the Church of the Life Giving Spring in the Balouki Monastery.

http://www.triposo.com/section/Life-giving_Spring

The spring is located under the Church.  In the courtyard are the tombs of Patriarchs.

After lighting candles and praying we got back  to the bus for a ride to the Ferry terminal where we were going to one of the Princess Islands, Halli to visit the Church and Theological School.
After a pleasant 45 min ferry ride we got off at Halki to get a ride to the Church.
Cars are not allowed on the island so we took horse drawn buggy to the top of the hill to the Church.

The Church and School and other buildings as well as the grounds were in very good condition. the classrooms are all set up and waiting for students.
In the Church we viewed a rare two sided wooden Icon.
Our group then headed to a view area where we could see Istanbul in the distance as well as some of the other islands.
After taking photos we went back to the road to get into our buggies for a ride to the port. We had about 30 mins before the ferry arrived and this was our chance to get lunch or  a snack. We found a donner stand and had a beef/lamb donner and soda.

Boarding the Ferry we headed back to Istanbul and the bus. Our last stop of the day was to attend Vesper Services at the Patriarch- the Church of St. George.

After the Vespers our guide had arranged for us to visit the Vicar since the Patriarch was travelling. The Bishop welcomed us, treated us to coffee and a chocolate and a small cross as a gift.
We then went to the smallest gift shop I ever saw- it was the size of a closet and only two people at a time could enter and buy gifts.
We had group photos taken and then back to the bus to go to the hotel and dinner.

This was a busy day but we did a lot and really enjoyed it. I have always dreamt of going to Halki island and to St. George.

NOTES-  I found out from watching a Greek TV series on the Mega channel that there are a lot of  active Greek Orthodox Churches in Istanbul.
In front of the two Churches we visited today Turkish vendors set up street stalls selling postcards and other items that were related to the Church we were visiting. None of us purchased anything from these vendors.

May 24, 2013 Istanbul - St. Sophia, Tokapi Palace, Hippodrome and underground cistern

Today is going to be a busy day touring the Old City sights. Since our hotel is in Taksim Sq. we must take our bus to the Old City- a trip of about 45 mins. due to traffic.

If one is planning to stay a few days in Istanbul, I recommend staying in a hotel in the Old City where everything is in walking distance. Chora is a distance away and is best reached by taking a taxi- takes too long to take public transportation and risking getting lost.

We arrived at the bus drop by the Topkapi Palace around 9am and walked to St. Sophia (Agia Sophia) Museum/Church/Mosque.
We were able to get in when the museum opened and it was not too crowded.  This time like last time we were here there were several tour groups of Greek visitors.

Our guide took us up to the gallery to see the mosaics and then to the main level where we could see some mosaics but mostly the designs where the mosaics were covered when St. Sophia was converted to a Mosque.

When we visited St. Sophia a few years ago there was some restoration work going on but not to the extent at this time. Although there is a lot of scaffolding there is no work going on.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagia_Sophia




We then went to the underground cistern to see this amazing underground reservoir- one of many in the city.
There were a lot of tours and the passageways narrow it  took a long time to traverse the reservoir and to see all the columns.

http://www.istanbultrails.com/2008/06/the-basilica-cistern-the-coolest-spot-in-town/

Our next stop was a walk to the Hippodrome- now just a large plaza to see two obelisks and to see the Blue Mosque from a distance.

We then walked to the Topkapi Palace and due to time restraints saw the four ? courtyards, the treasury and the religious exhibit.

To really see the Palace and enjoy the grounds and views one must spend at least 4 hrs. If one has seen the first part of the tour one can pay extra and tour the Harem.

http://topkapisarayi.gov.tr/en

Per this web site the St. Irene museum is now open to individual visitors. If you have a chance go see is as it has been closed off for tours except for concerts.

After visiting the Palace we headed for our last stop, the Archeological Museum which is next to the Palace. Warning- no elevator so if  one has knee or leg problems one either takes the stairs or just sees the exhibits on the first floor.
http://www.istanbularkeoloji.gov.tr/main_page

Near the museum was a nice snack bar/cafeteria where we stopped and enjoyed refreshments before boarding our bus back to the hotel.

May 23 2013 Pilgrimage to Constantinople/Istanbul Turkey

We wanted to take a trip to Cappadocia and other parts of Turkey that had an Orthodox history. We were lucky to find room in a group that was leaving on May 23, 2013.
We will be travelling by bus and by air and a private ferry on this tour.

Since we had been to Constantinople before and saw all the tourist sights we would now able to visit the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate as well as some local churches and monasteries as well as two  that have been converted into museums. One was both a museum and a mosque!

Our itinerary will be:
Constantinople, Cappadocia, Pamukkale, Kusadasi, Patmos (Greece) and back to Constantinople.

We arrived in Constantinople on KLM late afternoon. This was the only flight that arrived in the afternoon-British and other airlines had late arrivals- after 11pm! This arrival time was the only reason we selected KLM to fly to the Poli.
Service on the airline was so so even in premium business class but the worst thing was that KLM lost my suitcase!!
I filed a lost bag  claim with the airline and also with Travel Guard and was told to wait until the next few air france and klm flights arrived; that my bag might be on board one of those flights.

The hotel and my guide both checked with the airline and airport the next day and no luck. The Travel Guard rep said to buy some replacement clothes up to $500. The airline rep said I could just turn in my clothes to the hotel laundry daily in order to get by until my bag was located.

The only fortunate thing is that it had mostly my clothes in it- had it been my wifes we would be in bad shape.  After this we will now pack two bags and ea. will have 1/2 mine and 1/2 hers so if we lose one bag we will have some clothing to wear.

The next day after our tour was over we went up and down Istiklal St. (Taksim Sq.) looking for some shirts and shorts and pants for me to get me by while we were on our land tour. Only two stores- Gap and Columbia- had t shirts and sox and a shirt that fit me. No large sizes ie XL or size 42 pants/shorts were to be found.

So I had three more t shirts, sox and a short sleeve shirt to add to my limited wardrobe.

While shopping we noticed a large police presence in the side streets of Istiklal St. and wondered why. Well the next day we found out. The local people had a peaceful demonstration against the govt. plan to redevelop the Square & the police tried to break it up.  The demonstrations were ongoing while we were in Turkey.

After the shopping we had time to go down to the Galata Tower and ride the elevator to the top to get views of the City.  It is a relatively easy walk from the Tower back to Istiklal St.  and Taksim  Sq. where our hotel was located.

The group we were to join arrived later that us and we just hung out waiting for them as we could not get our rooms until the whole group was there.

Eventually they arrived, we checked in and went into our room.

Dinner was in a private dining room every night we were at the hotel and breakfast in the Mezzanine.

OCT 7 DEPARTURE FROM ISTANBUL

It was nice to spend the night on the ship in Istanbul- guests went ashore for sightseeing and dinner.
Due to the limited flights from Istanbul to San Francisco on British Air, our flight left at 8 am and in order to make the flight we had to disembark at 6am to get our transfer from the ship to the airport.

When I was in the ships computer room printing out our boarding passes I overheard other guests mentioning early flights ie 2am!

Tour books warn that the taxis outside the departure gate do not go by meter but negotiated price and may not be available for such early departures.
We made arrangements for a private transfer which worked out great.

I suggested that the cruise line offer a shuttle service for their guests in order for them to have a safe reasonably priced trip to the airport keeping in mind most cruisers were over 60 and in good to fair health.

Istanbul is a city I would visit again.

My only comment is that not many Turkish people involved with tourists speak English ie taxi drivers, hotel staff, etc. We found more English speaking Turks in central Turkey who worked in the hotels, bus drivers etc.

OCT. 6, 2014 ISTANBUL END OF THE CRUISE

Today we arrived in Istanbul. We were able to see the ship cruise through the Bosphorus to Istanbul.
The weather is warm and mild-what a treat after so many days of cold and rain in the Crimea.

Since we arrive so late- 2pm- we plan to go to the Dolmabahce Palace which is a 15 minute walk from the pier.

We were allowed to leave the ship at 3 since it took a while to clear Turkish customs and headed for the Palace.

What the tour books don't tell visitors is that they must go through security-slow process- and then line up at the front entrance of the palace. It seems groups get preference over independent travellers. If we paid the inflated price from the ship excursion desk we might have gotten in earlier but the length of the tour is the same.

Museum guides give the 45 min tour and all visitors must  wear booties that are provided in order to not dirty the carpets.

Our guide was very good but the group had some people who talked during the presentations making it hard to hear her.

The furnishings and rooms were fantastic!! But thinking how the Sultans got the money to build such a palace was thought provoking as the money came from taxes from the occupied territories of the Ottoman Empire and possibly the work done by slaves.

We were only permitted to see one small part of the Palace. I suspect that the balance is in disrepair and therefore not able to be seen.


There was a strict no photo inside policy so we did not take any photos but bought some postcards at the gift shop.

This Palace warrants one visit whereas I can go back again and see Agia Sophia and Chora again and again.

If one has seen all the sights in the old city and been to Taksim Sq. and the Galatia Tower and Chora then visit the Palace.  It is just out of the way from the other sites and the old city so I would allow half a day to travel to and from the Palace plus the time to wait to get in and then see the grounds.