July 25, 2015 Kusadasi, Turkey- a private tour and a private night concert in the Odeum in Ephasus

Today our ship docked in the port of Kusadasi.

Since we have been here many times we had booked a private tour to visit the Yuksel Carpet factory in Selcuk, lunch in Selcuk
 and then a visit to the old Greek village of Sirince.

Our guide had mentioned a tour of a carpet weaving co operative where there was a demonstration of how the silk was harvested from the silkworms, spun and dyed for carpet making. There were several women weaving wool and silk carpets. Afterwards we were escorted into a large room where the salesman and his aides displayed a series of wool and silk  carpets. All were beautiful.

After our visit here it was time for lunch. We had arranged with our guide to go back to the restaurant where he took us in 2013. We had a great meal then and looked forward to another one.
The restaurant, Bizim Ev - https://www.tripadvisor.co.za/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g293976-d3397485-i115069098-Bizim_Ev_Hanimeli_Restaurant-Selcuk_Izmir_Province_Turkish_Aegean_Coast.html - was a short drive from the carpet factory.

The owner's wife was there to greet us and seat us in the outdoor patio. As we passed through the kitchen we saw pans and dishes of food waiting for us to help ourselves- buffet style.
At the table we got our dishes and went around the counter getting samples of meat and vegetable dishes.
The food was so good we went back for seconds.

There were four of us-guide, driver, my wife and I - and the bill was 48TL (including drinks) or $24 US. A super bargain and excellent food.
The owner has written a cookbook with her daughter and we bought a copy which she autographed.
http://www.bizimevhanimeli.com/


We then got in our van for the drive to Sirince which was 5 mins. away up the mountain.
Sirince was originally a Greek town but vacated by Greeks during Ataturk's population exchange in the 20's. A very good novel about this event was written by Didi Sotiriou titled Farewell Anatolia- a very rare book and expensive to buy if one finds a copy. It is very good  and set in the area of Sirince and Selcuk.

Our driver left us off in the center of the village so we could walk around and sight see. We then stopped for refreshments and to enjoy the view.

Once done we got back into the van to be driven back to Kusadasi. Since our ship was going to be in port until 10:30 pm we had time to stroll through the center of town and window shop. Afterwards we boarded our ship.

The highlight of this cruise was a private evening concert at the Odeum in Ephesus. At 7PM we boarded buses which took us to the back entrance of the archeological site where we walked to the Odeum. At the entrance near the Odeum the captain and cruise director (in costume) greeted us and the photographer took our photo.

There were tables with refreshments for the guests. Once we were seated we enjoyed a wonderful concert by musicians from Izmir under a clear starlit sky.

After a delightful concert we got on our bus and were driven to the ship. The captain had arranged a special evening buffet for all of the passengers.

July 24, 2015 Skiathos Island. Home of part of the Mamma Mia movie and neighbor of Skopelos another Mamma Mia Island

Today we visit the island of Skiathos which is approx. a 2-2 1/2 hr. cruise from Volos.
We left Volos at 9 pm last night and arrived in Skiathos at 8am. The captain must have taken a very slow speed to make the trip to Skiathos.

We had to take a tender from the ship to the port- a ten minute ride. The port was very scenic and beautiful.
Lots of yachts docked in the new port. The island ferries docked at the old port.
We walked along the promenade from the pier towards the old port where there were cafes, restaurants, shops and markets.  Above the old port was a  Church that was in Mamma Mia. We took the stairs for the hike up to the Church.
The view from the Church plaza was breathtaking- we saw the city below as well as the sea where our ship was  moored.

We took another way down that let to the main pedestrian street that goes from the Post Office to the docks of the old port. Lots of people about- tourists arriving, tourists departing, cruise ship visitors and locals.

This island is my idea of a place to restful place to stay compared to the hustle and bustle of Mykonos and Santorini. It is green and the weather more mild than the Cycladic Islands. Not so many high end shops nor jewelry shops every 10 feet.

 view of old port from tender

 new port

 views from Church plaza

 pedestrian area

 promenade

 ferry to Skopelos

 new port promenade

 Normally we try and have lunch in every port we visit and today was no exception.

 We stopped at Nikos Taverna Restaurant for a gyro and fries. The usual Greek food was also available but we wanted something simple.

After lunch we walked up towards the Post Office and then slowly headed back to the old port to take the tender back to the ship.

If I could on a future trip I would like to come back to Skiathos and also visit Skopelos.

July 23, 2015 Our visit to Volos gate way to the monasteries at Meteora

Today we will visit the port city of Volos. The main reason cruise ships stop here is that visitors can take an excursion to the Monasteries at Meteora.
Since we had seen them on a previous visit to Greece we did not sign up to go. Another factor why we did not go was that it was an 8 hr trip- 2hrs there and 2 to return.

Instead we took the shuttle bus to town to do some sightseeing, shopping and have lunch.

Downtown has a good selection of stores and shops as well as the ubiquitous number of coffee shops.

After a stint of sightseeing we stopped at a cafe for refreshments and a break.

To our surprise the server brought us complimentary donuts- what a treat.

After a break we continued walking downtown and found the Church in the center plaza. We went in and lit candles and then continued our stroll.

We then started walking back to the bus stop along the promenade looking for a restaurant to have lunch before returning to the ship. We stopped at the tourist information office and got some literature about Volos and asked the two men working there for a restaurant recommendation. The directed us to continue walking towards the bus stop and to look for Dionysus seafood. It was one block away and when we stopped we looked at all the tables and diners and saw appetizing seafood and Greek salads.
We sat down and ordered a Greek salad, fries, appetizer and two entrees. The portions were Huge.
Food very fresh and delicious. Had we know the size of the entrees we would not have ordered the appetizers.

After enjoying our repast we continued on to the bus stop to get the shuttle back to the ship.
Since it was so hot and humid we headed to the cafeteria to get a scoop of ice cream to cool off.

Volos is very close to Skopelos-Mamma Mia Island- and Skiathos - our next stop and where some of Mamma Mia was filmed.  One could have taken the local ferry for a day trip to Skopelos to see the actual places where Mamma Mia was filmed.

July 22, 2015 Canakkale (Kepez) Turkey - tour to Troy

Today we are going to dock in Canakkale- near the ancient site of Troy.
Canakkale is about 200 miles from Istanbul by ship.
This is one port visit that played a factor in taking this cruise. We will be able to take an excursion to the ancient site of Troy and then into the city of Canakkale to visit the museum.

Sailing into the port we were able to see the two monuments dedicated to the Turkish and ANZAC soldiers that died at Gallipoli.

 British

Turkish

Our ship was able to dock which made it easy to get off the ship and find our tour bus. The port is unimpressive- see photos. It did have a small gift shop which we visited when we returned from our tour.

 City views

Weather was sunny but very windy at the port.

Our bus ride to Troy was about 20 minutes. There is nothing but land/fields surrounding the site of the ruins.

The biggest surprise when we arrived at the museum was the giant Trojan horse. It was open to climb up and stick your head out the window for photos.

Our guide took us around the excavations explaining how the site was discovered and scientists are still digging.  The ruins are on a hill or bluff and have a view of the lower land towards the Dardanelles.
The tour of the site is via a path and wooden bridges over the excavated parts of the ruins. Fortunately there are handrails and benches along the path.

Visiting Troy was one of the items on my bucket list. It was an incredible place- per the guide the walled portion was not very big.  On the way out we saw a chariot and had to have a photo.

If you have a chance to visit Troy do it.!

Our next stop was the museum in Canakkale. It was not very big but had some nice artifacts.
The only drawback was all the descriptions were in Turkish! How can one read about what is on display if one does not read Turkish. I mentioned this to our guide who was an expert on Troy and he said the museum will be relocated to a location near Troy.
Hopefully the curators will update the descriptions by adding English.

Our ship was scheduled  to leave at 3pm so we did not have any time to go into the city and sightsee.

I really enjoyed this visit.