Istanbul

I truly don't know where to start….Turkey was somewhat as I had expected because I had read other tourists cruise journals about their visit but it was like nothing I had ever experienced before! The people were genuine and friendly. They were happy that we were there and they wanted to share their lives and religion with us.

Our guide was named Hale and she was married with 2 children. She took us to the Blue Mosque first and we sat for a long time discussing her religion and how it is practiced in most of Turkey. While she is Muslim, she dressed, acted and looked like any average American. She explained to us the roots of her religion and that basic Muslimism did not include any unusual or radical practices. While we did see women in head scarves and burkas (sp?), she explained that no one in Istanbul wore these until an influx of Muslims during the Gulf War. There were quite a few with their heads covered and a very few with full burkas. They are called to prayer 5 times a day but I think you would find that most only go as they wish. The call to prayer can be heard throughout the city and it is very melodic. They do not have ministers or church leaders and worship is between you and god. Very interesting religion!!

We also went to the Palace and a rug shop. The rugs are truly beautiful!

The food was interesting and mostly based on lamb….yucky for me!

I would visit here again!

Mykonos....

Homes in the village of Mykonos....



Little Venice on the Mykonos coast.....

Mykonos

Mykonos was surely created in a storybook! It may be the most picturesque place I have visited in my life. The all white buildings against the Mediterranean Sea with their bright colored trims create a scene that is unforgettable. The people are friendly and a breeze always blows.

We walked into the heart of the town on our own. A few other passengers did the same but it was a little treacherous so we chose to take the public bus when we returned to the port. The ship charged $7.00 round trip but the public bus was only 1.80 euro as the cruise assistant told us when we inquired about transportation back. He winked and smiled when he told us….caught! We had an Gyro which was the best I have ever tasted. The tatziki (cucumber) sauce over here is much better than ours. John had Ouzo and I had Mythos beer. I don't like the Ouzo because it is black licorice flavored but John seemed to love it!

We did a little shopping and walked around the island….it was beautiful and we could have spent several days there!

Naples - Pompeii and Sorento

Sorento coast going out onto the peninsula of Sorento.....



The ancient city of Pompeii....

Naples and Pompeii

Well the ports just keep coming and so far I would not want to miss one of them!

My first impression of Naples was that the city is very poor and dirty and while both are true, the people are friendly and accommodating. It is a very different culture from Florence and Rome. The difference that was the most prominent for me was that every home, whether in the city or country, was landscaped with vegetables. These people LOVE their vegetables and so, of course, they hold a place in my heart!! Every yard had squash vines growing over arbors with other vegetables growing underneath, bordered by citrus and olive trees. There where tomato plants everywhere and they were loaded with ripe tomatoes!

Pompeii was not what I expected from the pictures I have seen…..there are a lot of buildings with a lot of related art work and a very sophisticated and intact city structure. It is large and we got to see very little of what has been uncovered. Most impressive AND it still sits under an active volcano that is expected to erupt again inside of the next twenty years. When Pompeii was destroyed 6,000 feet of mountain and ash blew into the sky. The mountain is now only about 3,500 feet tall, but for me that still leaves a lot of mountain to land on Naples.

The drive to Sorrento was beautiful and I could definitely spend some time there. It is located on the end of a peninsula with stunning cliffs leading down the Mediterranean Sea. Beaches are very expensive so most of the citizens cannot afford to go to the beach. We had pizza that was very different from our pizza but was wonderful. The mozzarella is the best I have ever tasted! On the way back we visited a "farm" where we watched them make and braid the mozzarella cheese and walked through their gardens. Olives here are soooooo good!

Hope you enjoyed this and missing you all!!

 

Toni

Pictures of Rome!

Having trouble loading pictures but here are a couple of Rome.....the Coliseum and the another Michelangelo of the Virgin Mary and Jesus that is in the Basilica.

Rome

"Allaro, allaro, andiamo!" (loosely translated "and so on, let's go!") Our guide kept us going with her colorful literary on the sites of Rome, or should I say the very little we were able to see in one day.

She also made it very clear that the Bacilica IS THE GRANDEST CHURCH EVER BUILT, parts of the Forum are 2,800 years old, Michelangelo is almost a deity and Rome is Capita Mundi (the capitol of the world)! While I don't agree with her on all points, Rome is an amazing city!!

The Forum is very impressive and HUGE! It is hard to piece it all together as a lot of it has been pillaged over the years and reused throughout the city. Parts of the Vatican were made from the marble taken from the forum. The Basilica does take your breath away when you walk in and it is very decadent! The statues are beautiful and the mosaics are almost unbelievable. How you can accomplish the richness of color and precision with tile is beyond me!

The coliseum was most impressive! It is a little sobering to think of all of the slaves who gave their lives building it and all of those who were killed in the arena in the name of entertainment but the structure is amazing…..they could empty the entire coliseum inside of 6 minutes, safely. We could take a lesson from that.

Rome was hot but worth every minute! Bellisimo!

Ciao!

Toni