Cesme, Turkey

 September 27, 2022 – Cesme, Turkey

 

This morning we actually docked in the city of Cesme rather than anchoring and tendering in.  In ancient time Cesme was called Cyssus and had many springs and mud baths, surrounded by the waters of the Aegean Sea.  Today the harbor is dominated by a large upscale marina with space for vessels up to 60 meter megayachts, and a castle built in 1508.  The castle was built to defend the coast from attack by pirates and later used by the Rhodes based Knights of Jerusalem.  Today the castle is a museum and a venue for the international Cesme Music Festival in July.  The head of the marina has been developed with high end shops and waterfront restaurants.  The center of town has a bazaar with low end tourist goods.

Many of the recently embarked passengers used this stop to visit Ephesus.  Today was windy and overcast, but warm enough with a high of 75 degrees.

Gazi Hasan Pasha with pet lion guarding the castle, 

he was the naval commander at the battle of Cesme

The upscale marina dominating the waterfront

Cesme Castle

The bazaar area before it really opened up

Upscale shops at the marina

Ancient cannons at the castle entrance

Ancient moat around the castle

The castle from our ship

Limnos

 September 26, 2022 – Limnos

 

Limnos is a very arid volcanic island near the entrance to the Dardenelles.  Limnos is the mythological home of Hephaistos or Vulcan, who was cast off Olympus by his father Zeus and landed on Limnos, breaking his leg.  Lame forever, the god of fire toiled at his forge (the volcanoes of the island) and taught the people of the island metalworking.

 

Myrina is the capital city of Limnos and we anchored just off the harbor with the ruins of a spectacular fortress dating to the 1200’s standing high on the hill above the town.

 

Going ashore Patrick and Cathy went up the steep path to the fortress and met the rest of the group for lunch at a little restaurant near the harbor.  The shopping area stretched for blocks though the center of town, covered by arbors and greenery.  There were swimming beaches on both sides of town, and scores of boutique hotels.

Mykonos, Skiathos, Troy and Istanbul

 September 22, 2022 – Mykonos

 

Seabourn Encore approached the anchorage outside Mykonos Town under clear, but windy skies.  There were already two ships docked at the port about 1 KM from the old town.  By the time our anchor was well set, two more larger cruise ships had anchored behind us, for a total of 5 ships.

 

Tenders from town shuttled passengers from the anchored ships to the center of the town where we encountered substantial crowds.  We had booked a walking tour through the maze of streets in the old town.  The maze was easy to get lost in, which was by design.  The islands had a problem with Saracen pirates in the past and the narrow twisting streets and houses all the same color were to make it hard for pirates to know where to go and to keep oriented.  Without a guide getting lost would have been easy.  The town was full of shops, restaurants and tavernas and apparently is really hopping after 1900, when the cruise ships have left.

 

The tour wended though these streets, exploring museums, churches and the famous Mykonos windmills before stopping at a taverna for meze’s and ouzeau.  We then found a waterfront restaurant and enjoyed calamari, grilled octopus and spankopita while we watched the crowds walk by.

 

After a wind, choppy trip back to the ship we enjoyed a pool deck sail-away celebration with caviar and champagne as Seabourn Encore raised the anchor and headed for Skiathos.

 

September 23, 2022 – Skiathos

 

We were in Skiathos in 1999, while Patrick was on assignment in the UK.  This morning we arrived and Seabourn Encore anchored off the old town.  We had arranged a private sailing day in Skiathos and after we landed right in front of the taverna we frequented on our first trip we walked around a newer promenade to the sailboat we had booked.  We had to wait for thunderstorms and lightning to pass by for about 30 minutes before we could depart.  Just time for a quick cup of coffee.

 

Heading out of the harbor under power we stopped and anchored in a quiet cove out of the brisk wind and had snacks and a brief swim before heading back to Skiathos Island to another beach where again anchored and went swimming in 72-74 degree water while the skipper prepared a past lunch.  After lunch we powered back to Skiathos harbor, arriving in plenty of time to walk back along the promenade, investigate a few shops and return to the ship.  It was a relaxing, low-key day.

 

Our anchorage for lunch in Skiathos

New harbor promenade in Skiathos

September 24, 2022 – Tenedos Island and Troy

 

Once again Seabourn Encore approached our next destination just as the sun was rising.  The ship anchored off of the town of Bozcaada on Tenedos Island and we tendered into shore and boarded a ferry to the Turkish mainland for a 45 minute bus ride to the excavations at Troy.  

Turkish Fortress at Bozcaada Harbor

The tour at Troy showed us the various levels of the city, starting 3000 years ago and culminating in the 1500’s.  Unlike Ephesus, this was never a large city, but the different cities built on the ruins of previous cities seems to substantiate Homer’s Iliad and the conquest of Troy, including the burning of the city.  The Trojan Horse statue is, of course, just the imagination of the builder, since no one knows what it really looked like.

 

Mud Bricks from Trojan War Era, the red bricks have been hardens by a fire

We arrived back at the ferry and the weekend crowds and traffic jams forced us to get off the bus and walk to  jump the queue just to get on the ferry back to where the ship’s tenders were located.  It was close, but all the passengers got back on crowded the ferry before it left for the 30 minute trip back to Bozcaada.

 

As we headed up the Dardenelles we gathered for and Indian dinner on the aft deck.  The sun was warm and even after sunset the deck was pleasant.  Later in the evening we gathered in the Observation Bar as the ship sailed past Gallipoli and under the longest suspension bridge in the world, spanning the narrow passage.  The bridge is lit up with a light show that was spectacular.

Bridge over the Dardenelles at night

 

September 25, 2022 – Istanbul

 

Seabourn Encore docked on the corner of The Golden Horn just below Topkapi Palace.  We had arranged a private minibus and guide for the day, along with the other three couples.  We were fortunate in arriving at Topkapi Palace just as it opened and before the crowds arrived.  After 2 hours touring the various courtyards and displays, including religious artifacts such as remnants of John the Baptist and the staff of Moses and items of Mohammed, we stopped for coffee just inside the first courtyard.

 

Moving to Hagia Sophia we waited about 30 minutes in line to enter since there is a limit of about 2000 visitors at a time in the mosque.  The current building dates back to 527 AD, originally a Christian church, built on top of even earlier remains.  With the rise of the Ottoman Empire the church became a mosque and then a museum.  In 2020 it was changed back into a mosque.  Christian symbols with faces are covered, but symbols common to Judaism, Christianity and Islam are present everywhere.

 

Interior of Hagia Sophia Dome

Hagia Sophia mosque

Crowds inside Hagia Sophia

The Blue Mosque is closed for renovation, so we then went into the cisterns built by the Romans.  Much of the construction reused items from other cities, so there a real mix of column styles.  They have a light show in the cisterns and when it got dark it was hard to walk and maintain balance with the crowds.

 

550 ton Obelisk from Karnak, Egypt

Inside the cistern

Reused marble Medusa Head in Cistern

After the cistern experience we stopped for lunch at “The Pudding Palace” which consisted of traditional Turkish food, simple but good.  By the time lunch was over we were getting tired, but walked though the area where the hippodrome was and viewed the obelisks the Romans brought from Egypt 1500 years ago.  By this time traffic was heavy, so we headed back to the ship to make sure we arrived before last call.

 

 

Kusadasi and Ephesus

 Wednesday, September 21, 2022 - Kusadasi and Ephesus

 

Seabourn Encore approached the dock in pre-dawn darkness, without even a sunrise due to clouds on the horizon.  Our tours today included the Virgin Mary’s House, the ruins of Ephesus, rug weaving demonstrations and a private classical concert for Seabourn on Harbor Road in front of the Great Theater at Ephesus.

 

Approaching Kusadasi at Dawn with the Turkish Fortress lit up

Miriam and I were last here in 2008 as part of our Holland America transatlantic cruise.  Since that time the Virgin Mary’s house has been declared a Unesco “World Heritage” site and much development has taken place around the actual house.  The original ruins only went up a few feet above ground and the building that is now there is only 25% original and 75% reconstructed.  The line is clearly visible.  Like many of the sites, no photography is allowed inside the shrine.

 

Entrance to St. Mary’s House

After a short visit before most of the hoards of visitors arrived, we headed to the ruins at Ephesus.  Not much has changed except the crowds were even larger.  We walked down through the ruins to the Great Theater and Harbor Road, past the Celcus Library façade.  We were able to discern carvings of the goddess’s  Nike, Medusa and Artemis.  The guide talked about how St Paul did not actually talk in the great Theater but rather in the Jewish Synagogue next to the library.  In ancient times, Ephesus was a large and important seaport with as many as 250,000 residents, but earthquakes and filling of marshlands to combat malaria which covered the city under many feet of debris means the Harbor Road is now miles from the sea.  The site is still only 10 percent excavated, but radar and lidar surveys show extensive ruins buried under the hillsides on both sides of the city.

 

Celcuk Library

Celcuk Library

Harbor Road in Daytime

Starbucks Anyone?

The goddess Nike, can you see the swoosh?

Finishing our tour, we headed for a hand knotted silk rug weaving demonstration and sales pitch to buy rugs before we returned by foot through the Grand Bazaar to the ship.

 

After an early dinner, most of the passengers, including us, boarded buses starting at 6:40 to return to Ephesus and a private classical music concert in front of the Great Theater.  Harbor Road has been walked by St. Paul, Mark Antony and Cleopatra and many other famous historical figures.  Tonight it was lit up with candles and set with tables for us listen to the chamber orchestra as we sipped wine.  To be in that setting walking that same road knowing the amount of history that preceded us was somewhat sobering and exciting at the same time.  The distance into the concert setting was too far for Miriam to walk unaided, so the ship arranged a wheelchair transfer from the gangway to the concert and return.

Harbor Road at night

Our concert setting in front of the Great Theater

The night lighting was spectacular

The concert venue on Harbor Road

 

Miriam and Patrick at the evening concert at Ephesus

The evening was stunning with the setting and the lights, something not to be missed.  Returning to the ship, the ship’s wheelchair was delivered to the wrong port entrance so Miriam walked all the way from the port entrance to the ship, where much of the crew were on hand dockside, singing and dancing to welcome the passengers back from the concert and to join the dance in progress on the pool deck.

Patmos and Crete

 Monday, September 19, 2022 – Patmos

 

This morning we approached the island of Patmos just as the sun was rising.  Seabourn Encore anchored off the harbor below the Monastery of St. John, perched high above the small town.

 

Boarding our tour bus we headed first to the “Cave of the Apocalypse” where the Apostle John received his revelation, which was transcribed by his assistant and which became the final book of the New Testament.  The grotto has had a church built around it over the centuries and there is a chapel incorporated around the actual grotto.  Our guide did a creditable job of explaining much of the symbology and metaphors in the Book of Revelation.  We were not told ahead of time about the restrictions on photography at the religious shrines and museums in Greece, so outside pictures were allowed, but no pictures were allowed inside.

 

After the grotto of the apocalypse we went further up the hill to the Monastery of St. John which was built in the 1100’s.  The monastery is now surrounded by the town of Hora, which has grown over the centuries.  The original papal bull giving ownership of Patmos was on display, with many other artifacts and even the preserved skulls of the founders of the monastery.

Inside the courtyard of the Monastery fo St. John

Entrance to Grotto of the Apocalypse

The monastery is also a fortress

Sunrise as we approachedPatmos

 

Walking back down through the town of Hora we visited a traditional Greek house dating from the 1500’s and occupied up until the 1960’s.  Pretty primitive compared to our american standards.

 

Returning to the port area we found a taverna and relaxed with tzatziki and calamari washed down with local greek white wine and beer before returning to the ship via local tenders.

 

Tuesday, September 20, 2022 – Crete

 

As dawn approached, our ship approached Agios Nikolaos in Crete.  We had a long tour for this day and several of the group decided to opt out, including Miriam.

 

Going ashore at 0730, we boarded buses for the one hour trip to Iraklion, the site of the Minoan Palace of Knossos.  The ruins were partially excavated in the 1930’s, but most of the site is still underground.  The palace is huge, more than 40,000 square meters and up to 5 stories high.  The throne room has been partially restored.  The palace dates to 2600 BC, but was mostly destroyed in about 1450 BC, with the eruption of the volcano on Santorini, 80 miles away.  The palace was rebuilt, but not occupied after 1100 BC.

The throne room was interesting because the king sat below his subjects and on a stone throne, with a ritual washing basin in front of the throne.

 

Typical Street in Arilithos

Throne Room of the Palace of Knossos

Arilithos

Arilithos Blacksmith shop

Following the tour of Knossos we headed to Arilithos, a recreation of a typical Greek village of 100 years ago.  Here we toured the various houses and enjoyed a Cretan style lunch while we watched traditional Cretan dancing.

 

Finally we headed back to the ship after a tour lasting 8 hours and prepared for our next destination, Kusadasi, Turkey and the ruins of Ephesus.  The weather was stormy overnight, but Seabourn Encore was very stable and we did not even notice the wind and waves.