Turkey and Greece Observations

DA, SA, DB, THB at Bodrum cooking Class

 Observations of Turkey and Greece

THB has decided that listing a lot of categories and make deeply insightful comments about the two major parts of the trip would not be all that beneficial to you faithful followers, so here is a quick summary:

Corinth Canal 

Dinner in front of Ephesus library 

Taking a land trip of Turkey is the way to go and a small group (2-8) is far better than a larger group in terms of access to the history and highlights of so large a country. Staying in the heart of the old part of Istanbul is a tradeoff of ease of access to the big historical highlights and the crowds and lack of really decent hotels. Local guides are essential and two of our three were very good. Don't miss Cappadocia, spend 5-7 days in Istanbul, and at least 1 full day touring Ephesus and 1 or 2 other historical sites. Exceeded expectations. If you are serious about going, have THB and DB over for a quiet and extensive discussion (we will provide our own transportation no matter how far from E-ville you live)

The cruise of Greece was a nice way to get over jet lag. Athens was nothing special, being upgraded to the Owner's Cabin was very nice, and most of the stops were basically  shopping excursions. The Corinth Canal was worth a detour as were Delos and Delphi tours. Because we were doing Ephesus and Bodrum on the land tour, we did not  take the excursions offered by the cruise line; you would benefit from doing those, though they won't be on offer as a small group. 

Book Review: The Dutch House, Anne Patchett (novel, read by Tom Hanks, pub'd 2019): THB made it about halfway and gave up due to lack of interest in the story and (surprisingly) Hanks poor performance. Only one character, Maeve, the older sister of the protagonist, was more than one dimensional, and she barely. Maybe there were too many characters?  Not recommended

Bibliography: all reco'd (except Museum of Innocence). THB's trip was greatly enhanced by reading up ahead of time (or on the trip). 

• Birds Without Wings, Louis de Bermiees (novel, read by John Lee, pub'd 2004,): The story of a small village in Anatolia (southwest Turkey) and in parallel the life of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the rise of the nation of Turkey. Much of the historical part is compressed and quite good, the fictional part needed editing and yet gave the rendering of the tearing of  Muslim and Christian communities apart is very insightful (and repeated many times for m any religions throughout history). 
• Gates of Athens, Conn Iggulden (novel, read by George Blagden, pub'd 2005) 
• Istanbul, a Tale of Three Cities, Bethany Hughes (read by the author, pub'd 2017)
• Istanbul, Memories and the City, Orhan Panuk (read by John Lee, pub'd 2005)
• The Museum of Innocence, Orhan Panuk (read by John Lee, pub'd 2008): only worthwhile if you want to visit the Museum, and at that it is had to take
• Book Review: A Time Of Gifts, On Foot to Constantinople, from the Hook of Holland to the Middle Danube,  Patrick Leigh Fermor (read by Crispin Redman, pub'd 1977): Book 1
• Between The Woods And The Water, On Foot from the Hook of Holland: The Middle Danube  to the Iron Gates, Patrick Leigh Fermor (read by Crispin Redman, pub'd 1986): Book 2 

Mocha with and odd spoon. Istanbul 

Chiharu Shiota show

art work left in Cisterns after Istanbul Biennale 

trendy couple at Topkapi 

the story of Turkey: fake, genuine fake, genuine? 

Everything can be fixed, and a good portion of the infrastructure is undergoing repetitive maintenance

we saw this guide aboard ship on the way from Athens to Istanbul, and now we catch her guiding a tour on the return from Istanbul to Athens....is this a small world or what?

our group of 6 - MM, SA, DA, DB, LS and THB - in the best preserved and most under-visited ruins site on the entire trip and probably of any archeology site around the world

THB broke many a rule  on this trip (most inadvertently) in taking this pic

why is the co-pilot signaling a left turn when we are still on the ground?

our group of 6 performing a balancing act

one of several excellent courses at Yemi, DB and THB's best meal on the trip on our last night before flying out of Istanbul just after the earthquakes 

THB took this pic before the earthquakes....now he understands why these braces are used