2015 Turkey

Kusadasi Evening

Istanbul


Our first and last homes away from home for this Cosmos tour of Turkey would be the big, busy, burgeoning, boisterous city of Istanbul. The Grand Halic Hotel is part of the Halic Hotels chain, and like so many other places we've stayed during Cosmos tours, it seems clean, but old and dated and definitely short of what we're 

Istanbul!

used to otherwise. One wonders how much less grand the other Halic hotels are.

No Longer in Kansas

We're staying on the European side. Istanbul actually spans two continents, and many of the historical sites, such as Topkapi Palace, the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, are far away, but also on the European side. But for this time through, we would only have time to take a long walk here from the hotel. We'll see 
those other sites later on.

Istiklal Avenue

The very busy pedestrian shopping street of Istiklal Caddesi was not too hard to find, although Lady Adventurer was in a near panic of becoming lost or not making it back in time for the meet and greet cocktail party back at the hotel. Great for people watching, this long shopping street ended at the historical Taksim Square. Becoming more adventurous in our old age, we actually sampled some street food. It was not bad.

Istiklal Avenue

Taksim Square

We are the only North Americans at the meet and greet. But not everyone was present. Will this trend continue?


Gallipoli

In 1915, exactly 100 years ago, one of the largest campaigns of World War I, and one of the most momentous in human history, took place in the Gallipoli peninsula of Turkey. British, French, Indian, Australian and New Zealand troops landed to try to obtain control of Istanbul and the area waterways, but they were met by Turkish forces led by Mustafa Kemal, afterwards known as Ataturk. The Turks unexpectedly won the 9-month battle, repelling the Allies, but over 500,000 men on both sides lost their lives in the bloody fighting. After the Great War, Ataturk led the war to win independence from Greece, He later became president and introduced major reforms to remove the last of the Ottomans, introduce a secular democracy, and form modern Turkey.

On the beach at Gallipoli

It gives me goosebumps to experience, almost relive a place where great historical events have transpired. Izzet, our guide placed Gallipoli in the context of the more extended history in the region, linking it to other battles from the Peloponnesian War, conquests of Alexander the Great, and of course the Trojan War. This, of course, adds to the goosebumps. The Australians who were with us were clearly moved by the experience. So many of their countrymen are buried here that Gallipoli is a kind of pilgrimage for them.

From Istanbul, we traveled along the Sea of Marmara on the European side, to get to Gallipoli. After stopping at several points - the scale of the battle was huge - we cross the Dardenelles (straits) by ferry and arrive at Cannakale.

In the hills above the Gallipoli Peninsula

The entire area has great scenic serene beauty, and would be worth the trip even without the history.

Crossing the Dardenelles

It turns out that we're not the only Americans; there are two from Denver as well as a couple of Canadians. Overall, it's a great mix of people: there are the usual fun-loving Aussies, some Malaysians, Filipinos, Brits, one Irishwoman and one Kiwi (New Zealander). We're getting to know, and like, most everyone. It's a great thing to be get to know fellow travelers. We all recognize that we're in this adventure, this learning, together, and we all make sure to accommodate one another.

Sunset at Cannakale

Troy

The Horse and us

3,300 years ago, a prince brought a woman from modern day Greece to modern day Turkey. She happened to be married to someone else, and she also happened to be the most beautiful woman in the world (until now that we have the Lady Adventurer around), so a thousand ships were launched to attack the city of Troy and begin a war that lasted ten years. The greatest warrior of all time wasn't able to conquer the city (he wound up with an arrow in the heel), but the wiliest one...

The war only ended when the Greeks pulled the old Trojan Horse trick to prove forever that one should never trust Greeks bearing gifts. It was a war that was committed to writing five-hundred years later by Homer, and it became one of mankind's earliest and most epic stories of any kind.

Beware of Ohioans bearing gifts

Today, Troy is a very confusing archaeological site. The confusion is due to the fact that there were actually nine cities of Troy, each built upon and around the others. The Troy of Iliad fame was number seven; the previous six were all much older. The later ones saw the conquest of Alexander the Great and lasted until Roman times. Lady Adventurer and I had no idea how one can determine one stack of rocks from another, so it's good that some people have. Some walls still stand, and there is one road leading through a gate that was once thought to be the path of the Trojan Horse, until it was later determined that that road is from Troy VI and not Troy VII.

Walking between Troy VI and Troy VIII

Road that once led through the Gate of Troy. Legend (but not reality)
has it that the Horse was pulled through said Gate

Nice vistas from the ruins of Troy

It's all pretty amazing and overwhelming. More so because the area is still undergoing further excavation. Who knows where it will all end?

On top of Troy IX, looking down at the others

Along the way after Troy, we make a brief stop in the city of Izmur, formerly Smyrna, birthplace of Homer and a now a large, modern city. Then we head over to nearby Kusadasi for a two-night stay.

Izmur

Our tour guide, Izzet Conk, is also acting as the local expert at all of our sightseeing stops. He's soft spoken, but very interesting and knowledgeable. 

Sunset from our hotel in Kusadasi, near Ephesus

Ephesus

The largest and best preserved Roman city isn't in Rome, or even Italy; it's in Turkey, and it's called Ephesus. The size and scale of this once 500,000 resident city is fascinating. Not yet fully excavated, what is there makes up a complete city. There are excellent roads, public toilets, a brothel, an odeon (indoor theater), a large outdoor theater, a huge agora (shopping area) and of course the famous library.

Ephesus, with the Library in the background

After our tour of this great city that lasted 1,000 years, we go to the chapel that was believed to be the place the Virgin Mary spent her last years, and then visit ruins of the Temple of Artemis. This is one of the wonders of the ancient world, and although there isn't a whole lot left standing, it was once pretty awesome. But so is everything else, even now.

Whilst staying in nearby Kusadasi, I go for a couple easy seaside runs. One of them is with Ian, a Kiwi who runs races all around the world.


Aphrodisias

Dedicated to the god, Aphrodite (and not necessarily aphrodisiacs), this archaeological site actually rivals Ephasus in size, scope, historical importance and level of preservation. It's just far enough away from the beaten path to keep most tourists clear of it. We are able to observe many of the same kinds of antiquity that we did in Ephasus. That is, more piles of rocks. Not that I'm complaining. I love this stuff. There's a museum here with gobs of statues and friezes that's really neat as well. The only thing is that I'm a bit disappointed in the statue of Aphrodite herself. It's not quite like the famous Venus one; here, she's got clothes on.

Temple of Aphrodite

Aphrodite with Clothes

Hieropolis

More rocks, but this time with a twist: besides the important archaeological site (yes, another one), this one is also an interesting geological location as well. There are hot springs in the area, forming calcified layers and even cliffs that are pure white. It looks like snow. 

Babushkas soaking their feet in the water at Hieropolis

It seems the Romans came here for the same reason people do today: for the hot mineral spring water.And now the Roman baths have become Turkish baths. 

Lady Adventurer and I make the long walk along the top of the calcified cliff to the opposite end of the site, which is the location of the necropolis. Along the way we see the hot springs on one side, and the Roman ruins on the other. We have to hurry to get back to the bus on time.

The views from the top of these calcified limestone cliffs are outstanding, in spite of the air pollution. There's a fairly thick haze just about everywhere, and the air smells of smoke, especially coal smoke. It's all unfortunate, especially since there does seem to be an effort to use renewable fuel: there are wind turbines everywhere, and nearly every home has a solar hot water apparatus on the roof.

Later on, I am able to swim in a thermal swimming pool located in the basement of our Thermal Center Spa hotel. It's as big as any indoor pool, but the spring is fed into it from one end (the very hot side), and the water is a dark reddish brown.

Hieropolis the following morning

We're seeing more uniformity amongst the hotels than we're used to from Cosmos trips. All the plumbing seems about the same (barely adequate), the rooms are clean but small, and the food is basic (and not as good as one would hope, especially the lack of fresh fruit in the morning). Moreover, they all have wifi that just barely works, and the beds are hard, but okay. To sum up: we're doing okay, but things could also be a little more luxurious. And although we can get coffee with breakfast, would it kill them to allow us to have it in our rooms or earlier in some way?


Konya

No, it's not Konya West; we traveled east to get here. Konya is a religious city, and it's home to the Whirling Dervishes. And to put a point on that, we visit the Whirling Dervish Museum. During the early evening walk home, and even back inside the hotel, the air pollution becomes unbearable. It's as if we're right next to a smoker, or else a coal-burning power plant.

We are getting to know some of our traveling companions even better. Some Aussies wound up with a honeymoon suite here, and invited us to have drinks with them as well as to see the round bed, jaccuzzi, etc... We have a bunch of laughs.



Cappadocia

Cappadicia

Now this place is truly different. Fairy chimneys, mushroom caps, phallic rocks, alien landscapes, and that's just for starters. All in all, 'otherworldly' is the best way to describe this large area in central Turkey. We spend two days here, and need at least that much time to see a decent amount of it. We experience the various different geographical parts of this strange place, and see early Christian villages and churches, some of them entirely inside the man made caves built into the rock cliffs. We also get to see some Turkish folklore dancing, including a voluptuous (aren't they all?) belly dancer.

Fairy Chimneys

Incidentally, some of the cave villages involve tight squeezes through the passageways. Lady Adventurer, a little apprehensive going in, does just fine. She says that she is surprising herself.

Cave Dweller

And then there is the balloon ride. This is an experience to remember! Twenty of us (now all close friends) squeezed into the small basket, as the operator/pilot asks if it is our first balloon trip. As most of us say 'yes', he says, 'me too'. It is serene, quiet (when the flame wasn't blowing), scary (but only when the balloon is up between 500 and 1,000 meters), but mostly it is unbelievably and indescribably beautiful. The sunrise is beautiful, as are the dozens of other balloons in the air. The scenery is actually much more spectacular when we're lower, and it's good that we spend most of the time well under 500m. When we come down directly into the trailer, we're all disappointed that the hour went by so quickly.

Balloon Ride at Sunrise

Just after sunrise we could really enjoy the balloon colors as well as the landscape

Ankara

This is Turkey's busy capital of about 4.5 million people, all of whom seem to be driving in the couple blocks surrounding our (quite nice) Radisson Hotel. We visit the Museum of Anatolian Civilization. It has won some awards for its great displays of Turkey's antiquities. Lady Adventurer and I are extremely impressed. Also impressive is Antikabar (Ataturk Mausoleum), but in a totally different way. It's big and in your face. But good ole' atta-boy Turk is worth celebrating - he's the George Washington (and also Jefferson and Lincoln) of this country.


Bursa

En route from Ankara to Bursa, we stop at King Midas' tomb in Gorion. King Midas was a historical figure who ruled here around 800 BC. Whether he was truly successful in turning everything he touched to gold isn't quite so well established.

Bursa was a capital of Turkey during the Ottoman Empire. We stop by the green mosque, the covered bazaar and the silk market.

Istanbul

We're back, but the tour is not over... 

Istanbul is wildly exotic and frantically alive. It's 15 million people, crowded as they are, make the place buzz with activity; there's always something going on. And I'm loving every minute of it.

Blue Mosque

We tour the Blue Mosque and the Basilica Cistern - a huge body of water supported by pillars and a ceiling underneath the city. Medusa heads hold up a couple of the pillars. We then walk around the Hippodrome, used by Romans for their chariot races, now right in the middle of everything.

Cruising the Bosphorus

And we take in a cruise of the Bosphorus. This body of water connects the Sea of Marmara to the Black Sea, and it passes through the thick of Istanbul. Boats of all shapes and sizes go any which way, and palaces new and ancient line the shores. It's as stunning as it gets, and this proves to be another major highlight of the trip.

The east meets west aspects of Istanbul come alive at our folklore sing and belly dancing dinner and entertainment show. Besides the countries represented by our small group (U.K, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, Canada and the U.S.), there were folks from Argentina, Japan, Azerbaijan and Iran in the small nightclub. The entertainer tried to sing a song for each country! And of course Debbie and I are on stage at different times, singing along as well.

We see the famous Hagia Sophia, the ancient and huge Christian Church, turned Mosque, turned museum. And we see the more famous Topkapi Palace where, with the Harem and the lavish palace, it's good to be the Sultan.

Tile in Topkapi Palace

Hagia Sophia

Lady Adventurer and I venture to the top of Galata tower to see the sunset, and then have some fun with the rest of the gang, saying goodbye to all our new friends.

Sunset over Istanbul from Galata Tower

Galata tower at night

There is certainly much more to Turkey than we ever could have expected, even after reading tour books, doing web searches and reviewing the Cosmos tour information. Our trip to Greece has always been the standard by which we measure all of our coach tours, and this Turkey tour stacks up quite well indeed.






For our entire trip, the weather was wonderful. The food, not quite so much. I completely cracked Lady Adventurer up one night as we were heading to the typical buffet dinner and I asked, 'I wonder what type of slop it will be this time?' Nothing was all that awful, but also not always outstanding,

Turkey held their national election the day we arrived, and the results were not encouraging for those who want to keep the country secular and to maintain the separation of mosque and state. In fact, it's possible that this may be one of the final Cosmos tours, at least for a while. We're all concerned, although we had no inkling of any unrest or any personal threats for our entire trip. We can only hope for the best for this great country.

As always with these types of trips, the true highlights are meeting and interacting with the local people and especially moving through time and space with a great bunch of fellow travelers of varied backgrounds.

The Turkish people could be frustratingly inefficient at times. Traffic laws, especially right-of-way ones, are a mere suggestion. And Debbie and I were extremely frustrated when our return flights were delayed, causing a missed connection - almost no one at the airport was able to help, or even comprehend the problem. In spite of all this I must say that everyone we met was outgoing and friendly, helpful and gracious. We never felt threatened in any way. Izzet was the best of the best. What a great tour director he was.

I've already noted how our travelling companions were from all over the world; about as diverse as a group can get. And we all got along swimmingly well. I think that to a person, we all thoroughly enjoyed one another's company, and will now consider ourselves all lifelong friends.

Our Gang

On the whole, this trip is better than we imagined, maybe better than we could have imagined.

Here's a link to my running blog post about my running in Turkey.

2015 French Polynesia

We are celebrating our fortieth anniversary this year, and the Lady Adventurer asked, 'What are we saving our money for?' I tried to answer, 'to not be destitute during our retirement,' I was pretty well ignored. We were going, and that was that.

What we were going on was a cruise aboard the Oceania Marina from and to Tahiti, and by far our most expensive and extravagant trip ever.

It wasn't at all easy to get there. A snowstorm, a mechanical problem, and generally uncomfortable hours and hours of flying got in our way. We were too shot to do anything more than just walk around the market and town of Papeete as we waited to board our ship. Papeete is the capital of the country of French Polynesia, and is located on the main island of Tahiti. French Polynesia consists of about 117 other islands in five island chains, and we would be visiting a few during this ten day trip.

Three Coconuts Hike on Moorea

'How hard could it be?' I asked rhetorically, 'there will be mostly old people on the ship.' This was my response to all the warnings. About how strenuous this hike was supposed to be. It only had three little walking men in the brochure, and although this indicates a highly strenuous tour, several other ones also had three little men. They couldn't all be that tough.

It was that tough. We joked that it should have had five little men. There were about ten of us with a guide on this Three Coconuts Trail Hike on the Island of Moorea. The rough trail took us up to a mountain pass, between two high, jagged peaks and spectacular views. It was well worth the four hours of hiking through rocks, mud, roots, stream crossings, switchbacks, etc. The guide had helped build the trail. I was impressed. With about a half hour to go on the way back, the sky opened up with a soaking rainstorm. We didn't mind too much; it helped wash off the mud, sweat and blood.

Moorea

Raiatea appeared to be a little more serene. The tour on le truck was certainly easier going. But it was so low key that it was fairly worthless. We stopped at a Marae, an archeological religious site consisting of a lot of rocks. We also toured a vanilla farm before this rainstorm hit, but the highlight of the day was one of our tour guides, who resembled South Pacific's Bloody Mary in every way possible.

This was it: Bora Bora, the most beautiful island in the world… according to James Michener and others. I believe I agree, and the Lady Adventurer probably would as well.

Speaking of Lady A., I should point out that she picked out most of these excursions. But other than a couple minor modifications, I did go along for the most part. Today it would be an 'off-road adventure'. Once again, I thought, how rough could it be? The answer was the same: pretty rough.

Bora Bora

Our yahoo driver took us all the way around the island, and also up and down (and in and out of) some ludicrously bad roads. But it was fun, even when he got out of the vehicle whilst it was moving - allowing it to go driverless on the muddy, rutted two-track trail.

And we got to see a whole lot of Bora Bora. It lived up to its name and reputation. There are colors here in the lagoon that they probably don't even have names for. We saw cannons (from WWII), a pearl farm, an artist at work, and many, many motus (the small islets surrounding the lagoon). It was another memorable day.

Bora Bora Sunrise

Our second day at Bora Bora was nearly as much fun. We took a lagoon cruise that stopped at a beach as well as another spot in the lagoon for snorkeling. This involved getting off our boat and getting onto a tender boat over to shore, where we boarded another boat to get us around the lagoon.

The Lady Adventurer Herself

The lagoon is made up of a reef that surrounds the island, and several motus, or smaller islands near, or part of, the reef. Some motus are long and skinny and flat, but there are other shapes and sizes. Some of Bora Bora's motus are populated, and some have hotels. The island's airport is on a motu.

Our own go-to motu was... I forgot the name. But it was pretty cool for the two dozen or so of us to have our own deserted island to explore. After some fruit and a demonstration of how to crack open a coconut, and after a snorkel stop, where we petted stingrays and sharks, it was back to reality. If you can call a cruise ship reality.

It took us nearly two full days to sail the 900 miles from Bora Bora to Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas Islands. It's pretty remote. And it's spectacular beautiful. We will most likely not return to French Polynesia in what's left of our lifetimes, but if we did come back to one of the islands we've visited it would be to Nuku Hiva.

The remoteness of the place is both a curse and a blessing. There is a definite lack of infrastructure, although there is a small airport, a few paved roads through the mountainous terrain, and a small harbor that we tendered to. But this all means that the place is completely unspoilt by tourism, and even by people (there seems to be very few of them here, even though there hasn't been any cannibalism for a while) in general.

During our first day we hooked up with Lakota (I don’t know his last name), and hiked a bit away from town, before walking in town, all the way to the opposite end of the bay. There we visited a small archeological museum run by a very nice lady named Rose, and then had a beer at a hotel overlooking the bay.

'I will wait down here - you go on.' The Lady Adventurer had had enough. I did go on, but was back down in fifteen minutes. 'We are only 5~10 minutes from the top,' I said, 'You definitely want to come back up with me.'

It had been a long, hot second day on Nuku Hiva, and although we'd already done a lot, we were even more impressed with the incredible beauty of the place. The tour took us up into the mountains, and back down into another valley with a settlement town called Taipivai. It was remote, and gorgeous. We also stopped at a cathedral and an archaeological site.

Tehaatiki hike on Nuku Hiva

The real fun began as we made our second attempt at a Tehaatiki hike just after returning to the dock in the main town of Taiohae. Once again it was hot, with relentless sun for the first mile. Then the trail started in earnest, and we had snippets of shade. Although the trail was well maintained, it was still a tough climb.

But when we finally did make it to the summit, it was most definitely worth it. The 360 degree view was outstanding. 'Haepo'o aku Nuku Hiva, O,opaepa.' I just made that up, but in my mind it means, 'You can't do better than Nuku Hiva.'

Our final stop was at Rangiroa in the Tuamotus island chain. The island is one huge atoll - the largest in the world. The land part, sitting on the coral reef, is narrow and completely flat. The color of the entire reef area is beautiful turquoise, and we were able to experience if by glass-bottom boat (Debbie), and snorkeling (me).

We wound up in the same area - the aquarium garden. I surprised Debbie, and everyone else with her by swimming underneath their boat. 'Big white fish,' said her guide.

And that was about it. Except I didn’t mention much about our ship, the Oceania Marina. There was wonderful food to be had, and a lot of it. So much, in fact, that I don’t think I appreciated the quality as much as I would have otherwise. Our cabin was relatively spacious, and Lady A. absolutely loved the veranda.

There was a problem with a plumbing leak that caused our carpeted floor to get wet, and then odorous. But we survived.

What we almost didn’t survive was the trip home: 35 hours from the time we were kicked out of our cabin until we arrived in Cleveland. The first fifteen were in Papeete. I was determined to see at least some of the island of Tahiti, so we booked an off road tour of the interior.

Tahiti!

And we were thrilled that we did so. We saw beautiful valleys and thousands (well, several, anyway) of waterfalls, as well as beaches and coastline scenery.

After the tour and some sitting around the Town Hall, we walked to the famous Papeete food trucks for a fine outdoor dinner.

And that was really about it. All in all, it was a fine journey, but I’m beginning to think that these really long trips are a bit much. But then, maybe we’ll come back again for our eightieth.

 Click here to see my running blog post (it's no big deal though).