The Zuiderdam was docked in Kusadasi, Turkey by 7am this morning with a wonderful view of the city directly across from our veranda. There was one ship already docked. It was the Viking Saturn, which did block some of the view of the mountainside. This sleek-looking ship was launched in 2023 and holds up to 930 passengers and a crew of 465. 100% of their staterooms have balconies.
Then during our breakfast, we watched as another bigger cruise ship arrived and docked directly across from us. This was the Tui Marella Discovery 2 that holds from 1836 to 2074 guests with a crew of 771. Now there was no view, except the ship's verandas that were within a stone's throw away from us.
Then on the outside pier, opposite the Viking ship, was a much smaller ship by the name of Athena launched in 2007. We doubt there was more than 200 on that ship. The town will be most crowded today for sure.
Here's a bit of information on Turkey in a nutshell. The capital is Ankara and the population is 89.3 million people that speak Turkish and Kurdish. In the tourist areas, many of the locals do speak English. Especially the bazaar vendors, taxi drivers, and restaurant workers. Once part of the Silk Road, the Romans, Byzantines, and the Ottomans left their mark in Turkey. They have their fair share of ruins and monuments in a country of diverse landscapes from the Mediterranean olive groves, Asian Anatolia, and especially Cappadocia's fairy chimney rock formation and hidden caves.
Many years ago, we took a pre-cruise excursion to see this magical countryside with a relatively small group of other guests – one of whom we knew well. Besides exploring the rock-cut churches in the bowels of the complex underground city, we also enjoyed the fine food of the many restaurants we visited. One of the most unexpected things we will always remember was the sight of dozens of hot-air balloons taking off very early one morning. Having spent the night close to this activity, we got up early enough and went outside to take photos. It was surreal and very silent as the balloons rose into the sky.
It was on this trip that we discovered what a full-blown Turkish carpet show was all about. Sitting in a large circle in one of their major shops, we were served a very sweet hot tea, then witnessed two fellows unroll one carpet after another, until the pile was 6 feet high or more. One of our tour buddies actually bought a small silk carpet that was being woven right in front of us. It set him and his wife back about $7000. The carpet was completed while he waited, then it was folded and put into a convenient carrying suitcase.
The last part of the tour took us to the city of Istanbul, where we joined the following day. We visited museums and the Grand Blue Mosque, as well as the Grand Bazaar. One of our best memories was tasting the several different types of baklava, the layered nutty dessert that literally melts in your mouth. You cannot eat just one of those delicious treats.
Other specialties of Turkish food include olive oil lathered Aegean vegetables and spicy Anatolian kepabs. A tulip-shaped glass of "cay", a local drink, and baklava are the top treats. There are some bakeries in the bazaar area of Kusadasi where you can watch the bakers make this multi-layered phyllo dough and nut mixture dessert. They are hard to resist.
There were ship excursions offered today starting with magnificent Miletus and the Temple of Apollo for 5 ¼ hours for $90 with lunch. The Virgin Mary Shrine and Biblical Ephesus was 5 ½ for $110 and no lunch. Amazing Ephesus and a vineyard with wine was 4 ¼ hours for $110 with a snack. Amazing Ephesus and Sirince Village with lunch was 6 ½ hours and $140. Best of Ephesus was 7 hours for $180 with lunch. And we have done them all more than once.
As for us, we left the ship around 10am, made our way through the maze of shops and turned right once outside the port gate. It was a beautiful day for a walk around the seawall, passing a number of nice restaurants on our way to Pigeon Island. There is a causeway from the shoreline connected to this island where a Byzantine-era fortress sits on top of the island. There were a few trails around the side with sea views and a small maritime museum on the top. We ran into some friends who had just paid the fee to enter the fortress and told us all about it. Once one of us saw the number of stairs to climb without rails to the top, we decided not to go up there. Instead, we walked back to town and got lost in the many bazaars with hundreds of small shops and boutiques.
The bazaar area can be best described as a lively and historic place filled with spices, leather clothing, ceramics, carpets, and thousands of Turkish souvenirs. The maze of narrow alleyways go on forever it seems. The vendors were aggressive, even at the pier shops, which duplicated what was being sold in town. Only things were more pricey at the pier.
One of the main pedestrian streets had a myriad of eateries, which were already crowded by noontime. We had entered this area right before prayer time at the Hamin or Kalicei Mosque, a 17th century building with a domed prayer hall and room for 500 worshippers. Their minaret tower sounded off with the afternoon prayer, which boomed over the entire area. Once again, the phrase from the Wizard of Oz movie that "you're not in Kansas anymore" came to mind.
There were some shady benches to sit, and that's what we did. The hustle and bustle of locals shopping and dining out was interesting to watch. An elderly Turkish couple stopped at a strawberry cart and bought a bagful of berries which were weighed for the price. Every outdoor venue was full of customers, so we decided not to have lunch here. And many of the menus were printed in Turkish with no English, making it even harder to attempt.
Back-tracking, we did more window-shopping and did find a boutique that was selling scarves and handbags for good prices. We bargained for a Burberry ? scarf in the original beige and camel colors. They had ranged from $25 to $80, but we found one for $12 USD. The vendor even added two Turkish charms in the bottom of our bag.
Navigating through the maze of port shops was an adventure. The shop owners were in full swing, knowing we were on our way back to the ship. In all honesty, we had enough of shopping for a while, and did not intend to buy anything. What is annoying to us is that nothing has the price marked on it. Everything is negotiable. When asked a price, they will not tell you outside the store. Their aim is to get you inside, with the hopes you will buy something. We had no energy left for the games, so we simply said no thanks.
Passing through the final store, we saw baklava being sold. We asked how much for the three one inch pieces of the treat, and the gal said 6 euro. We decided we didn't like it that much and passed on buying it.
Now here is an amusing story about buying a bottle of wine or alcohol in this port. We had already gone through the local xray onshore, then passed by the last shop selling stuff, including alcohol. You could purchase the bottles and not have to take it through the ship's xray. We pointed this fact out to the bar girl that was collecting the bottles. She had a total of – zero. The rules are you have to turn it in, and it will be returned to you at the end of the cruise. Do you really think people will do that under the circumstances? We think not. Trust us…they will lie.
We were back onboard by 1:30pm, and had a couple of sandwiches from the Lido for lunch. Since one of us was celebrating a birthday, we had reservations in the Pinnacle Grill, and did not want to over-do lunch. We relaxed on our veranda sharing a bottle of sparkling wine when the ship left the port.
Captain Frank came on and said the weather had been fabulous, and much warmer than normal. He added that tomorrow will be equally as nice. He had a short way to Piraeus for the city of Athens tomorrow. The speed he needed would be 20 knots. We would pass some Greek islands along the way and hope for a 4am arrival to Greece. Once again, there will be several ships in port.
Dinner was good. The best part of the meal has to be the wedge salad and the bacon. It is hard to keep the mains small, but one of us did have the 8 oz filet mignon and the other a lighter meal of seabass. We shared French fries and when the birthday cake arrived, we thanked them and happily donated it to the waiters for their dinner this evening. They really liked that idea.
Entertainment we missed was the guitarists duo of Siqueira Lima with a show called Side by Side. With the time change forward last night and the long day of hiking, we were more than ready to turn in.
Tomorrow we will be in Greece.
Bill & Mary Ann
