Jim and Kim's Travels

Ahhh...Sea Days!

2011-11-26T11:36:00.000-05:00

The sea days were so relaxing. I captured this beautiful sunrise one morning...time lapse 30 minutes.

And then one day I was fixated on the waves. When you stood on the deck closest to the water, it was mesmerizing to watch the different waves. I just loved the blue colour. There were no cats or trees to photograph, so I had to find something!

We progressed across the ocean...

We found the entertainment on Celebrity to be particularly good. They had these trivia questions before one of the shows. Look! A geography question I could answer!

The aerialists in the show were outstanding. We preferred the male and female aerialists on the first leg of the cruise who got off in Barcelona, but the next pair were certainly very good.

Beautiful sea days...

We're almost there...

I took the time to photograph some of the "art" on board. Seriously, some of it was laughable, but they did make interesting conversation pieces...

Yes, I guess this is art...

Hard to photograph it without the reflection. This is a guy on a ladder in a tree..

And a gorgeous sunset to end our cruise...

And here we are in Fort Lauderdale. The yacht was pretty nice...

Fantastic cruise...very port intensive and so much information to take in, but we loved it. Here ends the Holy Land blog!

Laid Back Lifestyle in Tenerife, Canary Islands

2011-11-25T19:27:00.000-05:00

Tenerife is the largest of the Canary Islands and is part of Spain. It is located 180 miles from the coast of Africa and has a population of 700,000. Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the capital of the island and where we docked for the day. Tourism is the only real industry, and on the day we were there, there were 130,000 visitors. At Christmas the numbers reach 200,000. The average stay is one week, but in the winter it becomes the “Florida” of Europe with people staying for months at a time.

Here we are coming into the port in the early morning.

The islands were formed by volcanoes, which made sense looking at this landscape.

Our tour guide, Rudolf, met us and our tour of several villages on the island began. This is the concert hall—a unique design.

Government offices…no square shapes here!

The “Hamburger” is the basketball stadium.

This is Mt. Tiede, the highest point in Spain at 12,198 feet. It attracts visitors from all over the world and is covered in snow for only a few days of the year.

We were stopped at this checkpoint and a lot of scrambling for papers went on. The drivers are not allowed to drive for more than 4 hours without stopping, and our driver had to produce his log book to verify this. Rudolf told us a lot of this goes on as they make commission on all tickets. I cautiously snuck a picture of him, shades of our adventures in Africa still fresh in my mind.

Bananas have become a huge export crop and there were many plantations over the island. This house covered in vines was so pretty.

Lots of bananas!

This wall is 6 feet thick to guard against the fierce storms of the Atlantic.

Our first stop was the pretty seaside village of Garachico. It is set at the foot of Mt. Tiede and is one of Tenerife’s most charming and peaceful towns. Founded in 1496, it was actually the first port in Tenerife, until a volcanic eruption in 1706 left much of the town battered and ruined.

Bread delivery! Yum!

Awww…the doggie looked so sad.

Rudolf asked us “what type of building would have only a few windows that are up high?” We said “a jail.” Nope, it was a convent. All the small villages started as convents, and at one point there were 28 on the island. In 1824, the government seized all the properties and only 3 exist today with very small populations.

This house would have been owned by a local merchant. They would watch for incoming vessels with the first one to spot the vessel claiming the goods it contained. The other merchants would then pay a fee to purchase goods from him.

Our guide, Rudolf...we were all dressed in t-shirts and light sweaters. This is their winter so he was dressed more warmly. Winter…ha!

The village square…life is very simple here. People do not rise until later in the morning. The shops stay open until 10 at night and dinner is often eaten at 10:30 or later.

This building shows the windows which are part wood and part glass. Being volcanic, the island has no quartz to supply the silica needed to make glass. Imported glass was very expensive and often suffered breakage during shipping.

By noon, all these chairs would be out and people would be sitting around drinking coffee and listening to live music being played.

This building was originally owned by a British Duke who has long since passed away. Rudolf began telling us how Queen Elizabeth has never visited Spain on an official visit, as there is one lady in Spain who has more titles than the Queen, and the Queen would therefore have to have second billing.

Santa Ana Mother Church was originally built in 1520 and then was partially destroyed by the volcano in 1706. It was rebuilt the same size, but the town never returned to its glory days, and nowadays the church is much larger than needed.

The church has three naves…

This one with the “lamb of God”…

And many stained glass windows…

Lots of narrow windy streets…

This square contains the “Puerta de Tierra” which means Land Gate. This is the only remains of the once thriving Garachico port. All people leaving or entering Garachico were required to pass through this harbour gate. Due to the volcanic eruption, it is now several blocks from the water.

Bird of paradise plant...

We stopped to use the washroom at this coffee shop…

Rudolf suggested we try the local barraquito, which is made with sweet condensed milk, espresso and milk froth. It was delicious!

Directly across from the coffee shop was the Castillo de San Miguel fortress, which was built in the 16th century and survived the volcano eruption.

There were lots of pictures inside the coffee shop. This one shows the fort in a particularly fierce storm.

Jim and Kim in Garachico…

You can see where the volcano flow ended…

On the rise again…Tenerife was very different than what I imagined it would be. For some reason, I was thinking it would be like a Caribbean island, but it was anything but.

I thought this rock was interesting and inexplicably had about 50 pictures of it. Sometimes digital can be deadly! Believe it or not, it is called El Roque.

These two men just sitting is a good portrayal of the laid back lifestyle here. We could learn a lot from them.

Buenavista that way? Buenavista every way you turned!

We were up quite high. Oh look! That rock…

Jim and Kim…and that rock!

Our van for the day. It was very comfortable, nicely seating the 18 of us.

Interesting how the houses are built on terraces all the way down the hillside.

A good sized village…

Poinsettia plants grow wild here. Rudolf thought it was quite amusing that people pay for them...

We stopped for another walk through the village of Icod de los Vinos. Its claim to fame is an ancient Dragon tree.

Off to see the Dragon tree…

This isn’t “the” tree, but one that is about 400 years younger.

They had these cut-outs all over the village. We need to finesse our posing...

This tree was really interesting. I'm not sure what it was...

The gardens in the village square were beautiful.

The Church of San Marcos...

I’ve seen these trumpet flowers in several places, but Rudolf warned us that they are quite poisonous. Who knew?

Another interesting tree…the roots are outside.

And the infamous Dragon tree. It is said to be 1000 years old. While no study has confirmed this as they do not have annual rings, the tree is more likely to have an age of hundreds of years. It is the age old symbol of Icod.

Look at the trunks on these interesting trees in the square.

A beautiful sleepy village with the steps going up to the village square.

A rubber tree…lots of neat trees.

A map of the village…I’m not sure you could get lost.

More poinsettia plants...once Rudolf pointed them out, we started noticing them everywhere.

Our next stop was for lunch at El Monsterio. It is an old monastery and sits on a volcanic cone overlooking the Orotava Valley. There are five different restaurants here surrounded by beautiful gardens and wonderful views.

A Christmas tree…it’s hard to remember sometimes that it’s almost December.

Lots of restaurants to choose from.

The Spaniards love their meat. We passed by this immaculate meat counter on the way to our table. You could order sausage by the metre.

I wonder how old these candles are!

We were supposed to visit the village of La Orotava after lunch. But we were starting to be a little concerned about the time. It was almost 2:00 and we had to be back on the ship by 3:30. In the attitude that is typical of Tenerife, Rudolf didn’t share our concern for time, and was a little surprised that we made the decision to skip the next village. Instead, we spent a little more time wandering around here.

A duck pond…

Beautiful countryside…

For some reason, there were a lot of frog statues…

The fruit on this cactus might be a little hard to get off...

Our group for the day. Ann, standing behind her dad in the wheelchair on the right, organized a lot of our tours and did a fantastic job. Thanks, Ann!

And then we were heading back to the ship. We passed by the twin towers of Tenerife.

We were back at the ship by 3:00 and ready to sail. And then we waited, and waited. I think it was more like 5:30 before the refuelling ship pulled away.

And we set sail. Tenerife was fantastic!

And now…seven sea days!!!

Next stop...Fort Lauderdale, Florida...

Monkeying Around in Gibraltar, UK

2011-11-23T11:53:00.000-05:00

To our surprise, the Captain announced that we wouldn’t be sailing into Funchal, Portugal because a national strike was expected. So instead of a sea day, we were heading to Gibraltar, which is part of the UK. That sounded like a good exchange to us, as we didn’t have anything planned for Funchal anyway. Jeff was pretty happy because Gibraltar is known for its semi-wild Barbary apes, and he was already plotting ways to get more bananas to take off the ship!

Here is Gibraltar on the map. The Rock of Gibraltar is something to see, towering 1400 feet above the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow passage of water that separates Europe from Africa, and the Atlantic Ocean from the Mediterranean Sea. The population is a mix of Portuguese, Italian, Maltese, Spanish and English. The official language is English, but Spanish is also widely spoken.

And here we are...we planned to walk around with Jeff and Kathy as they had been here before. Jeff’s backpack was heavy with smuggled bananas!

In front of the miniature Rock!

At first I thought this guy was real! There were glass blowing demonstrations going on inside, which we did visit on our return. The hand-blown wineglasses were so beautiful, but I resisted the urge.

Yup! We’re in the UK!

These workers were planting a garden (such a strange time of year!) and putting up Christmas decorations.

We were continually accosted by tour operators who were trying to convince us that going up in the cable car was a waste of time as the distances between the various sites was over 9 km. They would take us to all the sites and return us in an hour. We tried to convince Jeff to come, but because they had been here before, he really only wanted to see and feed the apes. So we parted company with Jeff and Kathy and went off to see the sites.

Our first stop was the Pillars of Hercules monument. The fable is that Hercules separated Africa from Europe, and the pillars represent the Rock of Gibraltar and a corresponding peak in North Africa.

The roads were tiny, with few guardrails, and the scenery was spectacular.

Our first (of many) ape sightings. They warned us about them stealing hats, cameras, purses, sunglasses…this aerial looked to be in danger.

So cute, but also so quick. I didn’t particularly want one of them leaping onto me as we saw them do with many tourists.

The entrance to St. Michael’s Cave is about 1100 feet above sea level. The Cathedral Cave, which is thought to be bottomless, is in part responsible for the myth that Gibraltar was joined to Africa by a 15 mile long subterranean passage under the Strait of Gibraltar. Huh!

Concerts are held in this cave. The acoustics are supposed to be excellent.

The pillar on the right was massive. I couldn’t imagine sitting through a concert in here though as it felt a bit claustrophobic.

Although there are signs saying you shouldn’t feed the apes, even the tour drivers bring food. They know the tourists love to see them. This gal with her baby was holding on tight.

Their faces are so expressive.

All the buildings are sitting on reclaimed land. The guide said it was amazing to see how much it has grown.

This is the farthest we went up. You could see down to the beach below.

You could go up to the fortress at the top of the hill, but we didn’t venture that far.

The Rock of Gibraltar...it was beautiful…

Momma against a beautiful backdrop.

The cable car runs past here to the city below.

And then we arrived at the Great Siege Tunnels. Gibraltar underwent many sieges as soldiers surrounded the fortress and tried to cut off supplies to it. The 14th siege in 1779 lasted over 3 ½ years and was known as the "Great Siege."

The first tunnel began in 1782 and allowed the defenders to ward off the Spanish forces. Following this, over 48 kilometres of tunnel were driven inside the Rock.

The tunnels were driven by hand. The man holding the drill steel needed to completely trust the man with the sledgehammer!

Thirteen men worked for five weeks to drive an 8 foot tunnel 82 feet into the rock.

During the sixth week, they made a room with a hole to the outside for ventilation.

They had a great view of the harbour and the face of the Rock.

Here is a unique arrangement. This is the airport runway with Gibraltar in the foreground and Spain in the background. On the left you can see the highway intersecting the runway, so whenever a plane is getting ready to land or take off, they stop the traffic on both sides for at least 15 minutes. Talk about traffic tie-ups, but I guess the arrangement works for them.

Our short tour was over. It was just the right length of time as by now we were getting pretty toured out. We were shopping for a souvenir for our cabin steward. Due to the Norovirus sanitizing procedures, the crew has been working extra hours and Leroy hadn’t been off the ship in over a month. He hadn’t been to Gibraltar before, so we brought him back a hat and t-shirts for his two sons. Lots of shops to look in…and so many people!

We met up with Kathy on the street. Jeff had decided to walk down from the top, so she took the cable car (smart decision!). She showed us her pictures of the apes.

It pays to have bananas! Please, mister!

They love to jump on you!

A momma and her baby…

They really are cute, although the guide said they are becoming nuisances. Where they used to stay on the rock, they are now coming down into the town and “breaking into” houses.

A little baby...

I guess they like apples too!

Sharing with the baby...

Family portrait…

We sat in this outside café and enjoyed a cider while we people-watched before heading back to the ship.

Jim is really warming up to Jeff…ha ha!

Jeff and Kathy’s friend, Crystal, got on the ship in Barcelona and joined us for dinner.

Gibraltar was an unexpected and every enjoyable stop. Now tomorrow, we really do get a sea day!!

Lazy Day in Malaga, Spain

2011-11-22T16:14:00.001-05:00

Located on the Mediterranean Sea in the southern part of Spain, Malaga is a seaside resort town offering some of Europe’s finest beaches. It is also home to some impressive palaces.

Entering the port…

Looks like he’s pulling a toy boat!

Once again, we decided to do the Hop On, Hop Off bus. The cruise terminal was very nice and spotless.

Welcome to Malaga!

We took the shuttle bus into town. Once again we started with a tour of lovely beaches…

A pretty Christmas tree in front of this impressive building. We were looking for the bus stop at this point.

We found the information office with the help of this bold sign. Finding the bus stop was a little trickier, but we were successful.

This clock tower was part of City Hall.

Lots of high rises with views of the sea…

The architecture was really nice…

Welcome to the Hotel California…

Beautiful homes…

And then we arrived at the Castillo de Gibralfaro. The fortress dates back to the 10th century and was built on a former Phoenician enclosure and lighthouse. Rather than do what we did yesterday, where we thought we would visit the castle on the second go around, we decided to hop off and explore it first.

We got a map, but still couldn’t figure out where the castle was…

So we wandered along…

And found this cool tree near the washrooms…

Little guardhouses…

Aha! The Interpretation Centre…was all in Spanish, so we were no farther ahead. By now we had come to the conclusion that this was a fort and not the castle. The fort was on top of the hill and the castle appeared to be below.

But there were great views!

The walkway between the walls where they could patrol to watch for any invaders.

We could see the cathedral in the distance and decided to make that our next stop when we got back on the bus.

The traffic circle below where we had started our tour in the morning…

Nope, definitely no castle here no matter how hard Jim looked.

We did a thorough walk around…up the stairs, and down the stairs.

The bullfighting ring...

It was very windy!

And then we waited and waited for the bus. By the time we finally got on, we had had about enough of touring for another day. These trees were abundant in the city. No lack of delicious oranges.

The cathedral is nicknamed La Manquita which means one-armed lady. They ran out of funds before a second tower could be built, and it ended up with only one. The actual name is the Cathedral of Incarnation. The choir area features fine carvings of saints, along with a Gothic altar and a statue of the Virgin Mary that was presented to the city by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella after the city was recaptured from the Moors. At this point we decided that, although it was probably very nice, we were going to pass on it.Which also explains why it's good that we take tours instead of just wandering on our own!

Segways! We had read that you could do a segway tour, a fun way to see the city.

Another very clean and modern city. We didn’t do it justice, but right about now we were toured out and looking forward to a sea day tomorrow!

Our next stop is Funchal, Madeira, which is part of Portugal...

And the Rains Came in Alicante, Spain

2011-11-21T15:54:00.000-05:00

Alicante, Spain was our next port. It is the second largest city in Spain’s Valencia region, one of the most popular tourist destinations in all of Europe. It is a historic port city with a population of approximately 350,000 and another 500,000 in the surrounding area. The city has been growing quickly over the past decades as the entire region expands with tourism and retirees locating to the area in search of warm weather.

Welcome to Alicante! We didn’t have a tour planned for today, but there was a Hop On, Hop Off bus, so we decided to do that. We have been so fortunate with wonderful weather, but it rained early in the morning and we waited until about 11:00 until we got off the ship.

This pretty fountain was right by the area where we got on the bus.

The castle on top of the mountain looked interesting. We decided we would do a complete trip around the city on the bus, and then get off at the castle on the next go around.

We passed by the beautiful beaches with the mosaic boardwalk.

So many choices!

The Marq is the home to the Provincial Archaeological Museum with artifacts ranging from the Bronze Age through the Roman period. It's a beautiful building.

Another very clean city...how do the Europeans, with such dense populations in the cities, manage to keep them litter free?

We headed up the steep and winding road to the Castillo de Santa Barbara.

The view of the city as we climbed…

The castle was built atop Mount Benacantil. It is a well preserved fortress and one of the largest in Europe with a commanding view of the area. The museum has a large collection of artifacts that were found on the mountain dating from the Bronze Age.

This gate was obviously built for much smaller vehicles and the bus barely fit through.

Lovely views from the top…

When we met the second bus coming up the hill, we had to back up to find a place wide enough for the two buses to pass. Good drivers! We were also noticing very ominous skies in the distance.

The Mercado Central if you had any shopping to do…

Now, it was starting to rain. We could see clearer skies ahead, so we were hoping to get away from it. Nearly everyone was abandoning the top deck of the bus in favour of the shelter below, but we were hanging in there like good Canadians. We passed by this monument…

Before we finally had to give up! We weren’t getting too wet when the bus was moving, but when it stopped at the many red lights, we were getting soaked. We decided it was time to surrender.

We headed back to the ship, without really having a chance to experience Alicante. We’ll just have to save it for another time!

It did clear later in the afternoon, but we were happy to stay on board and view the castle from the distance as we sailed away. You can see the wall snaking up the side of the mountain on the left.

We decided to try the Tuscan Grille that night for dinner. There is an additional charge for dinner and the service was good, but I wouldn’t say the food was that much better. Jeff and Kathy are pretty much just meat eaters, and Jeff declared the steak tartare worth the price of admission. We liked the “alphabet man.” He reminded me of the one we saw in Cannes.

Jeff with his ever-present tea glass. He doesn’t drink…might I add, thank god. He gets in enough trouble without it. He looks like he’s sucking up to Kathy for something!

And to top the evening off (I still can’t believe we did this), Jeff decided to sing the Canadian national anthem at karaoke and somehow convinced us to join him. I am sure it wasn’t pretty but it was something to remember!

Tomorrow, Malaga, Spain…

A Foggy Day in Montserrat, Spain

2011-11-20T12:19:00.000-05:00

We really enjoyed our sea days. The first leg of the cruise was ending in Barcelona and we planned to get off and go back to the Sagrada Familia, the Gaudi church that we had visited last time. They were working on the interior last year and we were curious to see the changes. The church was started in 1882 and is expected to be completed in 2026, the centennial of Gaudi's death. It is really something to see.

The pretty flag of Spain...

Barcelona is a city of 1.6 million people and was founded by the Romans.

Instead, we found out that everyone had to get off the ship in Barcelona so that they could do a thorough sanitizing of the ship. The pesky Norovirus bug was continuing to affect people on board. Celebrity was offering free tours to all the back-to-back passengers, so that they would be off the ship for the day. As we had already done a city tour of Barcelona last year, and Jeff and Kathy were going to Montserrat, we decided to do that tour along with them.

Leaving the ship and passing the W Barcelona Hotel on the water...

The Mercat de St. Antoni is one of the largest markets in the city. It was built in 1882 and is undergoing a renovation.

Barcelona has over 150,000 trees and that doesn’t count any of the ones that are in the parks, only those on the streets. It appears that bus and taxi are part of the universal language.

One of Gaudi’s other works downtown. This one was built from 1904-1906. He loved details!

And this one, the Casa Mila, was built from 1905-1912. Gaudi believed that “a straight line is the line of death, and a curved line is the line of life.”

This is a beautiful apartment building.

And then we left the city on our way to the monastery at Montserrat. The Santa Maria monastery was built 4000 feet above the valley floor over 1000 years ago. It is believed that it was initially started by hermit monks who wished to live a solitary life of prayer.

The winding drive up was very picturesque.

Hmmm…looking pretty foggy. The guide said sometimes you get up there and can’t see a thing, so we were trying to not get our hopes up too high.

Wow…give these guys credit. We passed many cyclists on our way up. This guy has another 9 km and it’s definitely all uphill. The monastery has been an important religious retreat and pilgrimage site for over 1000 years. It is popular with groups of young people who make overnight hikes to watch the sun rise over the mountain peaks.

Still lots of fog…

And we’ve arrived. This is the site of the original church and ruins can still be seen. There has been a boys' choir at the monastery since 1223! Local boys between the ages of 10-14 are chosen and stay until their voices change.

The boys’ residence in front with the Basilica at the back. Believe it or not, there are mountains here. They are called Montserrat because the mountains look like they are serrated.

This house in the mountains was where the Black Madonna was found. This Black Madonna, a statue of Mary, was believed to be carved in Jerusalem very early in the history of the Christian religion. There are a large number of Black Madonnas made between the 11th and 15th century. Some were black as they were carved from ebony, others turned black with age, and still others were blackened by candle soot. This Black Madonna was hidden from various conquerors through the ages until its final resting place in the Basilica.

Stunning scenery…

You could just barely see the mountains through the fog.

The Basilica, with the monks' residence behind…

These hotels have been built behind the monks’ residence.

Hmmm…not much to see here folks.

Unique rock formations...

Outside the church…

Inside the courtyard of the church. A larger church was built on this site in the 16th century but was destroyed by Napoleon in the early 1700s. This church was built after that.

The 12 disciples with Jesus in the middle.

Jim in the courtyard. We were lucky to be here on a Sunday as the boys’ choir performs for ten minutes at noon every Sunday and many people come to see them.

Inside the church. We sat through a long Catholic service in Spanish, because we managed to snag a seat and wanted to stay to hear the boys sing.

Above the altar you can see the Black Madonna. People lined up after the service to go upstairs and walk by it.

The boys' choir...

We left the church and still had some time to shop around. We recognized this statue immediately as being the same style as some of those at the Sagrada Familia. It turns out it was by the same sculptor who has been working on the passion facade for years.

The fog seemed to be lifting!

Spectacular!!

Kim and Jim at Montserrat…we’re sticker people!!

There were runners coming up these trails when we arrived. Crazy people!

We couldn’t have asked for a prettier view. You could see all the way to the river.

Back on the bus, we drove down the other side of the mountains.

The Saint Cecilia church on the other side. It was built at the same time as Santa Maria, and no one knows why Santa Maria became so popular and Saint Cecilia just remained a little church in obscurity.

And the fog rolled back in…

The beautiful serrated mountains…

It was a great tour. For some reason all the tour buses arrived back at the port at the same time. Instead of back-to-back people having an easy re-embarkation, 400 of us were all in the line at the same time. We couldn't get into our cabins until 5:30 as they were still “javexing,” so we sat in the buffet area for a couple of hours. The waiter behind Jeff and Kathy was a real character!

We’re set to start the second half of the cruise. The first half was very port intensive and we’re looking forward to lots of sea days on this leg!

The Silent City of Mdina, Malta

2011-11-18T12:07:00.000-05:00

And we continued on to Malta, an island off the coast of Italy...

The Maltese Archipelago consists of three islands: Malta, Gozo and Comino. Malta is the main island
with a population of 370,000 and Valletta is the capital.

The flag of Malta with the Maltese Cross...

Malta was first inhabited around 3000 BC, with temples being established at Mdina, which is the highest point on the island and its geographical centre. Phoenicians colonized the island around 800 BC with the Romans taking over in 200 BC.

The islands were eventually given to the Knights of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. The Knights were started in Jerusalem by pious merchants who wanted to take care of the sick and disabled. They built a hospice and other facilities which were run by the Knights. They were expelled from Jerusalem by the Muslims because they were too powerful and important. They moved to Rhodes and were driven from there by the Ottomans. After searching for years for a place to live, they were given the islands of Malta by the Spanish crown in 1530.

Pope Pius V helped to establish the Knights in Malta where they built huge fortifications, and in 1565 defeated the Ottomans and became the saviours of Europe.

Entering the port, we could see some of the fortifications built by the Knights. This was such an interesting view. I couldn't recall coming into a port that looked anything like this.

Waves crashing against the breakwater which protects the inner harbour.

The massive fortifications continued. These walls helped 10,000 Maltese defeat the Ottoman fleet of 30,000 men in 1565.

Coming into the port...

The yacht basin in the inner harbour...

Still more walls as we entered the present day industrial harbour.

Welcome to Valletta!

Because of Norovirus, we have been squirted with sanitizer every time we turn around. Megan pinned this notice on her mother’s back. It didn’t take much to amuse us, because we all thought this was hilarious.

These elegant Maltese residences have been constructed from the local limestone.

Approaching the ancient walled city of Mdina perched high on a hill.

One of the many carriages to transport tourists through the narrow streets of the old city.

The flag of Mdina flies over the gate to the city.

The ferocious lions guarding the gate.

Inside the gate, we could see St. Paul the patron saint of Mdina in the middle with Emperor Publious on the left and St. Agatha on the right.

Courtyard of the museum showing the influence of the French in the architecture...

The narrow streets were built for horses and carriages only. It still amazes us how clean everything was.

These unique door knockers were on palace doors and the doors of wealthy residents.

A knight in combat armour. Mdina was known as the “silent city” because it was largely palaces, residences and churches. Very quiet compared to the industrial cities.

The Maltese Cross with eight points signifying the eight countries the members of the Knights came from.

The intricate work over the doors of a private residence.

The Cathedral of St. Paul is the mother church of Malta. It was destroyed by an earthquake in 1693 and was rebuilt in the 1700s. The two clocks are interesting. The one on the right shows the time…

While the one on the left is a calendar clock showing November 18.

On a narrow street in Mdina on a beautiful sunny day...one of the things I will remember about Mdina is the practical joke we played on Jeff. He was walking around with the zipper on his backpack open and Kathy managed to take everything out of it without him realizing it. At the end, she put in my bottle of water just for weight. All of a sudden we could hear Jeff muttering "Where did this bottle of water come from? Is this my backpack? Ka-thy!" Priceless!

Not only narrow streets, but curved to follow the contour of the hill.

A beautiful statue complete with awning on the corner of a building.

The view from Mdina showing lush countryside and the Mosta parish church dome in the centre of the picture. It is one of the largest unsupported church domes in the world. During air raids in WWII, a bomb smashed through the centre of the dome and landed in the aisle between parishioners but did not explode. Locals consider this a miracle; I think I would too...

Leaving Mdina via the Greeks gate...this gate once served the small Greek population living in the southwest corner of the city around St. Nicholas Square. St. Nicholas is the patron saint of Greece.

This kitty was sunning himself on top of a car.

One weird tree…look at how the branch curves!

And then we arrived at the Hagar Qim Temples which date from the Phoenicians in 3600 BC!

A model of the temples without their wooden roofs.

The site was first recognized in 1839. Various excavations were carried out between 1885 and 1954. The question remains as to how these huge blocks of limestone were transported from the quarry and placed to form a building, given that the wheel was yet to be invented.

Our guide, Tessie, explaining the site to us. She was a great guide, but felt the need to talk continually. If she didn’t have anything to say, she would repeat what she had just said. Oy…my brain.

The spiral design was the symbol of eternity.

Stone altars used for sacrificing animals.

Mechanical supports are being used to restore certain structures.

A large roof has been erected to protect the ruins and for visitors to enjoy them in all weather conditions...and it was made in Alberta! Go Canada!

The smallest island of Comino which has a permanent population of four residents.

Stone fences are built to divide landowners’ holdings. Agriculture is a major industry with most fruits and vegetables being grown. Tessie started naming every fruit and vegetable known to mankind. Her way of speaking reminded me of Lawrence Welk. "And we have apples-ah, and oranges-ah, and lemons-ah, and corn-ah." Wine production is a growing industry.

Christmas decorations!

Vineyards...the grapes were harvested in August and September.

We travelled to Marsaxlokk (Marsa-locka), a fishing village, to try the local cuisine for lunch.

Lampuki is the local fish and it was good.

A view of the colourful harbour from the restaurant.

The usual suspects at lunch.

No running up and down the stairs for these waiters. A dumb waiter was a real energy saver.

The brightly painted fishing boats made a great picture.

A boy and his cat getting a fish from a fisherman.

The local church and a hotel. The area was spotless and buildings were really well maintained.

The Maltese language is very difficult. The double xx is pronounced like our “sh.”

This guy takes the prize, calling his boat Leonardo da Vinci.

Our next stop was Valletta, the capital of Malta. Here we saw many examples of the great riches of the Knights of St. John, including churches, auberges, gardens and beautiful streets. This street with its very steep slopes reminded us of San Francisco.

The Barrakka Gardens offer stunning views of the Grand Harbour and its fortifications. Origins of the garden date back to 1661, and they were the private gardens of the Italian Knights until 1824 when they were opened to the public.

Entering the gardens...

Views of the gardens showing the amazing limestone arches and fences.

The Street Boys by Maltese sculptor, Antonio Sciortino...

View of the harbour fortifications from the garden.

The Knights from each country had their own church and auberge. This is the St. Catherine of Italy Church. It is undergoing restoration for the first time in its 500 year history.

Knights who did not have a home would reside in the auberge of their country. This is the Italian auberge.

Merchants Street dates from the time of the Knights and was the main business area.

Merchants Street is a pedestrian way lined with beautiful buildings.

This was the auberge of the French Knights, which now houses Malta’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In 1798, Napoleon landed and conquered Malta. The once powerful Knights had become corrupt and surrendered without a fight. The Maltese defeated the French in 1800 and officially became part of the British Empire in 1814. Napoleon lived in the French auberge for seven days.

The Law Court of the Order from 1758 with figures of Justice and Mercy over the second story door. Justice, on the left, has lost her hand.

This is the Maltese law courts today.

Outdoor cafes abound on Merchants Street.

No cats…just fat pigeons.

Royal Pharmacy with "toilet preparations." Not exactly how we would describe pharmacy products!

The British influence continues including driving on the opposite side of the road and these phone booths.

High end shops with lots of customers.

St. John’s Co-Cathedral. It is called a co-cathedral because there can only be one cathedral under the Bishop and that was established in Mdina. Because this church was so significant, it was called a co-cathedral.

The bell tower of the co-cathedral.

This is the entrance to the cathedral that we used. The main entrance was being renovated.

Inside the church was a wall dedicated to Nicholas Cottoner, a Grand Master of the Knights. This wall contained his initials, his crown, the Maltese Cross and the cotton plant which was a significant crop.

The church is filled with magnificent paintings and columns carved from limestone.

The vaulted ceiling covered with frescoes and gold...

The church is being restored. The difference between the left and right side is that the left has been cleaned using a very specialized process.

The Knights are buried in tombs under the floor covered with intricately carved marble.

Looking the length of the church…difficult to adequately describe.

More tombs of the Knights.

The chapel of the Italian Knights. The painting depicts the mystic marriage of baby Jesus.

The pulpit…what more can we say.

And the altar complete with silver candle holders, a painting of Jesus being baptized by John and a huge pipe organ.

Many of the frescoes are three dimensional. The man on the left appears to be stepping out of the painting.

The chapel of the Spanish Knights.

That church was hard to believe...

And then we were on our way back to the ship. A memorial to those who died in the world wars.

The view from our balcony at night. What a way to finish a great day!

Next, a sea day and then this leg of the cruise will end in Barcelona...

Heading to Nazareth, Israel

2011-11-15T11:48:00.001-05:00

We docked in Haifa, which is located on the coast of northern Israel overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. It's about 20 miles from the border of Lebanon. It is an ancient port city dating from the 6th century BC and has been occupied by the Romans, the Crusaders, the Ottomans and the British.

It was transformed into a thriving port by the British as the terminus of the oil pipeline from Iraq. It is currently Israel’s third largest city with a population of 250,000, with the metropolitan area having one million people. It is predominantly Jewish, although Christians believe that the Hebrew prophet Elijah preached from Mount Carmel.

Avi was meeting us for the last day of our tour. By now we were used to his personality and he was used to us. We were all tired though, and looking forward to a sea day the next day. Welcome to Haifa!

We were heading to Nazareth this morning, and then hopefully to the Sea of Galilee in the afternoon.The highway system in Israel is first rate.

It is very lush here with lots of vegetation.

We passed by these horses. At first we thought they were wild, as they appeared to be in the middle of nowhere, but Avi assured us they were not.

All of a sudden we were detouring to Zippori. We weren’t really sure why.

This little guy greeted us. We noticed afterward that he appears on all the tourism literature.

We still weren’t sure what we were doing here. But we all trooped into the washroom. Never pass up a washroom while on a tour! This lady greeted us and Jeff had a little fun with her. No photograph…it will just have to remain in our minds. The funny thing is that when we returned from the washroom, she was gone!

This interesting mosaic was outside the washroom. This is certainly the land of the mosaics. Amazing work!

Oh! Now we got it…more ruins. Avi’s background in archaeology was coming into play. Remains of an ancient city have been discovered here, including a system of streets, public buildings, dwellings, a theatre, market, a synagogue and churches. The system of aqueducts east of the city included channels and a gigantic water reservoir. Zippori is mentioned for the first time in 103 BC.

There was an impressive network of streets arranged in a grid, dating from the Roman period. One of the main streets…

With the deep grooves from the chariot wheels…

Excavation of the ruins began in 1931 and continues to this day.

Porticoes along both sides of the street were paved with mosaics…

The intricate work on them is just mind boggling!

Rather than walking throughout the ruins, Avi drove us through most of it…even through sections that indicated we shouldn’t be driving. Go Avi!

Instead of removing mosaics when they wanted a new design, they just built another layer on top of the old one. Rather like old houses we find with layers of linoleum!

Look at the workmanship!

The Nile House covered a large area and consisted of three main wings connected by corridors.

The floors were covered with colourful mosaics, including a spectacular one depicting celebrations in Egypt on the Nile River and various hunting scenes.The majority of the mosaic artisans were Egyptian.

Centaurs originated in Greek mythology and were half man and half horse.

This mosaic is simply incredible with all its details and stories. It represents a celebration of the Nile with different scenes depicting different events. This mosaic artist used an average of 180 stones per square decimeter (10 cm x 10 cm) with 18 different colours and shades!

This pillar in the centre of the picture was a Nilometer. It measured the height of the water and determined the tax rate for that year. The man standing on the woman’s shoulders is engraving the number IZ (17) which indicated the height of the water and the reason for the festivities. A high number indicated greater flooding and a corresponding bigger harvest.

The next building was spectacular. It would have been constructed at the beginning of 300 AD. Its prominent position at the summit of the hill, and its proximity to the theatre, indicated the high status of its owner. An artist’s rendering…

This mosaic would have served as the carpet in the living-dining area.

The person was most likely the lady of the house...

The “L” shapes inside the lines on the mosaic also indicated the wealth of the owner. He would have had an architect design the room and the lines indicated where the furniture would be placed. Just like interior design marks used now!

One of the many scenes in the mosaic, this one shows a drunken Herakles being supported by a youth and a maiden.

The “Procession of Merrymakers”…an important part of the scene is missing as it was covered over later with a mosaic depicting a hunting scene.

This watch tower was built during a Crusader period on foundations from an earlier building. During the Ottoman period, it was used as a schoolhouse.

The view from above…no wonder it made a great lookout!

The remains of the theatre, which would have been built by the Romans at the beginning of 200 AD, contained about 4500 stone seats.

Avi took our picture. As usual, Jeff was nowhere to be found until he appeared at the last minute and jumped into the photo.

The synagogue...

This mosaic showed the zodiac with rich detail. As it would have appeared…

And what remains…

More stories…this one depicting two servants waiting for Abraham at the foot of Mt. Moriah.

Wow! So many ruins, so little time! And with that, we were back on our way to Nazareth.

The Church of the Annunciation is built on the site where the archangel Gabriel appeared before Mary with the news that she would be pregnant.

Entering the courtyard…

There are many mosaics donated by different countries, featuring Mary and baby Jesus.

It was very interesting to see each country’s interpretation of what Mary and Jesus looked like.

This beautiful door into the church showed scenes from the life of Jesus. On the left, his birth, fleeing to Egypt, the son of a carpenter; on the right, the crucifixion, the teacher and the healer.

Inside the church, the area where the angel appeared before Mary…

Stained glass in the stairway...

On the second level is the parish church for the Catholic community of Nazareth.

This huge mosaic is reported to be one of the largest in the world and represents "one, holy, catholic and apostolic church."

Located next to the Church of the Annunciation is the Church of St. Joseph built in 1914 on the site of Joseph's carpenter workshop.

The Holy Family...Joseph, Mary and Jesus…

The caves where they lived…

The streets of Nazareth today…

Mary and Joseph would have been baffled by this traffic circle. It was a free-for-all!

We decided to stop here for lunch. Yummy pitas…

With Norovirus still prevalent on the ship, we had been warned about eating in restaurants, but we decided to live dangerously!

They were huge pitas! Megan is going for it...she also amazed Avi with the amount of hot peppers she could eat.

Waiting for Avi…we did that a lot. He quite often disappeared to talk to people.

We were walking back to the van and noticed this sign. Not sure if it had anything to do with the show Friends, but I liked it.

I guess it’s sometimes a long wait for your car!

Waiting for Avi…again!

Goodbye Nazareth…

An impressive government building...

At this point, we could tell Avi did not want to go to the Sea of Galilee. He told us we wouldn’t be back to the ship until 7:00 pm if we went there. Although some of us did want to go, we didn’t want to make an issue of it and everyone was tired. Instead, he took us to the Baha’i Shrine and Gardens in Haifa.

The 19 garden terraces were created entirely though contributions from Baha’i people around the world. In 1850, Bab, one of the central figures of the Baha’i faith was martyred in Iran. In 1909 he was interred in the shrine that is the central focus of the gardens. Beautiful bougainvillea outside the gates.

The gates…

Fantastic gardens taking up many acres in the city. You have to book a tour in advance, so we just wandered around the top section.

Amazing view of the city. We could see our ship in the distance.

An eagle…

Jim from above…

Immaculate…

20 gardeners keep the area in this pristine condition.

Avi with us…I am sure he was tired as well. He lives in Tel-Aviv so he was travelling between there, Jerusalem and Haifa to meet us.

We passed this on the way back to the ship. Not sure what it was…looked like some sort of stock quotations!

Home, sweet home! We were really tired and so looking forward to a sea day!

The next day we slept in and enjoyed a leisurely day. It was our last formal night on this leg of the cruise. Ready to go again!

Iwan, our favourite bartender, holding the ever present bottle of Pinot Grigio!

Dinner with Jeff and Kathy, Mary and Brad to our left, and David and Michelle in the background. They are all leaving the ship in Barcelona, as the four of us continue on to Fort Lauderdale…

And now we have two sea days...it's been a whirlwind!

Floating in the Dea Sea...Jerusalem Day 2

2011-11-14T11:47:00.000-05:00

Oops! Forgot the Israel flag on the last blog, so here it is...

Avi picked us up at the hotel at 9:00 a.m. and we were ready to go again. Today our itinerary included visiting Masada and the Dead Sea.

This morning we could see more of the city in the daylight and we noticed it was very clean.

One of the Jewish settlements on the hills outside the city. In some areas, these settlements have caused serious disputes with the Arab population. All the buildings are the same colour and they almost blend into the landscape.

As we got further away, the landscape changed from these hills with bits of vegetation...

Into just sand…

We were now at sea level. The Dead Sea is about 400 m below sea level, the lowest spot on earth.

This is becoming a tradition! Jeff and camel rides. This time he got Kathy into the picture. She was thrilled to have the camel's slobbery mouth resting on her nice hair.

The signs are in Hebrew, Arabic and English…

Our first glimpse of the Dead Sea. Wow! It's a lot bigger than I thought it would be. The temperatures in the area of the Dead Sea range from 20°C in the winter up to 40° in the summer.

Not sure what this was, but the camper was seeking refuge under the tent. I cannot imagine what the heat is like in the summer.

This was a Jewish kibbutz with a hostel in the Ein Gedi Nature reserve. These animals (ibex) were grazing and can surprisingly climb the trees. You can just make out one in the tree. OK...it's a good thing I pointed it out!

Another two grazing…I can see why they climb trees. I don't think there is much grazing material on the ground.

And here was our first glimpse of Masada. The topography looked like the Tablelands in Newfoundland and Table Mountain in Cape Town.

And we have arrived at Masada National Park.

The first fortress at Masada was built around 100 BC and coins from this era were discovered in excavations of the site. Herod, who ruled from 37 to 4 BC, was aware of the strategic advantages of Masada. He chose the site as a refuge against his enemies and as a winter palace. During his reign luxurious palaces were built here in addition to well-stocked storerooms, cisterns and a casemate wall.

After the death of Herod in 4 BC, the Romans stationed a garrison at Masada. One of the first events of the Jewish revolt in 60 AD was the conquest of Masada by the Jews. After the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD, the last of the Jewish rebels fled to Masada. In 74 AD the Romans laid siege to Masada building eight camps around the base joined by a wall to keep the Jews from fleeing.

Any hope the Romans had of starving out the Jews was dashed when each morning the Jews would pour water down the mountain side as a measure of defiance. They were proving to the Romans that they had plenty of supplies to outlast them.

This map from the brochure shows the extent of the community. On the north side (the tip jutting towards the front), was where Herod built his palace in three tiers.

Last stop for drinks before getting up there (so they said…). It must be unbelievably hot there in the summer because it wasn’t long before we were sweating.

Here comes the cable car. Part of the experience of Masada is the ritual of walking up there. Thank heavens we didn't have time!

The view from the top. The two squares you can see are the remains of two of the Roman camps where they stationed soldiers hoping to force the Jews out and keeping them from escaping.

The Dead Sea in the background...all the white on the sand is salt that is left behind as the Dead Sea recedes.

This was the guard’s lookout, the highest point in the fortification.

The black line along the wall shows the original foundation before restoration.

Inside the Commandant’s residence showing the remaining frescoes and the restoration above the line.

Archaeologist impression of what the residence would have looked like.

Remains of family residences…

Jim and Kim at Masada…you can tell how much I love the heat!

This model shows the extensive storerooms as long rectangles and the palace at the front built on several levels. The storerooms consisted of 29 long rooms to hold enough food, liquids, and weapons to last for years.

The unrestored remains of the storerooms.

One of the Roman camps. In front of it running diagonally are the remains of a wall built by the Romans. It ensured that any Jew trying to escape from Masada had to go over it and risk being seen.

This was the largest of the eight Roman camps. Look at the terrain where all this was built. Unbelievable!

A bird at the top.

Avi was telling a very long story. I know it was all interesting, but at this point I had checked out. I’m glad Jim was still listening.

The remains of a mosaic floor...

This is the north face with the remains of the palace on the different levels.

One of the many water cisterns. Some of them were at least 70 feet deep! They were fed by an amazing system of aqueducts that captured the infrequent rain and diverted it into the cisterns. They were brilliant engineers.

An explanation of the cisterns, one of the wonders of Masada…

A model showing the aqueducts. Avi poured some water onto it and you could see how it flowed through the aqueducts and into the cisterns.

The ramp path which the Romans built and used to finally capture Masada. You can see a group of people walking up the ramp.

When it became clear that the Romans would breach the wall with fire and battering rams and that the situation was hopeless, the Jews killed their wives and children before killing each other. The last person slayed himself. When the Romans arrived, everyone was dead. Their belief was that it was better to die than be slaves to the Romans.

The story of the siege that took place at Masada has been adopted as a symbol for the modern Jewish state. The attitude is that “Masada will not fall again.” What a story...

The group was still climbing as we left.

Information on the cable car system. The operator told us they joke amongst themselves that it can hold 60 Americans or 80 Asians. He’s not far off!

And here we go down to ground level again...

And then we were off to see where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found…so much history!

The beautiful Dead Sea…you can really see here how much it is receding.

Described as the most important discovery in the history of the Jewish people, the Dead Sea Scrolls (now on display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem) were discovered inside earthenware jars in a high cliff side cave at Qumran in 1947 by a Bedouin shepherd boy searching for a stray goat.

Excavations at the Park have revealed the settlement and caves of the Essenes, the Jewish sect that authored the scrolls that included books of the Old Testament, the Apocrypha and their own texts. They were a breakaway Jewish sect who believed they were the chosen people of Israel. They existed in the desert from 150 BC until 68 AD when they were expelled by the Romans. This was their settlement.

The hole in the hillside where some of the Scrolls were discovered.

Avi still talking…by now he was used to us and we had grown to like him! He did his Master’s degree on the Dead Sea Scrolls so he knew a lot.

And we were off again...using irrigation, they are now growing date trees and other crops.

At last! At the Dead Sea for some fun. Kathy and I debated back and forth whether we would actually go swimming or just wading, and finally decided to go for it. This opportunity most likely wasn’t going to happen again! The Dead Sea has such a high salt content that nothing can live in it, hence the name.

Lots of people making the trek from the changing rooms to the beach. It looks just like any beach, right?

Wrong! Kathy immediately fell into a mud hole and I was trying to help her get out.

Success! We were killing ourselves laughing at this point.

Ta da! We float!! Avi warned us not to get the water in our eyes, so we were being careful not to splash.

We were only in about 2 feet of water, but it was easy to float.

There is plenty of mud on the bottom which is reported to have great health benefits and people were covering themselves in it. We started to do that and realized how hard it was going to be to get it off, so we aborted that plan quickly! Believe me, when this guy stood under the shower that mud did not come off. It had to be scrubbed off.

Jeff decided to make his way in…and immediately fell into a mud hole. It was too funny...

Jim opted for the foot bath!

That was a great experience! Lots of pretty flowers around the changing areas.

A Bedouin camp…they are scattered along the road like gypsies.

An unbelievable day. When it began to rain in torrents, we were so happy to already be back on the ship.

Avi will meet us tomorrow in Haifa to continue our tour as we go to Nazareth...

Touring the Old City of Jerusalem at Night

2011-11-13T11:47:00.000-05:00

And we have arrived in Israel! Kathy had arranged for a guided tour for three days, two in Jerusalem where we would stay overnight in the city, and one day in Haifa. Our guide, Avi, met us at the port in Ashdod. We immediately wondered what we had gotten ourselves into when Kathy tried to introduce the seven of us who would be with him for three days and he said “Never mind. I won’t remember your names anyway.”

Here is the port in Ashdod. Look at the rows and rows of new vehicles in the background, but few of them are for export. Israel's neighbours refuse to trade with them. The port of Ashdod had been closed on the previous cruise because of security concerns.

Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv signs. Hard to believe we are here!

The surroundings were all brown with white buildings, while the highways were all new and well maintained.

Our first stop was Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum. Four people in our group of seven were Jewish, and this stop was particularly important. Much of the museum has been built through donations from survivors and victims' families.

The first part of the tour was the Children’s Museum, a memorial to the one and a half million Jewish children who perished in the Holocaust. It was built through the generosity of Abraham and Edita Spiegel of Beverly Hills in memory of their son, Uziel, who was killed in Auschwitz in 1944.

This monument represents the children…

We entered through this sunny arch and began the spookiest experience. You go through the Children’s Museum in total darkness. Avi took our hand and put it on a railing and then we fumbled through as you listened to a monotone voice saying the names, ages and nationalities of the children who died. Very sobering and heartwrenching…

Janusz Korczak, a Polish writer and pediatrician, looked after Jewish children in an orphanage. When the Germans came for the children, he was offered a way out, but he refused. Instead he walked holding the hands of the children, going with them onto a train headed for an extermination camp. He was never heard from again.

This bridge leads into the main part of the museum.

Photo taking was not permitted in the museum. The exhibits are extremely well done with interviews from survivors and with many photographs. It is impossible not to be affected by it. And to think it all took place only 70 years ago. The tour ended with you coming out into the light, the hope for the future.

We grabbed a bite to eat at the museum where Jim and I showed our ignorance of the Jewish faith by eating our cheese sandwiches in the area designated for eating meat. Avi was quick to point out our mistake! Then we were back in the van on our way to the Old City. We passed by the Hebrew University.

And stopped at this lookout where Avi pointed out the parts of the city. Jim and Kim in Jerusalem!

Jerusalem is the capital of the State of Israel, and is about 45 miles from the port of Ashdod. The city is known for its beauty and for being the focal point of the Jewish, Christian and Islamic faiths. The city has a population of close to 800,000, 20% of which are Israelis of Arab descent. There are three sections to Jerusalem: the historic Old City, East Jerusalem and the New City. The walled Old City has drawn religious pilgrims and tourists from around the world for many centuries.

Jerusalem has been conquered, pillaged, plundered, restored and conquered again and again. This is the city where a Roman ruler, Herod, washed his hands and sent Jesus, the son a carpenter, to be crucified. In 1948, a Jewish nation, which had not existed for nearly 2000 years, was suddenly reborn, though the city of Jerusalem remained divided. In 1967, victorious over insurmountable odds in just six days, Israeli army paratroopers captured Jerusalem and stood before the Western Wall, the foundation of the Temple of their Lord. After 2000 years, the blast of the ceremonial ram’s horn, the “shofar,” echoed once again through the streets of ancient Jerusalem.

Here we could see the Old City with the Dome of the Rock in the background.

This desert-like setting was originally part of Jordon and has been claimed by Israel. To avoid disputes between Arabs and Jews, a military base has been built in the centre to guard against the establishment of settlements.

Our van…the seven of us took turns changing places.

The Old City with the Dome of the Rock. It sits atop Israel’s Temple Mount and dominates the skyline of Jerusalem. According to Jewish religion, it is from the Temple Mount that the world expanded into its present form. The location is the holiest site in Judaism, where both the First and Second Jewish Temples were built and is the place where Jews turn towards in prayer.

For Christians, it is where God chose His Divine Presence to rest.

The Mosque is sacred to Muslims who believe the Dome covers the rock where Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac.

The Mount of Olives, where there has been a Jewish cemetery for over 3000 years...

The walls of the Old City...by this time the sun was setting and we were wondering why we were spending so much time up here instead of in the Old City exploring. Avi quickly put us in our place by telling us to trust him, we had lots of time.

Megan, who was travelling with her mom and dad, had had about enough by now!

Our next stop was the Garden of Gethsemane. It was here that Jesus wept and prayed to his heavenly father prior to his betrayal, arrest and subsequent trial.

The garden contains some of the world’s oldest olive trees, three of which have been scientifically dated as being over 2000 years old.

This one is propped up by a rock.

The Church of All Nations, also known as the Church or Basilica of Agony, is located next to the Garden of Gethsemane.

The iron work on the doors symbolizing the olive trees…

A service was being conducted within…

The trees were amazing…

A mural showing the Western Wall and its importance to the different faiths.

Entering the Old City through the Dung Gate. Not a great name, but that was the gate through which they disposed of the sewage.

The walls around the Dome of the Rock were built by the Muslims, when they built the mosque on the site of the First and Second Jewish Temples.

The Western Wall…

In the distance on the right, you can see people up against the wall...

The Hasidic Jews with the black coats and hats. Avi had definite opinions about them!

At the Wall…men had to have their head covered to approach the wall. Jim borrowed a yarmulke, which unfortunately, I didn't get to see.

A nearby signed explained the significance of the Western (or Wailing) Wall:

“The Western Wall is one of four massive walls surrounding the Temple Mount, which is Mount Moriah, where according to tradition, the world was created; the binding of Isaac took place and this is where both the First and Second temples stood.

After the destruction of the 2nd temple by the Romans, the Jews were expelled from Jerusalem. Access to the sacred Temple Mount was forbidden. Pilgrims therefore chose the Western Wall as the place for prayer and lamenting, both because of its proximity to the Holy of Holies on the Temple Mount, and because of the ancient tradition that “The Divine Presence Never Moves From the Western Wall.”

Zionism brought back the Jewish people from around the globe to the ancient Western Wall where mourners lamented the sorrow of exile, and celebrated the return of the Lord. The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former.”

The wall is divided by a fence with men on one side and women on the other.

You could write a prayer on a piece of paper and put it in the cracks and crevices of the wall, which Kathy and I did. And then you back away from the wall, as it shows respect, rather than turning your back to it.

There was just so much to take in, but our tour continued as we walked to the Armenian quarter of the Old City, the smallest of the quarters.

Hmmm…

We entered the Christian quarter and the Via Dolorosa (The Way of Sorrows). According to Roman Catholic tradition, this is the path that Jesus took through Jerusalem on his way to his crucifixion on Calvary Hill. 2000 years ago, this was an empty plot of land outside the walls of the city.

There were 14 Stations of the Cross, with the final five in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This was the fifth stop where Simon of Cyrene took the cross from Jesus and carried it for him.

Supposedly where Jesus laid his hand upon the wall. You could tell we were tired by now when someone said "I guess the cement was wet at the time!"

Bill was looking at a shofar (ram’s horn)…

The 6th station where Veronica, a holy woman, stepped from the crowd and wiped Jesus' face with a cloth. An image of his face remained on the cloth.

Continuing along the Via Dolorosa...

At the 8th station, Jesus met the women of Jerusalem who were very sad to see him suffering. He offered them encouragement in spite of his own pain.

The boy was playing pool amongst the bagels. We might have been hungry, but they kind of lost their appeal.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built in the 12th century. The church is shared by several Christian denominations. According to their tradition the church was built upon the site of Christ’s crucifixion, entombment and resurrection.

The 13th station, where Jesus was taken down from the cross and his body given to his mother, Mary. Many people were praying at the site.

The beautiful mosaic on the wall was donated in 1964 to mark the visit of Pope Paul VI. It showed Jesus being removed from the cross and the body given to Mary…

Being prepared for entombment...

And being placed in the tomb...

Where Jesus was crucified…

This is supposedly where his blood ran down the wall…

The Holy Sepulchre…the tomb where Jesus was laid. The line to see inside was 45 minutes long so we opted to just view from the outside.

We left the Christian quarter and starting walking back to the van. By now we were exhausted mentally and physically. We had seen so much. Avi wasn’t kidding when he said to trust him, he would show us the Old City.

Back in the Jewish quarter, we came across these excavations.

This showed how as many as eight layers of buildings were established on a particular site. They kept building on top of ruins.

This was funny….this store's shirts caught our eye. Look at the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens t-shirts!

This mural was so interesting. Not only for all that it showed of early life, but because of the youngster with the backpack in the lower right hand corner. Old World meets New World…

Avi in front of a mosaic showing the Old City. Jeff added to my fatigue by giving Avi a cigar. Now when we followed him, we followed his trail of smoke as well. Blech!

Leaving the Jewish quarter, we passed by the Hurva Synagogue...

The Golden Menorah is over 6 feet high and plated with 92 lbs of gold. It is similar to one used in ancient times.

Goodbye to the Old City…it was so amazing.

At last we arrived at our hotel for the night…we were all exhausted and hungry.

The hotel was basic, but the location was great and the price was right. A nice aquarium in the lobby...

We wandered around until we found Ben Yehuda Street, the pedestrian street, with all the shops and restaurants. The food was great but very expensive. Jerusalem is very expensive! From the left: Bill, Megan, and LeNae from Alabama; Kathy and Jeff; Kim and Jim.

A very nice area for shopping and eating and people watching…

Chocolate by the Bald Man? I didn't know this until later, but there are several of these shops around the world. You know I must have been tired, when I was too tired to look at chocolate!

Jim and Kim in Jerusalem…a fantastic day!

Tomorrow, we'll be up bright and early to go to Masada and the Dead Sea...

A Cappuccino in Marmaris, Turkey

2011-11-11T07:37:00.003-05:00

Marmaris used to be a quaint fishing village, but not anymore. An earthquake in 1957 destroyed most of the old town and today the rebuilt city is a top holiday destination. Suleyman the Magnificent assembled a mighty fleet here in 1522 to prepare for his conquest of Rhodes.

The scenery was beautiful…

As we entered the port, this fisherman was checking us out.

And led us into the harbour…

It looks like a beautiful port...

From the upper deck of the ship, we could see yachts everywhere.

Very pretty…

We waited for a moment of silence for Remembrance Day before heading out. I couldn’t resist waiting for this…11/11/11 at 11:11 a.m.

I’m not sure who this dude is on Deck 3.

Welcome to Marmaris…we’re back in Turkey.

This is definitely the land of the wealthy!

This was impressive…called “My Turn” from Gibraltar.

The yachts were from all over the world.

We didn’t have anything planned today and decided to just walk around the small town. There was shopping and a bazaar further in the town, but we were content to just wander. This is the local marina...quite a contrast.

Once again, lots of restaurants, but what we also saw were lots of laundromats. They definitely would have a big business with all the yacht owners. Had we known, we would have brought some of our laundry!

We ended up off the beaten path walking down this alley.

With this beautiful tree!

We saw a little restaurant offering free WiFi, so we stopped for a cappuccino and a chance to check emails without using our expensive minutes on the ship. This cat took quite a liking to the people at the table next to us, especially when he was fed some fish.

Awww…such a cute little guy. I didn’t have anything to feed him, but he managed to mooch some stuff from the people next to us causing a moment of territorial war with the ginger cat.

It was so relaxing to just sit and people watch on a bright, sunny day…

Lovely sunset as we headed out…

Jim’s favourite place…

Marmaris would be a great place to vacation…

And that was our lovely, quiet day in Marmaris. Tomorrow we have a sea day before we land in the place everyone has been waiting for...Jerusalem.

The Medieval City of Rhodes, Greece

2011-11-10T07:37:00.000-05:00

Rhodes was our stop for today. It is the fourth largest Greek island and is known for its medieval old town, sandy beaches and lush mountains. It’s really closer to Turkey than Greece.

I was feeling much better today. Whatever bug I had, it only lasted a day and I was ready to go again. Once we docked, the tender boats were out for some kind of drill. Looked like they were playing Follow the Leader.

From the ship, we could see the wall going around the Old City.

While we were on the upper deck of the ship, we did a little exploring. We’ve been so busy with tours, we've hardly had a chance to look around. Jim found a new friend.

The ship is beautiful. This glass piece on the ceiling looked like a Chihuly or a nice replica.

Back to our cabin before heading out. The cabin is nicely laid out and has lots of storage space which is great.

Welcome to Rhodes! It says “Voted top destination of Europe. 5th in the World.” Hmmm…OK!

We didn’t have a tour planned for today and there were lots of taxi drivers trying to get our business. But they had a Hop On, Hop Off bus, so we decided to do that instead. They are usually a great way to get a view of the city and you can get off and back on wherever you wish. This one cost 9 Euros each, which we thought was a bargain. It became apparent that you get what you pay for! By the time we got to this stop, we figured out that most of the ear phones didn’t work and they weren’t saying much anyway. At this stop they said “Here is a castle with a moat.” Too funny!

This was some sort of stadium...we really weren't getting a whole lot of information.

The bus had now taken us outside the Old City. On the hill were the ruins of the Temple of Apollo. It was built around 400 BC and was badly damaged by bombing in WWII.

Superb views of the city below.

We passed by this school with all the kids out playing. By now we realized this tour wasn't big on information, but we decided to stick it out until we got back to the Old City. It was a nice day for a bus ride!

The newer part of the city was nice and clean.

This was fascinating. The entrance to the port now has two bronze deer on top of these columns, but in ancient times this is believed to have held the Colossus of Rhodes.

The Colossus of Rhodes was one of the original Seven Wonders of the World. It was built to commemorate the victory of the island after a one-year siege by Demetrios. It was a bronze statue 90 feet high and it took 12 years to complete! It was toppled by an earthquake in 227 BC after guarding the harbour entrance for 56 years. Seriously! How did they do this stuff? It might have looked something like this. There is now doubt, not that it existed, but that it was at the entrance to the harbour.

The bus was now heading back into the Old City and our quickie tour was over.

This seemed like a perfect place to hop off and walk around.

We started off in what we think was the town square. Look at the cobblestone streets…

And the gelato animals...so cute!

And the ever present dogs…

Shops upon shops. There were lots of tourists, but not many people inside the shops.

This church was converted to a mosque after the Turks conquered Rhodes in the 1500s.

There are over 200 streets, most with no names, so it isn't hard to get lost.

Guess what I found!

And then to the Street of the Knights for which Rhodes is famous.The Knights began as Benedictine monks in Jerusalem. In 600 AD Pope Gregory commissioned a hospital in Jerusalem to treat and care for Christian pilgrims in the Holy Land. After the original hospital was destroyed, a new larger one was built on the site of the monastery of St. John the Baptist. The caring for pilgrims evolved into providing armed escort, which soon grew into a substantial military force. The military brothers became very powerful and were known as the Knights of the Order of St. John.

In 1291, the rising power of Islam eventually expelled the Knights from Jerusalem. After a short stop in Cyprus, the Knights captured Rhodes in 1309. Using their immense wealth they built most of the Old City you see today, and the wall around the city. The Knights were divided into eight "tongues" or groups depending on where they had originated from.

Kim with a knight…

On the Street of the Knights, each tongue had its own residence and responsibilities for defending a portion of the island. The architecture of each residence was unique to the country from which they came.

Fantastic passageway built above the street…

There were little streets leading off everywhere…

This is now the Consulate of France…

Statues in the niches…

Interesting serpents…

This gate had a cross in it and we could see a fountain beyond…

And then we were back in the city square. There were no lack of restaurants and shops. We did buy a pretty tablecloth.

This little guy was making a fortune! Who can resist a little boy with a dog…and an accordion!

Remains of the Church of the Virgin of the Burgh...it was built in the 14th century and partially destroyed by bombs in WWII.

Leaving the walls of the City…

Along the backs of the shops facing the streets. They were shops in the olden times and still remain so today.

Leaving Rhodes…it was a nice relaxing day!

Tomorrow it's back to Turkey, as we head into the port of Marmaris...

Playing Tour Guide in Athens, Greece

2011-11-09T07:36:00.000-05:00

We wondered if we would get into Athens due to recent worker unrest, but we landed on a beautiful sunny day. We had a Cruise Critic tour planned, but as we were getting ready, my stomach was telling me it wasn’t a good day to go too far. Norovirus had been present on the ship, but I wasn’t sure if that was my problem, or my decision to drink the “sacred” water the day before. Either way, I decided it wouldn’t be wise to head out on a tour, so Jim left with Kathy and Jeff and the rest of the group.

So once again, here is a Jim blog (there will be nothing but the facts...and no cat pictures!)

The flag of Greece...

We arrived in the port of Piraeus, which is about 20 minutes from Athens. Our tour provided a driver, but he wasn’t a tour guide, so we were on our own at the various sites. When we asked the driver about the economic situation in Greece, he said that the problem rested entirely with government overspending. He said private enterprise was doing very well and tourism was booming, but no one had the nerve to ask him whether or not he paid income tax.

This is the gateway to the temple dedicated to the Greek God Zeus, who was King of the Gods and the father of most of the Gods.

The major Greek Gods were called Olympians.

This is the remains of what was the largest temple in all of Greece. It had 104 Corinthian columns and measured 110 m long and 44 m wide. It contained a statue of Emperor Hadrian and a 40 ft seated statue of Zeus. Both Zeus and Hadrian were worshipped as equals in the temple.

The area with the temple in the centre was huge to accommodate the large crowds that came to worship.

Turning around 180 degrees you could see the Acropolis on top of the hill.

Hadrian’s Gate was the entry point into the old city.

Just inside the gate was an area known as Hadrianopolis. Hadrian constructed what we would now call a “subdivision.” He was obviously ahead of his time. The area contained classical (model) houses.

The residents had the use of central Roman baths.

The remains of the baths...

Next we moved to a more modern venue, which was the Panathenaic Stadium, the site of the first modern day Olympic games in 1896.

A park and fountain with the Greek Parliament buildings in the background.

The city square and Parliament buildings with no demonstrators to be seen.

Standing next to a guard who was perfectly rigid. Attempts by a group of students to make him smile were fruitless.

This relief sculpture on the Parliament building wall is the Tomb of Unknown Soldier.

Next we started our climb to the Acropolis. On the way was the Odeon (theatre) of Herodes Atticus, a 5000 seat amphitheatre built in 161 AD by a wealthy landowner in memory of his wife. It was destroyed when the Romans were chased out, rebuilt in the 1950s, and is frequently used today for theatre and concerts.

At the end of our climb, we reached the Propylaia, the monumental entrance to the Acropolis built in 437-431 BC. Considering that we were there in the off season, the large number of visitors shows why the Acropolis is the most important ancient site in the western world. The word Acropolis means “high city” in Greek. The site covers seven acres and contains the Parthenon (447-432 BC), the Erichtheion (421-406 BC), and the Temple of Athena Nike (421-407 BC). The buildings are undergoing continuous restoration to repair damage from the elements.

The Parthenon, probably the most famous temple in the world, is 228 feet long and 101 feet wide. It has 46 columns, 34 feet high and 6 feet in diameter. It served as a temple to Athena and the city’s Treasury.
The Parthenon contained 100,000 tonnes of marble which was quarried several miles away.

The triangular pediment depicts the central event in Athenian history, the birth of Athena their patron goddess.

The Erichtheion Temple, opposite the Parthenon, is smaller yet more elegant.

The Porch of the Caryatids with six beautiful maidens functioning as columns to support the roof...

These six columns provide the entry to the second level of the temple which was the worship level. The entry to the lower level was around the corner.

The St. George monastery on the hill in the distance.

Looking down on Hadrian’s Gate and the Temple of Zeus.

The marvellously constructed ancient walkway to the Acropolis.

The recently built Acropolis museum contains a mind-boggling collection of art and sculpture from the Golden Age of Greece.

The museum is situated over ruins of the ancient city. This portion of the exhibit is not open to the public yet.

I managed to get one picture of the sculpture showing Hercules and Triton before the guard intervened…”no pictures.” I wish I had purchased a book on the museum because it's impossible to describe the quality and quantity of the exhibits.

This smiling accordion player did very well. She accumulated 6 or 7 coins then removed all but one. When we dropped a coin, she already had 5 more in a few minutes.

Tomorrow we're in Rhodes, Greece...

The Incredible Ruins of Ephesus

2011-11-08T12:25:00.001-05:00

Today we are touring the ancient ruins in the city of Ephesus. Jim took endless notes (yay!) and most of this blog was written by him. We landed in the port town of Kusadasi.

Tours to Ephesus are a big business and there were lots of opportunities to get a taxi.

We were also going to be visiting the town of Selcuk and the Basilica of St. John.

Agriculture is a major industry in Turkey. The most important crops are cotton, olive oil, oranges, peaches, figs and strawberries. Sheep are the major livestock group.

Our first stop was to visit the house of the Virgin Mary. According to the bible the crucified Christ asked St. John to look after his mother, Mary. Mary came to Ephesus with John in 37 AD and settled in a modest stone house. This cistern was built by the Romans in 200 AD to capture the water from a spring near Mary’s house.

Our guide, Emre, was fantastic. He was 27 years old and had studied for four years in the capital of Ankara to become a tourist guide. His explanations were often lengthy, but excellent. No wonder Jim took so many notes.

Our on way to Mary’s house…

The discovery of Mary’s house came after a woman from Germany had a vision.

We passed by a statue of Mary.

The grounds on the way to the house were beautiful and very clean.

Pope Benedict XVI conducted a service from this pulpit in 2006. Emre felt very fortunate to be at that service and was situated within feet of the Pope.

Mary’s house was discovered in the early 20th century, but was left unrestored until the 1950s.

The dark line on the house shows the original foundation; the upper portion has been reconstructed.

Jim and Kim at Mary’s house…

You were encouraged to take candles and place them in the boxes as you said a prayer.

Jim looking pretty perky!

Water from the spring near Mary’s house is considered to be sacred. My bright idea was to empty my water bottle and fill it with sacred water. What was I thinking? With all this talk of sacred water, I was expecting it to taste so fresh and clean. The small sip I had tasted like brackish, stagnant water. Blech! My stomach told me what it was thinking the next day!

This crazy looking wall is pieces of napkins, papers, post-it notes and toilet paper with prayers written on them. When the wall is full, the Bishop takes them all down and burns them, releasing the prayers to heaven.

Our driver, Ali, was quite well known in the area as a wild boar hunter. All the other drivers would gather around and talk with him when we parked. We never did get a picture of him, but he was very smiley and accommodating. His very nice van had his name in the lower right corner.

Beautiful countryside…

An honest vendor!

And we arrived at the ruins. Ephesus became a significant port on the Aegean Sea in 1100 BC. However, silting of the harbour from the Menderes River resulted in the city being moved three times. The present site is the third move and was established by Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC. It was under the Romans from the 2nd century BC that the city really flourished. It became the major trading port where the Asian merchants on their camels met the European merchants with their ships. The excavation of Ephesus began in 1850 and is estimated to be about 30% complete today. During the period 200 BC to 400 AD, it was the wealthiest city in the world and was the second largest after Rome with 500,000 people. Mark Anthony and Cleopatra spent their honeymoon in Ephesus! This was the upper or Asian gate to the city.

The ruins in the background are the cistern. The floor of the cistern was made from thin marble slabs that were on pedestals. A fire was built under the floor to heat the water. Hot water was then piped through terracotta pipes to provide hot water for heating and bathing throughout the city. The world's first central heating!

These baths were established at each gate for the merchants to use after their long journeys.

Emre showing us a male fig tree. The milk from the leaves was used as an anti-aging cream. He pulled off a leaf and held it with the stem down and white liquid beaded out.

Terracotta pipes were used to transport hot and cold water throughout the city.

In an era where Christians were still being persecuted, this marked a meeting place. The faint upside down letters (I, X, O, Y, S) are Greek letters meaning Jesus Christ, God's son, Saviour. The fish was used by early Christians as a secret sign of Jesus.

This is the odeon or theatre. (Now we know where the Odeon Theatre gets its name.) It was part of the Roman state building where senators and councillors would meet.

More state offices…

Jim and Kim in front of the entry to the main Roman office building…

The smooth columns normally were used for temples, in this case, the Temple of Dormition.

The Dormition Square…

The sign for the hospital…

The ruins of the hospital…

A familiar sign indicating a pharmacy…

The pharmacy where papers with prescriptions were found. Many of these compounds found in the prescriptions are still in use today.

Nike, the Goddess of Victory…

The ever present cats…

Hercules Gates…leaving the Roman section and entering the citizen`s area.

The main street leading to the lower part of the city.

Along the main street were sets of stairs which would have led into the different shops.

The fountain building was donated by a wealthy Roman citizen to honour Artemis and Roman Emperor Trajan. Water spilled from the opening at the bottom between the columns to cool the hot pavement.

There were only 13 private houses in the city. This area in front of them was a meeting (coffee) place.

This well preserved mosaic floor shows intricate workmanship.

The uncovering of the Terrace Houses is an ongoing massive undertaking.

The original terrace houses (houses of the rich) as they appeared in 1967. These ruins of the first houses were uncovered in a haphazard fashion. Terrace houses 2 was just a mound on the right in 1967 waiting to be excavated.

Terrace Houses 1 and 2 in 2006. You can see the difference in how the second houses are being excavated.

As the rooms and halls were uncovered and reconstructed, pictures were drawn to depict their original state.

Marble was cut in very thin slabs using silk thread, which is virtually indestructible, and placed on the walls. The pattern in the marble suggests that this was all from the same slab.

This movie shows the extent of the seven dwellings under restoration.

The faces on these frescos were copied from masks used in the theatre.

The table in the Great Room of a house with a backgammon type of game etched on the top.

Individual rooms in the home were built around the Great Room. These rooms show the drawings on the walls.

A photo of a wall in the child`s bedroom shows that even then, children drew on the walls. Their heroes were gladiators as can be seen in the drawing.

The circular pedestals on the left were used in supporting the marble floor of the bath. The fireplace heated the slabs and the water used for bathing.

A well preserved mosaic of a lion on the floor. They were incredible artists!

More mosaics and frescoes. The wall paintings depicted everyday life in the Roman house including educational topics and social values.

Mosaic of Dionysus, the God of the Grape Harvest, on the left. These houses have the largest number of mosaic floors from the Roman Imperial period in western Turkey from 10 AD to 250 AD.

Many Turkish carpets today copy these early mosaic designs.

The entrance to the Temple of Hadrian, built to honour the visit of Emperor Hadrian in 123 AD.

The façade portrays mythical gods and goddesses.

The reliefs over the door depict the foundation of Ephesus.

The public latrines had water flowing through the trough underneath to remove the sewage. At the corner where the fresh water entered was an opening to dip a sponge for washing (or wiping).

They had people who would warm the seats in the cooler temperatures...

The main street with the Celsus Library in the background.

This magnificent building was a library built by Consul Galius Julius Aquila for his father in 114-117 AD. The library contained 12,000 books and was a meeting place for the scholars of the era. It had completely fallen down after an earthquake in 1000 AD.

The statues occupying the niches are Sophia (wisdom), Arete (valor), Ennoia (intellect) and Episteme (knowledge).

The gate to the commercial Agora which was the main marketplace of the city.

Great detail on the gate.

Looking down the street which ran in front of the marketplace and was paved with blocks of marble.

Looking down one side of the marketplace showing the traders stalls. The broken columns in the foreground once lined the marble street.

Marble street…

We are in front of the Theatre Gymnasium with the theatre in the background.

In the foreground are the remains of a huge gymnasium covering more than 12,000 square metres. The gymnasium contained exercise rooms, baths and an open courtyard for physical training. The theatre in the background can seat 25,000 people and is still in use. Elton John, Diana Ross, and Pavarotti have performed here, very different from the animal fights and gladiators in Roman times.

So many cats…

And with that, we left these fantastic ruins. You could spend so much time there. Lots of vendors outside with souvenirs and snacks for the tourists. Over 13 million people visited Ephesus last year.

And then we were off to Sirince for lunch.

Grapes vines…

Mandarin trees…

Because this was a major holiday in Turkey, many other people had the same idea of going to this quaint village for the day. After talking to some other guides who were in the town and couldn't get into any restaurants, Emre wisely made a decision to turn around.

When you drive a tractor, you can park on the sidewalk. (We made that rule up!)

We went instead to this restaurant in Selcuk for lunch.

It was about 3:30 by now and we were starved. They start each meal with bread and we devoured it! A Turkish meal followed with lamb sausages, braised lamb, pickles, yogurt, vegetables, olives…a feast!

And then we were off again to the Basilica of St. John built by Roman Emperor Justinian in the 6th century.

The Persecution Gate on the way to the church.

The Basilica was a massive structure measuring 130 m x 65 m. The fort in the background is a Byzantine citadel built in the 6th century.

The ruins today...

And a model showing the original Basilica...

The four columns were over the altar.

It was difficult to get an overall view of the church because of the size!

It is believed that St. John was buried here, but his bones were stolen by the Crusaders and taken to Italy.

The tomb of St. John which is continuously covered in dust. Popes have collected and preserved the dust believing it is from St. John’s remains. There are many myths associated with the tomb of St. John, one being that the dust from the tomb has healing powers.

This is the baptismal font at the entry to the church. Citizens had to be baptized before they could enter and here they could walk down one set of steps, be baptized in the centre and walk up the other set of steps into the church. Very efficient!

The Isa Bey Mosque with its preserved gardens was built in the 14th century. It is the oldest mosque in western Turkey.

View of the ruins with the almost full moon…it had been a long, but very amazing day.

Our next quick stop was at the last remaining column of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The oldest artifacts found at this site date from the 14th century BC. Since the beginning of the Iron Age (11 BC) the site has been a place of worship. It was rebuilt three times before its eventual destruction in 401.

It had 127 columns about 60 feet tall. A model showing the original temple...

And what little remains today...

And after a quickie stop at a leather outlet (Turkish leather is beautiful), the sun set on an amazing day. Our minds were full!

Tomorrow we visit Athens...

A Cruise Before the Cruise...Istanbul Day 3

2011-11-08T12:24:00.001-05:00

On our last day in Istanbul, we cruised the Bosphorus Strait with Lale’s husband, Kagan, as our guide. The Bosphorus Strait divides Istanbul into the two continents, Europe and Asia. After our cruise, we were heading to the ship to begin our Holy Land cruise.

We began recognizing most of the places on the signs, which was a good thing.

The walls of the Old City which we were leaving for the last time.

Dolmabahce Palace has been converted into a hotel. Originally, it served as the main administrative centre for the Ottoman Empire from 1856 to 1922. The reception room is rented for most of the year for weddings at $27,000 per night. Its lavish interior includes a crystal staircase!

The Ciragan Palace, originally an Ottoman palace, is now also a five-star hotel.

We didn’t realize that our cruise would only involve our group of 18. We weren't fighting for seating room!

A condo building…

This Ottoman fort, erected to control traffic on the Bosphorus, was built in 3 months in 1453!

Mosques with single minarets are usually built as private mosques for families. Imperial mosques would have two or more minarets.

It’s amazing how bridges were built over the old buildings.

The Bosphorus Strait with Europe on the left and Asia on the right.

This pink structure is a 500 year old wooden house under reconstruction. Bill Gates owns a home above it.

Several times Kagan told us that the value of a particular house was $65 million. It sort of became a joke because he said it several times. It seemed like all the houses were worth $65 million!

This house looked run down but would still sell for at least $10 million.

This was a private home owned by the President of Fiat.

The old and the new…

Kucuksu Palace was a summer residence used by Ottoman sultans for short stays for hunting and country excursions, indicating that this was once a rural area.

These two similar homes belong to one of the wealthiest families in Istanbul, who own most of the shopping centres, among other things.

A military high school which was established during the Ottoman empire…

And our river cruise ended. This was our ferry...lots of room for 18 people!

We noticed many of these parks with exercise equipment in them. Jeff is getting ready for ski season.

Jim and Kim on the Bosphorus Strait…

More dogs!

I don’t know how they manoeuvred these boats out of this tiny marina…

It was an important holiday in Istanbul, the Feast of the Sacrifice. Supposedly no restaurants were open and this family agreed to open for us, but we noticed many restaurants around that were serving customers.

Our group getting ready to eat…again!

Kagan explaining some of the items to us. It was very good.

Ann Thompson, who organized many of our private tours, and her father, Fred, who is 90 years young!

These men were very involved in a serious game similar to backgammon.

After lunch, we headed out for a tour of the area. Without warning (I think Kagan was hoping we wouldn’t notice), we came upon these tents.

We weren’t quite prepared to come upon the site for the sacrifice of the animals. It was a little unsettling. I believe these might be sheep innards.

We arrived at this lookout where we spent a few minutes walking around. Because it was a holiday, there were many families enjoying the view and having picnics.

Jim and Kim with Istanbul in the background.

It was a beautiful park.

Cotton candy, Turkish style!

A Turkish stop sign…

A flower nursery and a worker keeping the street tidy. Istanbul is very clean.

We arrived at our last stop of the day, another lookout.

This body of water is referred to as the Golden Horn.

We needed our sunglasses. It was such a beautiful day!

Our cruising friends, Jeff and Kathy from Lake Tahoe…

And we made it to the cruise ship! We were on the Celebrity Constellation, our first cruise on a line other than Princess. This mosque was the view from our cabin.

Although it was the end of the cruise ship season, there were lots of ships in the port that day. From now on, they would have maybe one ship a day. That’s a lot by our standards!

Farewell, Istanbul. We had a fantastic time and would love to return!

Our first formal night on board…

With Jeff and Kathy at the show in the theatre…

Tomorrow, we are ready for a tour to Ephesus…