Greek and Turkey Cruise Part 2 ~ Where are the Jays

Ephesus/Kusadasi Turkey

This was our second visit to Kusadasi and we had visited Ephesus 10 days ago so while that is a great place to visit, we skipped it. Instead we headed to a winery. Yes there are several wineries in Turkey. The one we visited is 12 years old and is called the Seven Sages. It is a restaurant, hotel, spa and winery. All of which came across as a nice place. We had a short tour of their facilities including a view of their gravity fed wine production and a view of their wine casks. They commented that it has gotten too expensive to use American Oak for barrels these days since all the bourbon places are using so much. Anyway, after that we went to a long table on the verandah for our tasting. They gave us 2 types of cheese and some wonderful pretzel like sticks to go along with the wine. We tasted 5 different wines starting with a white. The winery has vineyards right there and in other locations of Turkey so that they can grow different types of wine including both European and local Turkish grapes. True to form for us we came home with a bottle of wine - a red blend. We both said ahead of time we are NOT buying any wine - yeah right. We also left with a package of those bread/pretzel sticks. we are now hoping the wine makes it home safely in the suitcase!

Carol on right

Old Fortress on Peninsula guarding the bay

At the end of the day we wanted to check out the fancy Cocktail bar aboard ship. It was a fun experience with exotic drinks. Jeff opted to have his Whiskey based drink infused with smoke. It was a choice of apple or walnut shavings burned in a small machine. (See photo) The cruise line describes the venue as:

Atlas Bar is an exclusive venue found only aboard Azamara Onward. Atlas Bar is a unique concept offering artisanal cocktails created using the latest one-of-a-kind techniques. These crafted beverages are as delightful to drink as they are to watch being made!

Bar tender is a good photographer, even staged the photo with the menus

Jeff’s smoke infused drink under glass

Dikili

This was a replacement port for when they cancelled all of the Black Sea (at one point we were still going to Bulgaria). Anyway I can't say anything nice about the port itself since it is obviously a commercial shipping port - although small. We had a choice of a whopping 2 excursions - Acropolis and Asklepion of Pergamum or Pergamum panoramic. We took the full on because of the gondola ride and that it was a strenuous excursion - great reasons. So while in many ways it was more Greek and roman ruins there was something different here - a hospital. Asklepion is a hospital. I was often amazed on this trip of the things ancient people were able to do and this hospital would be included in that statement. The hospital is a kilometer away from the city (bottom of the hill too). The people had to be able to walk there and they had to appear to be curable to get in the hospital. The treatment included a bit of psychotherapy in that they did things to convince you that you would get better. When we first got to the hospital, it appeared to be a lot like a marketplace. The guide explained that you had to buy a figurine related to the body part that was your problem. There were different grades of goods based on your class in the city. At the end of the marketplace section, was an underground area. This section had exam areas and overnight stay areas. Throughout this underground section were little skylight holes. They used these holes to do strategic things to play with your mind so you thought you would get better. They did things like whisper in the middle of the night "you will get better" and told you when water fell from the sky you were getting better and would strategically drop a little water on you through that hole. Now how they know that I do not know, but it is what I was told. I do know that the building included water pipes in the walls so in the winter they could send hot water through them to warm the area. Uh yeah remember this is biblical times here.

Entrance to hospital where you were evaluated and then sent to market

Hospital had its own smaller theater

Underground room with both running water and heated water in walls

After the hospital, we hopped on the bus to get to the gondola to tour the acropolis. Truthfully I think this was the smallest acropolis I saw. It was nice and we have some pictures for you to see. Great view since acropolis means city on the hill and then back to the ship.

This large theater is unique in that it had a wooden stage that could be moved out of the way to restore the view

The Acropolis had an upper and lower section, both high above the valley

Istanbul

Again this is our second time in this port. We again did an overnight stay which is nice, we thought about eating out but were hot and tired so we ate one last meal on the ship. We also had a final get together with 2 couples we met early on in the cruise at the chef's dinner. Per our prior guide Ali's instructions, we headed to Galata Tower and then to the 2 palaces on the Bosphorous: Dolmabahce and Ciragan which is now a 5 star hotel. Oh we also walked a bunch and unfortunately it was a hot day! We overshot Galata Tower so we walked uphill more than we needed to. Galata Tower is an old stone tower. It was built in the byzantine period only to be destroyed and then rebuilt in the 1300s. It has been used as a watch tower, prison and fire tower. Supposedly in 1638 Hezarfen Ahmed Celebi jumped off the top of it with wings attached to his arms and made the first intercontinental flight. It has been restored a couple of times and is currently a small museum. Honestly the best thing was all the views because you can do a 360 walk around the top of the tower and see a lot of Istanbul.

Asia in background across the Bosphorus with our ship docked in Europe (middle ship)

Looking across Golden Horn estuary to
Left Topkapi Palace
Middle Hagia Sophia
Right Blue Mosque

From there we walked to the Dolmabahce Palace. We were going to catch the tram but the line to buy tickets was a block long so we walked instead. This palace was built in the 1840s and 50s and was used off and on until the revolution in the 1920s. It is much more modern than the Topkapki since several hundred years earlier. In some ways, I thought of some of the fancy homes you can find in the USA probably because of the time period. Having said that you have to imagine everything much grander than any in the USA. Like Topkapi there are several buildings. We did not tour all of them because we did not feel like spending the recommended 3 hours there. I think there was an art museum as part of it and probably we should have done that, but my goal was to see the building because I had heard of things like a Baccarat crystal staircase. Our photo opportunities were limited so not too many photos here. Yes there is a grand staircase with Baccarat crystal spindles and lots of yells of "don't touch the crystal" as we walked down it. There are huge rooms some with gorgeous plasterwork on the ceiling and some with beautiful painted ceilings. Also noticed a trompe l'oeil in one ceiling where they wanted you to believe that it went on further than it really does (painted archways got smaller). We did make a point of enjoying their Bosphorous waterfront view too.

Palace grounds Gate

Parlance entrance

The spindles are Baccarat Crystal

When we had seen the main building and walked around the grounds (the palace is 45 acres), we headed for Ciragin Palace. It was past lunchtime so we were hungry and thirsty and knew that it was now an upscale hotel run by Kempinsky. Unfortunately it was a longer walk than we had expected but the promise of food kept us going. You start passing the palace long before you can actually enter it and I was wondering if we were in the wrong area or something. Finally stumbled into the entrance and was impressed. Nice high grand ceilings and just a grand feeling. It was not as ornate as the last one and as we were enjoying our lunch we learned that this palace had bad karma with people dying shortly after building it, another living under house arrest in it and then the building burning. Seems the palace sat in ruins for almost 80 years (fire in 1910 and rebuild started in 1987). When it was rebuilt, the exterior walls were kept and the inside was rebuilt with the purpose of being a grand hotel. We wandered just a little inside, but the outside was much more impressive. There was a gorgeous view of the Bosphorous with infinity pools and lawns with areas for get togethers. Where we ate lunch, was a separate new building for the restaurants, shops and meeting rooms that blends in well with the original palace. We contemplated taking a water taxi back to the port but decided against it and leisurely headed back to the port and the ship.