Patrick

Today is the day we were to leave Turkey by boat for Samos to start our four weeks in Greece portion of our trip. Unfortunately due to high winds this morning the boats didn't run, so we are stuck here another day -- just like what you Fodorites warned me travel in Greece would be like. Oh well, there are worse places in the world to be stuck than in Kusadasi, Turkey. <BR>We arrived in Istanbul 18 days ago, staying in the Sultanahmet area for four nights at the Yasmuk Sultan hotel, very nice. We loved the city and were only ripped off once. Our first venture was walking a couple of blocks to the Blue Mosque. As we arrived at the entrance a huge tour group was just going inside. We were approached by a very official looking man who instructed us to remove our shoes (which we were just getting ready to do) and that it would be 5 million lira, (about $8.00). We paid him and then he handed me a folder and he informed us that we each owed 5 million. <BR>We gave him that much more and he gave us another folder. As we entered, we realized that he had sold us folders of postcards. Later we found out there is no admission charge for the mosque. Oh well, it was worth it -- a beautiful building. A day trip on the standard commuter ferry on the Bosphorus was wonderful, with a hike up the hill to the castle ruins on the edge of the Black Sea. We flew to Keyseri, picked up our rental car and drove for two weeks. The roads were great, hardly any traffic, and all our fears were totally unfounded. Hot air ballooning and our stay at Esbelli Evi in Cappadocia were highlights. Konya was described as a dull city, but our one night there was great, avoiding dinner at our large hotel and venturing into the city where we ate at an old restaurant where not one person spoke a word of English and we had a great time. The coast is beautiful, with stays in Antalya, Marmaris, Dalyan (boat trip on the river to see the mud baths and the cliff tombs), and Bodrum, where we were the only guests at the Antique Theatre Hotel (eleven rooms on the hill with flower covered terraces overlooking the harbour). It was like having our own private villa, including the night we had our private dinner served poolside overlooking the lights of the village and the harbour. Kusadasi is merely a tourist stopping point, but we have enjoyed ourselves here as well. I'm sure I will be bombarded with comments, but we are already sort of ruined out --meaning we've seen enough ruins to last us, and we haven't even been to Greece yet. Even Ephesus, although interesting, was mainly a place where you need to let your imagination take over, as there is mostly just a lot of reconstructed ruins. However we found the museum at Selcuk where all the items removed have been taken, quite fascinating. <BR>The food in Turkey has been wonderful, the people unbelievably friendly (even though half of them are always trying to sell you carpets, leather, or jewelry), and the entire experience has been wonderful. This is truly a beautiful country.

xxx

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denise

Found this message so interesting, Patrick, but where is part 1??? Would love to read it, but it doesn't appear. We leave for Turkey & the Greek island of Kos on 6th July so will keep watching this space to see if you have any more information for us. We're booked into the Esbelli Evi for three nights, and from your comments on it we're really looking forward to the experience! Any must do's for us? And did you visit the island of Kos?

kk

I believe (but am not absolutely certain) that part 1 was about England, and attending lots of wonderful plays and shows. Wasn't that one Patrick's? he is going to be in Europe for something like five months and promised to post as he moved around the continent. His postings are really great and I can hardly wait for more.

Paulo

Denise, Patrick's trip is much longer than you may think it is Part 1 relates to London! If you want to give it a shot, try making a text search inserting "patrick" in the search window. <BR> <BR>Paulo <BR>

Patrick

I guess I'm getting famous. We were eating lunch at an obscure little place in Turkey, near Ephesus, and the couple next to us started to talking to us and asked how we found the place. When we said we were staying at the Hotel Kismet in Kusadasi and someone there told us about the place, she said, "oh yes, you're those two Americans spending five months in Europe." We still don't know how they knew that. In any case, I am getting ready to post Part III, Greece, so Denise look there.