Splendor - Greeek Isles & Turkey Cruise - Review with lots of pictures

[Sinppu]

Thank you for a very nice review!

Hope you'll keep up the steam till the end :)

 

It's always SO nice to see photos taken with a keen eye and good equipment.

[Poorplaya]

Great review so far, cant wait to read the rest of it, great pictures too

[RM]

Great Pictures!

 

Question did this cruise embark and disembark passengers in Venice and Bari? I noticed that on the RCI website it lists both ports for embarking.

[PCWalton1]

Great Pictures!

 

Question did this cruise embark and disembark passengers in Venice and Bari? I noticed that on the RCI website it lists both ports for embarking.

Yes they did. I did not see any of the passengers but I did see bags in the hallway on the night of the 12th so I have to figure they were going to disembark in Bari the morning of the 13th.

[PCWalton1]

Wednesday we moved on to our one stop in Turkey as we arrived in the port city of Kusadasi. This was one of the early morning ports so 5:30am the alarm was making its annoying noise to wake us up. I set up the tour for this port and we used Ekol Travel. Valentina has been my contact for the past year and has been great in responding to our ever changing requests. When I first contacted Ekol we were booked on Voyager and planning to go to not just Kusadasi but overnight in Istanbul as well. So we had four tours booked with them including an evening dinner/show in Istanbul. As our needs changed they have been very responsive and helpful.

For this port we had the largest tour group of any of the ports with 15, adding Ken & Marie from Ireland and Joann & her husband (So sorry I forgot his name) from California. The van provided was plenty big enough to accommodate all of us. We met our guide Tylan, hopped aboard and were heading out of two to our first stop which was the House of the Virgin Mary. The house is a Roman Catholic and Muslim shrine located on Mt. Koressos in the vicinity of Ephesus. Catholic pilgrims visit the house based on the belief that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was taken to this stone house by Saint John and lived there until her Assumption.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PCWalton1]

It was a beautiful day for the drive up into the hills and the location of her home was isolated but peacefully. Like many of the ruins in this part of Turkey there has been major reconstruction. It appears the Turkish philosophy is to give the tourist a visual representation of what was here. In the Greek ports we found the opposite thinking with many larger structures having nothing left but a single column.

We toured the house then stopped at the spring. Pilgrims drink from a spring under the house which is believed to have healing properties. Marie brought several small empty water bottles to fill and back for friends/family. I figured I hauled around part the beach in Santorini; I could carry water I don’t get to drink. Just past the spring is an area they call the prayer wall. Similar to the Wailing Wall in Israel, people leave their written prayers on a wall leading down from the house. Marie wrote up several to hang on the wall, one in particular for our 16 year old golden retriever who passed away just a few days into our trip. This was a stop on the trip she was really looking forward to.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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After that we loaded back on the bus for a quick ride to Ephesus. Ephesus is considered one of the great outdoor museums of Turkey.The city was established as a port and had the greatest harbor in all of Asia till silt from the river finally made it inaccessible.

Its position as a center trade route made Ephesus wealthy and very great in the ancient world. With a population of 250,000 Ephesus was the second largest city of the Roman Empire. It was a religious center of early Christianity – Apostol Paul and Apostol John stayed and preached in Ephesus.

Currently what you can see in the ruins include:

· The Odeon - used as concert hall for the performances

· The Prytaneion - where religious ceremonies, official receptions and banquets were held

· Domitian Square - the first temple to be built in the name of an emperor,

· Hercules Gate

· The Baths of Scholastica - used not only to bath but also to socialize and discuss the topics of the day

· Temple of Hadrian - it is one of the best preserved and most beautiful structures on Curetes Street

· Celsius Library - was the third largest library with the capacity of 12,000 scrolls

· The Grand Theatre - most magnificent structure in Ephesus

Some of us also went in the enclosure that contains the Terrace Houses section, so called as '' the houses of rich''. The oldest building dates back into the 1C BC. In here you can see fine mosaics and frescoes and the remains of a heating system thru clay pipes.

 

 

 

That is me at the top

 

 

 

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The goddess Nike (see the swoosh?)

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Public bathroom and community area. A lot of business was conducted here.

 

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Like a big jig saw puzzle

 

 

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Our guy Tylan gave a great running commentary of the sites we were visiting as we progress through the ruins. All of it was a bit overwhelming and I don’t think the several hours we spent there really did the city justice. At the end we passed the many gift stands where I bought a low cost box of Turkish Delight (more on that later) and I saw a sign that I just loved advertising ‘Genuine fake watches’.

 

 

 

Don't worry, she got loose.

 

 

 

[PCWalton1]

We were getting hungry so we loaded up the van and headed to a restaurant that actually looked to be closed so we had the entire place to ourselves. Ty had called ahead to the owner so they were preparing lunch for us as we arrived. We had about a 10-15 minute wait and then the food began to hit the tables. It was served ‘family style’ and there was so much we began to run out of room on the table. Everything was amazing fresh and delicious so I emailed Valentina to ask what they served us that day and this was the response:

We talked with the restaurant owner and she said that they do not have a menu for everyday – they make the menu depending on the vegetables they have in the garden. From what Tylan and the owner of restaurant remember you served, here with the list:

 

Meals:

Yayla Çorbası (Yogurt soup with rice and dry mint in it)

Bulgur Pilavı (Cracked wheat pilaf)

Köz Patlıcan (Grilled eggplant, kind of salad dish)

Kızartma (Fried seasonal vegetables and potato with yogurt sauce)

Köfte with tomato sauce (Ground meat with tomato sauce)

Biber Dolması (Stuffed green peppers with rice)

Karnıyarık (Eggplant stuffed with ground meat and tomato sauce)

Tavuk güveç (Stewed chicken)

Kabak kavurma (Sauteed zucchini)

Patlıcan (Sauteed eggplant)

Taze fasulye (Sauteed green beans)

Bakla (Horsebean)

 

Deserts:

Incir tatlısı (Fig with syrup)

Irmik helvası (semolina halva with pine nuts in it)

All I can say is that was one of the best meals I had on the entire trip. I even tried Turkish coffee after the meal and it was an experience. I had them put sugar in it, something I normally do not do to coffee but I was advised it would make it more palatable. Turkish coffee is a process not an actual coffee. When we were offered a cup they even made the joke that they were serving the best Turkish coffee straight from Brazil. Turkish coffee is very finely ground then the coffee (and sugar) is added to the water and before it is very slowly brought to a boil (the slower the better). As I said it was an experience but not the way I would prefer my coffee (watch out for the sludge in the bottom of the cup).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PCWalton1]

From here we loaded back up and headed out to a co-op carpet factory for a demonstration. I just looked back over the email that I sent out to the group and realized this stop was not listed (it was on my original email with Ekol) so I understand why one or two asked about the stop. I was a little nervous with the stop as I know many of these places are noted for their really hard sell at the end of their presentation. But this was a co-op that dealt primarily with wholesale rather than retail so we received no hard sell.

The first thing they showed us was how they retrieve the silk from the cocoons produced by the silkworms, each of these cocoons can have as much as a kilometer of silk filament. First the cocoons are soaked in a pan of water, then the woman took a bristle brush and rubbed it in the pan of cocoons. This causes some of the filaments to attach to the brush which she could then twist together and string across and apparatus that will wind the thread. Usually they use 4-8 filaments to create a thread. As I mentioned to several in the group I found it amazing that someone could devise a method for making the silk thread. But what I find even more amazing is that someone ever thought of using insect cocoons, not that is thinking outside the box.

The next demonstration was of the carpet weaving. In Turkey you use a double know method which can make for a much tight and stronger carpet. The woman had a pattern hanging in front of her and was using the appropriate colored thread based upon where she was in the pattern. Lightning fast she would tie two knots then cut the thread with a sharp knife she was holding in right hands. I would have lost a finger tips or two moving that quickly.

We then went into the showroom where they offer us drinks before they were going to show us some of the carpets they produce. They offered a variety of drinks from coffee to apple tea to a liquor that I forget the name of but I tried a glass and the lighting in the room seemed to take on a rainbow effect. Three or four guys began rolling out various carpets and one sales guy told about the materials, time it took to produce, etc. That was about the extent of the sales pitch as they then just thanked us for being there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Last stop was back to the port where we thanked Ty for a great day and took an opportunity to shop in the local bazaar. Marie and I stopped in a shop that had fresh Turkish Delight. They were giving sample of the various type (my favorite was pistachio with honey). They were so good we decided to have them pack a box for us to take home. While he was doing that he mentioned to stay away from the pre-packaged boxes you see in many shops (oops, remember my previous Ephesus purchase) as it will be dry and tasteless. When we got to the ship we opened that pre-package box and not only was it just a few pieces it was just like he said, dry and tasteless. We threw it out.

There was one more thing I needed to shop for and that was the famous Turkish evil eyes. They vary in size but they are multi-color (blue/white/black) glass amulet that are supposed to ward off the evil eye (The evil eye is a look that is believed by many cultures to be able to cause injury or bad luck for the person at whom it is directed for reasons of envy or dislike) and are very typical in Turkey. You can find them all over Turkey: women use it as a bracelet, earring or necklace; Turkish people hang them in their house, office and also in their car, also babies have it hanging in their cloths. I bought a half dozen and plan on putting them to good use at work.

 

We saw many fields of delicious artichokes as we drove back to town.

 

Marketplace

 

Evil eyes

 

 

They paid for this vacation so I guess I should plug them.

 

So back onboard and we are getting ready for dinner. We had a 6:30 reservation at our usual table for two (#97). Marie still did not have her fill of shrimp so she had the Seafood Salad for starter and the Giant Shrimp for the main course. I opted for the Mushroom Tart for the starter and Thai Grilled BBQ Chicken. The chicken was not what I expected (thought it would be sweet and spicy). Not sure at this point why I picked it, I guess everything was not that appealing to me tonight. The service was still great so I still enjoyed the experience.

After dinner we went to the C&A welcome back party in the Top Hat Lounge. Nothing like music and free drinks to top off an evening. They did an award presentation for a couple that reached pinnacle level which was nice. After that it was on to the nightly slot feeding then bed.

[Baseball fan]

Bill - I love your review and your pictures. We are on the Splendour from Venice to Barcelona in November. I loved your pictures of Venice....cannot wait to get back.

 

A few years ago, I was in Kusadasi and we too used Ekol for Ephesus. Our guide was great. I also remember the "Genuine Fake Watches" sign as I have a picture of it. That was one of my favorites....we didn't do the carpet factory but did go to a porcelin (sp?) shop. Did I over pay for my plate? Probably, but I love it and it is on a plate stand in my living room. We had a second day in Kusadasi so we wanted to take a break and use it as a leisurely day....we spent the morning in the marketplace and I also bought the evil eye which is hanging above my front door. Your pictures made me smile at the memories...

 

Thanks for posting your review and pictures.