Jade Mediterranean from Rome -> Greece -> Turkey pics report (Nov 27 - Dec 7, 2013)

[herdingdogmom]

This is my wife and my first cruise and we are looking forward to it.

 

Does the Jade have 110 V electrical service in the cabins or do I need to bring some kind of converter to use my shaver, etc

 

Their is a 110v outlet in the bathroom next to the sink exclusively for shavers. No other outlets in the bathroom. In the small vanity area outside the bathroom, there is a hair dryer plus one 110 and one 220 outlet. We usually bring a power strip to charge up camera batteries, tablets, etc. ut a converter will work too.

 

Suites most likely have more outlets.

 

See you on board.

[ibcnusoon]

 

 

OMG, my daughters would DIE happy ... an H&M store right in the heart of European culture and the ruins! :p

 

Thanks for posting these pictures, they are stunning. What type of camera did you use? We are planning a Med cruise for November 2015, looks like a light jacket is needed?

[Mustang51]

Their is a 110v outlet in the bathroom next to the sink exclusively for shavers. No other outlets in the bathroom. In the small vanity area outside the bathroom, there is a hair dryer plus one 110 and one 220 outlet. We usually bring a power strip to charge up camera batteries, tablets, etc. ut a converter will work too.

 

Suites most likely have more outlets.

 

See you on board.

 

Thanks, Beverly

[thirdeastshak3]

Great pictures so far. They're reminding me of our trip last February that we took on the Jade. Same itinerary. Looks like you had a blast! Can't wait to see your Istanbul pics.

[jlee616]

Thank you for sharing. I'll be on the Jade in April, but the Western Med. Enjoyed your pics of Rome and the ship. Can't wait to see the rest!

 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Forums mobile app

[Cruiser Bruiser]

Thanks for taking the time to do your gorgeous review. The photos are spectacular, and I'm loving the contrast between your trip and my visit last September. It's remarkable how the weather changes the mood.

 

We did an excursion through NCL, as we were first-time visitors to Athens. Based on your experience, I will do it myself next time. We had a lot of time wasted while we were stuck in traffic. We did manage to find the H&M, however! :o (That's to say we walked by it.)

[thamanrp]

Thanks everyone for the kind comments. The rest of the ports, Izmir/Ephesus, Istanbul, and Naples were all very interesting and beautiful. We took a LOT of pictures in these ports. So, it may take me a while to sort, edit, and upload them. So, below are some of the teaser.

 

Ephesus

 

Library of Celsus

 

 

Panorama view of the theater

 

 

OMG, my daughters would DIE happy ... an H&M store right in the heart of European culture and the ruins!

 

Thanks for posting these pictures, they are stunning. What type of camera did you use? We are planning a Med cruise for November 2015, looks like a light jacket is needed?

I didn't know H&M is such a big hit :-P

I use Nikon D600. Yeah, if you plan to go during Nov/Dec be prepared for the rain. We went the week after Thanksgiving and got very lucky that we didn't see much rain (mostly cloudy and light rain). The week before we arrived to Rome it was pouring rain in Italy and Venice was even flooded.

 

Great pictures so far. They're reminding me of our trip last February that we took on the Jade. Same itinerary. Looks like you had a blast! Can't wait to see your Istanbul pics.

Yeah, we loved Istanbul. Here are some of the Istanbul teaser:

 

New Mosque

 

 

Blue Mosque

 

 

 

Thank you for sharing. I'll be on the Jade in April, but the Western Med. Enjoyed your pics of Rome and the ship. Can't wait to see the rest!

 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Forums mobile app

Since you will probably visit Naples, we went to Amalfi Coast. Here are some teaser:

 

Amalfi

 

 

Positano

 

 

Thanks for taking the time to do your gorgeous review. The photos are spectacular, and I'm loving the contrast between your trip and my visit last September. It's remarkable how the weather changes the mood.

 

We did an excursion through NCL, as we were first-time visitors to Athens. Based on your experience, I will do it myself next time. We had a lot of time wasted while we were stuck in traffic. We did manage to find the H&M, however! (That's to say we walked by it.)

Yeah, too bad it was always cloudy during our trip. Otherwise the pictures would have come out a lot better. We like to do stuff on our own and be on our schedule. Most of the itinerary were easily doable on our own.

[dak0tak1d]

Great review and pictures so far

[chris_kelowna]

Thank you for your beautiful review! We are doing this trip on the Jade in April this year, can't wait! Your review is most welcome.

[HimAndMeGoCruising]

Your pictures are amazing. We are doing this cruise April 2015 and I am even more excited seeing your pictures. Thank You!

[binwinbinwin]

Thanks everyone for the kind comments. The rest of the ports, Izmir/Ephesus, Istanbul, and Naples were all very interesting and beautiful. We took a LOT of pictures in these ports. So, it may take me a while to sort, edit, and upload them. So, below are some of the teaser.

 

Ephesus

 

Library of Celsus

 

 

Panorama view of the theater

 

 

 

I didn't know H&M is such a big hit :-P

I use Nikon D600. Yeah, if you plan to go during Nov/Dec be prepared for the rain. We went the week after Thanksgiving and got very lucky that we didn't see much rain (mostly cloudy and light rain). The week before we arrived to Rome it was pouring rain in Italy and Venice was even flooded.

 

 

Yeah, we loved Istanbul. Here are some of the Istanbul teaser:

 

New Mosque

 

 

Blue Mosque

 

 

 

 

Since you will probably visit Naples, we went to Amalfi Coast. Here are some teaser:

 

Amalfi

 

 

Positano

 

 

 

Yeah, too bad it was always cloudy during our trip. Otherwise the pictures would have come out a lot better. We like to do stuff on our own and be on our schedule. Most of the itinerary were easily doable on our own.

 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed your trip review and photos from Rome, Olympia and Athens.

 

Would love to see more of the rest of your Jade itinerary....Izmir/Ephesus, Istanbul and Naples photos. Will you be posting more of those photos this month (your teaser photos whet my appetite)?

[binwinbinwin]

Thanks everyone for the kind comments. The rest of the ports, Izmir/Ephesus, Istanbul, and Naples were all very interesting and beautiful. We took a LOT of pictures in these ports. So, it may take me a while to sort, edit, and upload them. So, below are some of the teaser.

 

Ephesus

 

Library of Celsus

 

 

Panorama view of the theater

 

 

 

I didn't know H&M is such a big hit :-P

I use Nikon D600. Yeah, if you plan to go during Nov/Dec be prepared for the rain. We went the week after Thanksgiving and got very lucky that we didn't see much rain (mostly cloudy and light rain). The week before we arrived to Rome it was pouring rain in Italy and Venice was even flooded.

 

 

Yeah, we loved Istanbul. Here are some of the Istanbul teaser:

 

New Mosque

 

 

Blue Mosque

 

 

 

 

Since you will probably visit Naples, we went to Amalfi Coast. Here are some teaser:

 

Amalfi

 

 

Positano

 

 

 

Yeah, too bad it was always cloudy during our trip. Otherwise the pictures would have come out a lot better. We like to do stuff on our own and be on our schedule. Most of the itinerary were easily doable on our own.

 

 

I am really enjoying your trip review and photos of Rome, Olympia and Athens.

 

Would love to see more of the rest of your Jade itinerary....Izmir/Ephesus, Istanbul and Naples photos. Will you be posting more of those photos this month (your teaser photos whet my appetite)?

[thamanrp]

Next port on our itinerary was Izmir, Turkey. I believe the majority of the people that visit this port go to Ephesus. We normally try to do stuff on our own but Ephesus is hard to reach on your own. So we booked a tour instead. It was the last minute but we contacted and booked through Ephesus Shuttle. The guide was great. There were total of 6 people on this tour but they provided a Mercedes Benz van that would sit 12 people comfortably. It was $54 per person with a visit to Ephesus, Terrace Houses (must see), and Artemission temple. I highly recommend them.

 

Here are some pics from the visit.

 

Note: make sure the tour you booked also include the Terrace House (a lot of tour does not).

 

Baths of Varius

 

 

The northern side of the agora was a colonnaded, covered walkway (called a stoa), which was eventually remodeled into a basilica-like structure.

 

 

Sacred Way - From here, looking far beyond the city stretching below, you might catch a glimpse of the Aegean Sea. While the sea once lapped at the gates of the city, 1,500 years of silt and big-city drainage left Ephesus high and dry

 

 

Odeon - Dating from around A.D. 150, this indoor theater—once topped with a wooden roof—seated 1,500.

 

 

 

Sacred Way

 

Edited February 25, 2014 by thamanrp

[thamanrp]

Domitian Square - The square was ringed by important buildings and monuments. The highest surviving arch (on the left) marks what was a public water fountain. The centerpiece of this quarter (straight ahead) was the Temple of Domitian, dedicated to the notorious first century A.D. Roman emperor.

 

 

Memius Monument

 

 

 

The Fountain of Pollio

 

 

Resting on the ground across from the temple site, an impressively carved piece of stone—the Nike frieze, which once topped a gate. This depicts the Greek goddess Nike giving the wreath of victory to the Romans.

 

[thamanrp]

Curetes Sreet - This lane gives you a small glimpse of the epic scale of Ephesus at its peak. Mentally replace the tourists with toga-clad ancients to imagine the Roman metropolis in its heyday. Statues, bubbling fountains, arches, and shops lined the street. Columns supported a covered sidewalk for pedestrians, while chariots, wagons, and men on horseback traveled the road.

 

 

 

Trajan's Fountain - This public fountain, a huge reservoir basin (66 by 33 feet), is topped by a pediment on stilts. Beneath the pediment once stood a statue of the powerful Emperor Trajan proudly gazing over the pond.

 

 

 

 

Temple of Hadrian - Symbolism abounds on this structure. The central relief over the arch is popularly thought to depict Hadrian’s lover, a boy named Antinous (with a captivating beauty considered the most ravishing in all the realm), whom the heartbroken Hadrian had deified after his early death. The figure in the lunette over the entrance to the temple proper likely represents the snake-headed Medusa.

 

[thamanrp]

Public Toilet

 

 

Public Toilets - there's a fountain right in the middle of the toilets!

 

 

View from public toilet

 

 

The paved sidewalk (mosaic tiles!)

 

 

Notice the covered structure to the left, it's a Terrace Houses

 

[thamanrp]

Terrace Houses

 

 

 

Marble Hall - The wall were covered with marble

 

 

Archeologist still working on the marble pieces from the wall

 

 

 

[thamanrp]

 

 

 

 

Bedrooms on the second floor

 

 

[thamanrp]

 

View from the top of Terrace Houses overlooking Ephesus

 

 

Library of Celsus - This breathtaking structure epitomizes Ephesus at its peak. It was the third-largest library of the ancient world (behind the collections in Alexandria and Pergamon), with some 12,000 volumes. Its namesake was a well-read governor of this province, whose son built the library as a mausoleum in his honor in A.D. 123. The ruined library was restored to its current appearance in the 1970s.

 

 

 

 

[thamanrp]

 

 

 

Gate of Mazeus and Mithridates - This area was part of another library complex that included a lecture hall (now destroyed). The gate (rebuilt in 1989) is inscribed in bronze letters with two names: Mazaeus and Mithridates. These were slaves who, freed by their master Emperor Augustus, became wealthy enough to build this gate in appreciation of their liberty.

 

 

Commercial Agora - This large marketplace was the main supermarket and shopping mall of Ephesus. Like standard agoras throughout the ancient Mediterranean, this was an open courtyard (360 feet square) surrounded by columns that supported a portico to shade businesses.

 

 

[thamanrp]

Great Theater

 

 

View from the middle deck

 

 

 

Panorama view of the Theater - this is from the middle section and not from the very top

 

 

View from the Theater looking down the Harbor road

 

 

[thamanrp]

Artemission Temple

 

 

Only one column left

 

 

Walking around Izmir

 

 

 

 

[thamanrp]

Izmir port - view from the ship

 

 

Sailing out of Izmir

 

 

 

 

 

[binwinbinwin]

Next port on our itinerary was Izmir, Turkey. I believe the majority of the people that visit this port go to Ephesus. We normally try to do stuff on our own but Ephesus is hard to reach on your own. So we booked a tour instead. It was the last minute but we contacted and booked through Ephesus Shuttle. The guide was great. There were total of 6 people on this tour but they provided a Mercedes Benz van that would sit 12 people comfortably. It was $54 per person with a visit to Ephesus, Terrace Houses (must see), and Artemission temple. I highly recommend them.

 

Here are some pics from the visit.

 

Note: make sure the tour you booked also include the Terrace House (a lot of tour does not).

 

Baths of Varius

 

 

The northern side of the agora was a colonnaded, covered walkway (called a stoa), which was eventually remodeled into a basilica-like structure.

 

 

Sacred Way - From here, looking far beyond the city stretching below, you might catch a glimpse of the Aegean Sea. While the sea once lapped at the gates of the city, 1,500 years of silt and big-city drainage left Ephesus high and dry

 

 

Odeon - Dating from around A.D. 150, this indoor theater—once topped with a wooden roof—seated 1,500.

 

 

 

Sacred Way

 

Your photos and commentary are wonderful. I get a good sense of the place based on your description (as if I am right there on a tour)!! Our family will definitely visit Terrace Houses when we're there later this year.

[jldev]

Thanks so much again for for the fantastic photos but also for the wonderful description with each photo. I feel like you are our tour guide :)