After traveling for two months with a fearless 12 year-old, we put David’s brother Jeffrey on a flight back to CA. Then David and I flew from Tel Aviv, Israel to Istanbul, Turkey.
Turkey has long been at the crossroads of Europe and Asia (with the city of Istanbul split across the two continents), so it has a rich culture and diverse people. Illustrating the stark contrasts are two enormous structures facing each other in the oldest part of Istanbul. The Aya Sofya (Church of Divine Wisdom) was completed in 537 by Roman Emperor Justinian to help restore the greatness of the Roman Empire. It reigned as the greatest church in Christendom for almost 900 years. Just across a large plaza stands the mosque that Sultan Ahmet built to rival or surpass the grandeur of the Aya Sofya. Better known as the “Blue Mosque”, it was completed in 1616. Seeing a huge Christian church and a huge Islamic mosque stare at each other across a plaza is like witnessing a massive religious face-off. But in Turkey, Islam long ago triumphed in the religious wars, so the Aya Sofya was converted to a mosque in 1453 (though it retains many Christian mosaics and icons) and to a museum in 1935.
Both David and I were surprised by Istanbul. It was much more enchanting than we expected. With its wonderful Mediterranean climate, countless sidewalk and rooftop cafes, clean cobbled streets, hundreds of interesting shops in the Grand Bazaar, plus a colorful Turkish carpet shop on every corner, Istanbul is a delightful place to spend a few days.
From Istanbul we went to Ephesus to see the ruins of the city made famous in a letter written by Paul in the Bible. The massive outdoor theater where Paul addressed the Ephesians still stands and was used until recently for major concerts (Elton John, anyone?) until they discovered that vibrations from amplified sound systems were causing cracks to form. One of the pictures below shows a stone carving of the goddess Nike that is reputed to have inspired the Nike "swoosh" logo.
From Ephesus, we went to Kusadasi on the Mediterranean. We happened upon a hotel run by Hasan Degirmenci, better known to everyone as “Mr. Happy”. And he was! He seems like one of the happiest people in the world, and he wants to spread his good cheer, sometimes breaking into song or dance when he can’t contain his enthusiasm. So if you’re ever in Kusadasi, Turkey, make sure you stay in Hotel Liman to enjoy Mr. Happy’s hospitality.
Since we could see some Greek islands off the coast of Turkey, we decided to take a ferry and spend a few days on the islands of Samos and Ikaria. We can confirm that the Greek islands deserve their reputation for beautiful coastlines, picturesque villages, and friendly people. We were lucky enough to stay at a guesthouse where the husband and wife owners made the most delicious home-cooked Greek food – souvlaki, moussaka, pastitsio, and more. Incredible!
David’s highlight: anticipating diving around the fabled sunken city (ask him about that when he gets back…).
Steve’s highlight: succeeding in his first attempt at a back flip off the sailboat into the water (click on the image to see the epic video).
We enjoyed Turkey and the Greek Islands much more than we expected and we only scratched the surface, so we’ll have to come back some other time to enjoy more of what these countries have to offer.
- Steve
