Saturday, September 9, 2023

FIRST FULL DAY ON CRUISE SHIP

Breakfast was in the buffet dining room. This time we got lucky and found seats just as someone was leaving.

Our first excursion was to Kusadasi, Turkey. We missed the bus by about 30 minutes to our first tour choice of the House of Virgin Mary & Ancient Ephesius and instead took the tour of Ancient Ephesus through the Ages.

At ancient Ephesus you find immortal relics of the Hellenistic, Roman and Early Christian era. At the archeological site you will be given a guided tour among the Agora, the Odeon, the Library of Celsus, the marble-paved main street of Kouretes, the Baths of Scholastica, Trajan’s Fountain, the Public Latrines, the Residences of the Patricians, the Prytaneum, the Temple of Hadrian. The Great Theatre, built in the 4^th century B.C., could accommodate 24,000 spectators and it is famous even nowadays for its acoustics. The finds from the excavations, which have yet brought to light only 13% of ancient Ephesus, reside in the Archaeological Museum of Ephesus, in the city of Selcuk. The excursion includes a visit to a carpet-weaving center or a leather shop, where you have the opportunity to do some shopping and get in touch with the Turkish culture.

Ancient ruins:

This is the house of a rich person:

Terrace House:

Look, indoor plumbing!

Dwelling Units 3 & 5:

This is the outdoor theater, you'll have to zoom in to see it in the background:

A few days ago, a part of my belt broke where the buckle screws into the leather. Today it broke completely and I threw it in the trash thereafter keeping my eyes open for a replacement.

After the regular tour they took us to a factory where they make carpets. They had us sit down and gave us some tea and a woman made a couple lines of a carpet on a homemade loom. Then they proceeded to unroll carpet after carpet. They were all very beautiful and cost thousands of dollars each however, the price includes free delivery. 😊 

They also had numerous ones that were wall hangings:

Outside they had a little buffet lunch set up (right next to the jewelry shop) for us which was nice.

We got back on the minivan and were taken downtown 

where the ladies spent some time going through a few shops including this large one that was mainly all purses:

For the evening excursion on the island of Patmos (Greece) we signed up for the Patmos Countryside tour with Hora and Grotto of Apocalypse.

This time we took tenders to and from the ship and the port:

The evening excursion was a visit to the Greek island Patmos.

Thanks to its religious value but also for its particularities, in 1999 Patmos was proclaimed a “World Heritage Monument” by UNESCO. The panoramic excursion begins at the port of Scala heading towards the center of the island, to Chora. At the main town you will visit the Grotto of the Apocalypse and at the top of the “castle” behind the walls, you will see the Monastery of St. John the Evangelist, of Byzantine architecture. The silent windmills in Chora have witnesses important events on the island which attracts thousands of tourists for religious, and also recreational, tourism. The tour of the island towards more desolate landscapes, which are the trademark of the Dodecanese. Rocky hills, barren, dry soil, promontories which, like earthly tongues, delve into the sea, dozens of bays and coves, and an intricate coastline. After this enlightening excursion, through the island, the tour will conclude at Scala, the port, where the atmospheric café “Arion”, the oldest and most picturesque of the area, will be waiting for you for coffee, refreshments or juice.

This included a tour of this small Greek Orthodox church:

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