Just About a Wrap

Well, all trips must come to an end. This is the part where I wish I were Samantha in Bewitched and could just wriggle my nose and be back home again with my kittens and my laundry all done.

Instead, we had breakfast in Selcuk this morning. Took a taxi to the airport. A flight to Istanbul. And a taxi back to the JW Marriott for one more night on points where they upgraded us to a lovely one bedroom junior suite. 

Here are a couple random tidbits before I sign off:

Before leaving Ephesus yesterday Michael bought us both Turkish ice cream cones….the ice cream is truly stretchy…like ice cream taffy.  It hold its shape and it doesn’t melt.

Here are our cones 

And here’s a video to click on that shows the performance involved in actually getting a cone..,not Michael;specifically,of course, but this is what the vendors do…

Turkish Icecream

After finishing our treats we looked for a taxi back to the hotel. The taxi guy asked what we paid to get to the site. When we said 10 euros (what the hotel manager told us it would cost), he said that he was happy to take us back for 10 euros. And when Michael asked to sit in the front passenger seat rather than the back seat, the driver said, “for 10 euros, you can drive if you want.”   Hmmmmmm. 

So I have no doubt that we have done our part to support the Turkish economy, 

Tomorrow, we fly out at 3:15p. So a leisurely morning and then a long trip home. We will land in Miami around 9p, have to get the car at the hotel and then drive all the way home from there…hence the wish to be a witch. 

But it’s been a great trip. My entire excel spreadsheet went off with nary a hitch. I managed to keep Michael from buying a rug or anything else for that matter. So we leave here tomorrow with nothing but a whole bunch of wonderful memories and this test tube of pebble “sand”. (Reference previous post Hvar beach visit)

Until next time…

Ephesus

This morning we checked out of the Marriott in Istanbul, left our luggage there, and headed to the airport with our backpacks to catch a flight to Izmir and then another taxi to Selcuk, Turkey. We dropped one backpack at our new hotel and grabbed a different taxi to the upper entrance of the Ephesus Archeological Site. I can’t imagine why anyone would start at the bottom and walk up, but we definitely did not. It still took us about three hours to wander down. (This being a view down from nearly the top and this doesn’t show the flat bit at the top itself).

The city was Anatolian, then Greek, and then Roman. The ruins are quite extensive and magnificent.

From the little theatre to the big theatre.

From little lambs to big altars

And of course the iconic Library of Celsus

There was beauty at every turn.

It was well worth making the diversion. 

Ships and Shopping and Suds

No visible moon this morning, but there is always a line of cargo ships waiting to enter the Bosphorus Strait on the way to the Black Sea. Apparently one of the narrowest and most congested waterways in the world (though I don’t know if that ranking has changed since a certain “conflict” has impacted another now-infamous strait).

By design today was a quieter day.  Leisurely buffet breakfast then an Uber ride to check out the Grand Bazaar.

Not your crazy, noisy, frenetic outdoor bazaar selling everything including the kitchen sink. No, this is a solid, permanent, clean (no smoking!) kind of a mall.

Next, a leisurely, of sorts, stroll down to the Cağaloğlu Hamam, a very old, traditional Turkish bath (as featured on Rick Steve’s’ YouTube tour of Istanbul 😎).

Men and women separate. Treatment includes some just sitting in the steamy room.  Being rinsed off by your attendant pouring water over you.  Lay down for a whole body loofa treatment.  Then olive oil soap bubbles all over for a massage. Hair washing. Rinsing off. Toweling up then tea and relaxation.  The internet reports that Michael could have been laying on the same marble slab that once touched John Travolta, Harrison Ford or Rudolph Nureyev. I get Florence Nightingale or KateMoss. ☹️

Nevertheless, a lovely time was had by all.  No pictures back in the naked depths, but this is the reception area.

Somehow we are both now squeaky clean and silky soft at the same time! 

Here’s a Mosque. There’s a Mosque.

Well, we are exhausted. Our younger selves would be embarrassed by how exhausted our current, older selves are after six hours of touring. But it was so worth it.

Picked up for our tour and dropped off down the hill (damn it) from the Sultanahmet District here Istanbul. We got out first great view of the Blue Mosque walking past it…

Heading to the Hippodrome. The Hippodrome was the site of the chariot races (think Ben Hur…or Google Ben Hur if that means nothing to you coz you are still your younger self!) Except for one curved end of the foundation, these two obelisks and the remnant of one bronze statue, nothing really remains due primarily looting by the Crusaders and destruction by the Ottomans. But in its day it was apparently the Formula 1 race track of its time holding maybe 40,000 spectators for its competitions.

The Egyptian obelisk was brought from Karnak and had to be cut into two pieces to have any hope of safe transport. Only the top portion survived so that what remains is only 18.5 meters of its original 30 meter height. 

Then we headed over to Hagia Sophia. Completed almost 1,500 years ago it was originally a Byzantine church, the largest indoor structure of its time and one of the first ever to utilize a pendentive dome whereby a dome can be suspended above a rectangular structure. Looking up you see a dome with four half domes around it. There were renovations going on…scaffolding and curtains and all so it was hard to photograph but that architecture was used later in the building of mosques including the Blue Mosque (a picture is forthcoming).  In the mid-1400’s, Hagia Sophia, itself, was converted into a mosque.  

Outside on our approach(cropping out the scaffoldings and the covered dome)

Inside: the gold mosaics in the ceilings, the hand cut, book-sawn marble walls, and the intricate columns are really beautiful.

Next stop was the Basilica Cistern. Built in 532 AD the cistern could hold about 21 million gallons of water! Now the water level is kept quite low to allow visitors to view the beauty of the structure.  Over 300 columns support the ceiling…the majority of them were repurposed from other demolitions. The effect of the columns, the ceilings, the lighting, and their reflections in the water is quite mesmerizing. (I took too many pictures. Here are just two.)

And then finally the Blue Mosque. Really the Sultan Ahmed Mosque but commonly referred to as the Blue Mosque because the interior is decorated with over 20,000 hand-painted blue and turquoise tiles. Absolutely stunning.

Whether from the Hagia Sophia

Or from the courtyard

Whether it’s just a minaret

Or the elaborate interior with all of those tiles on the second level

Or, finally, as promised, the view of the dome with the half domes and then the littler domes all radiating out like a brilliant kaleidoscope, it’s simply gorgeous.

Good Morning, Istanbul.

We enjoyed a very lazy night last night. Right now Michael is still sleeping, and I am out on the balcony in my cushy robe watching the day break.

Sometimes when we are traveling I try to plan certain days of the trip around the phase of the moon typically preferring a full moon for the picturesque drama.. For instance. I scheduled a night visit to the Taj Mahal to see the moonlight make the marble glow. The haze in the city was so bad we never even saw the moon light alone moonlight, but I tried. Alternately, I have planned around the new moon in order to enjoy optimum viewing of the northern lights. 

For this trip I didn’t pay attention at all until everything was planned and then realized we wouldn’t have a full moon. Yet as sometimes things work out, perhaps it is more fitting that I am sitting here this morning in Turkey 🇹🇷 with a tiny crescent moon peeking around the next skyscraper.

And Now…..

 We have been waiting to use this link ever since we booked this trip (please, sing along):

Click here.  Istanbul! Istanbul! Istanbul! 

We are settled into the JW Marriott on the Marmara Sea complements of Turkish Airlines’ stopover program; but also thanks to Michael’s Marriott status, we have an upgraded room with a sea view.

Tomorrow we tour. For now we rest and enjoy. 

North to Slovenia

This will be a quick blog. Actually it’s Wednesday and we have to get to the airport.  Yesterday we left Split in a rental car and drove nearly five hours to visit Slovenia on our way to a Zagreb airport hotel. In Croatia the drive was all highway. But once we crossed the border (just a booth saying “go on through” or something to that effect), we were on little switchback roads through countryside villages.

Our guy down in Dubrovnik told us that we would see fall colors when we headed north. Unfortunately, the fall colors went by so quickly in such a small little area that Michael didn’t even have time to pick up the phone get to the camera and take a photograph before we were beyond them. However, we did pass Mount Zir.

And drive through some pretty forest.

And a lovely castle.

And the restaurant that Google recommended, Grostilna Vovko, was wonderful. The owner was very talkative - proud of his country, his village and his family legacy. And Michael ate probably the best foie gras he has ever had.

Then another hour to Zagreb (at the border “go on through, go on through”. Check in at the hotel.  Return the rental car.  Uber back to the hotel and fall into bed.

Same Day - Part Two

Took a break and had a nice casual lunch on a square and did some more roaming.

Up to the northern Golden Gate in the Palace wall.

Where these two figures look down on you.  Google says they are images of bull’s heads with human faces.  I thought they looked a lot more like a ram and a ewe. 

Saw other pretty arches

And pretty windows

And a pretty Dalmatian “Dalmatian” pigeon.

Finally, we had a fabulous dinner at a highly regarded small local restaurant, Villa Spiza. And some gelato on the way home.

All in all a good day.

In the morning we pick up a rental car for a little drive. 

But for now, it’s bedtime. 

Diocletian Palace

This morning I got up early, found some coffee and pastries, located the rental car office for tomorrow morning, and took this lovely view of the Riva promenade along the harbor. Our hotel is the one just to the left of the cathedral spire with the curved iron balconies. 

 Off to the cathedral complex before the crowds. There before 8am. Ticket office opens at 8:15. A few of us politely cued up sitting on the steps. But there is always gonna be those people who make a show of going up the steps to the door to intently study the sign listing the ticket options and pricing.  Hmmmmm.  What do you think? Hmmmm. Hmmmmm. And then just stand there noses pressed against the glass to be first in line.  As if being sixth in line would have been too awful to allow for politeness in society. Sheesh.

Anyway, into the cathedral only after those two and they flew through so fast I only saw their backsides heading back out a door.

And here is a link to a spinning video

Spinning in the cathedral

And the lion and lamb guarding the cathedral.

It turns out the cathedral is one room.  Lucy’s crypt is one smaller room.  Jupiter’s temple (now John the Baptist’s) is one even smaller room. Some pretty,  detailed carving. But not a day’s work to be sure.

So I found myself finished and looking for the Treasury which is a museum now but thinking it might at least be old, interesting walls inside. The gentleman told me that it doesn’t open until 9am. It was 8:34am  I turned and walked back out, pausing to consider my options. I don’t know if a looked thst sympathetic or or pathetic in my plight, but he called to me and motioned me to go ahead inside.  I thanked him profusely and took a quick tour of the tiny three story museum all alone.  There were some little, ancient walls below, but mostly religious artifacts and a decent selection of reliquaries. And while I do appreciate me some nice reliquaries, I didn’t need a lot of time in there either.

So, more thank yous  and I headed back to the hotel. Here is a lovely clock from along the path. Not the correct time as I believe it was only 9:45a.  Mission accomplished.  Crowds avoided. Sites seen.

Hello, Split.

Another ferry ride today.  It’s a little strange to think that for 20 years our life was full of ferry rides. Anguilla to St. Martin.  St. Martin to Anguilla.  Back and forth, forth and back. But since then, until now, nary a boat. 

Anyway, Hvar to Split today. Then a short, luggage-laden walk to our luxury apartment rental. I recognized the building from the pictures and the Google map directions took us there but there wasn’t anything on the building or the door that indicated we were in the correct place.  Except this on the door bell list

I knew we were in apartment “Nancy” on the third floor so it turned out we were in the right place.  And I have to say I am somewhat comforted knowing that the British and Italian Consulates are in the same building.  “Nancy” is huge…paced off I would estimate 800+sq feet with two little balconies overlooking the harbor. And three different air conditioners. 

We set out to explore Split.  We are right next to a Diocletian Palace gate. But what a maze of street and alley ways! It reminds me a bit of Naples (Italy not Naples, Fl) in that way.  But you can usually see the cathedral spire to find your way.  Which we did. We will do the touring tomorrow. But wandered about to see a few sites.

The rotunda

The intricately carved door way in the rotunda

Some random wall I found in my wanderings

And sunset from one of our balconies.  A good day all around.