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SeaScape Trip Report - Installment 1 Mike Lee and Mary-Louise Johnson May/June 2002
Introduction from Mary-Louise Mike Lee and I did SeaScape’s two-week singles sailing trip to Turkey/Greece in late May/early June. In addition, we added on days in Istanbul and Athens at either end of the trip. I kept a journal while Mike took a zillion photos with his fancy new digital camera. I will be posting (in installments) my recollections from our travels and Mike will be putting his photos on WebShots to share with all of you. So, without further adieu, here goes...! Days
1 and 2/Minneapolis-Amsterdam-Istanbul
– After several long months of waiting and planning, SeaScape travel day is
finally here. My flight from
Minneapolis to Amsterdam is at 3:20 p.m. so I have lots of time to prepare and
get myself to the airport. I have upgraded my ticket to business class using frequent
flyer miles so am on easy street for check-in and boarding – no lines, great
service – what a way to go! I
could really get used to this business class service – huge reclining seat,
leg rest, private TV screen, clean blanket and pillow, amenities bag, champagne,
yada, yada, yada! The trip to
Amsterdam is amazingly smooth – just like resting in my recliner at home in
front of the TV and napping for a few hours – no problems, mon!!! The plane lands in Amsterdam around 6 a.m. and I have a few
hours to kill before meeting up with Mike Lee (who is coming from Seattle) at
our gate to Istanbul. I browse the
shops and pick up some Euros from the ATM.
Soon I meet up with Mike and we’re off to Istanbul, a three hour flight
from Amsterdam. We stop at the visa
counter when we arrive in Istanbul and purchase our visas to enter Turkey ($45),
claim our luggage and head to the nearest ATM to get some Turkish lira.
We had no idea what the exchange rate would be (guidebooks told us it
fluctuates daily), so were shocked to see withdrawal increments in the 100 to
300 million lira range! I took out
100 million Turkish lira and later found out it was worth around $70.
At the time of our visit the exchange rate was approximately 1,400,000
Turkish lira to $1 US! We have no trouble getting a cab to our hotel, however, the driver speaks no English except “no problem” and has no idea where our hotel is. Luckily, we have a printout from the Hotel Alzer’s web page or we might not have gotten there. The route to the hotel is about a 20-30 minute drive along the Bosporous before we turn into the Sultanamet neighborhood of Istanbul where we are staying. The Sultanhamet is the old walled part of the city located on the European side of the Bosporous and houses many of Istanbul’s most famous sites including Topkapi Palace, the Blue Mosque and the Grand Bazaar. After a few false starts and a couple of stops for directions, we arrive safely at our hotel. Cab fare is just 10 million lira! What a great location – Mike did a good job choosing this hotel. We are just across from the Blue Mosque and the Aya Sofya, the Grand Bazaar and Topkapi are within walking distance and there are tons of interesting little hotels/pensions and sidewalk cafes all over the neighborhood – and carpet shops galore! The hotel is a small Turkish property with a staff who are friendly, helpful and welcoming. We meet Linda, a fellow SeaScape traveler from Chicago, as soon as we arrive. Linda and I decide to go out exploring Istanbul while Mike takes a nap. I’m not tired yet from the trip and need fresh air so we walk all through the Blue Mosque and Aya Sofya area and then up to the Grand Bazaar. Linda is on a quest to buy a leather jacket and there is no shortage of shopkeepers around trying to sell her one. The Turkish are the most enterprising individuals I have ever met – they make Caribbean beach vendors look like chopped liver! Everyone is trying to sell everything under the sun and then some! Kids are selling postcards, guidebooks, spinning tops, etc., shopkeepers are out on the street trying to lure tourists in to purchase carpets, leather, jewelry, scarves and pottery, and restaurant maitre d’s are on the sidewalks trying to direct traffic into their establishments for food and drinks. You don’t dare linger for too long in any one place, or you will get bombarded from all sides. In spite of this, it was all in good fun and I can honestly say that I never once felt unsafe or threatened in any way. And, the nice thing about Turkey is that the price on everything is negotiable!!! Linda and I meet up with Mike later back at the hotel and decide to have dinner there. The food is good, but we find much better eating in the days ahead as we begin to explore the neighborhood. Mike and I wander around a bit after dinner and all the sites are lit up beautifully as darkness sets in. One of the most notable characteristics of the city is the Islamic call to worship. There are huge loudspeakers on the mosque minarets and the eerie calls are heard full blast five times per day. The sound makes me feel as if we are now in a most amazing and faraway place – it also wakes us up at 5 a.m. every day! Day 3/Istanbul – Mike and I are slow to get moving and Linda checks in with us just after 9 a.m. She is going off on her own for awhile and will meet us later. Mike and I have a European style breakfast on the top floor restaurant of our hotel and then head for the Aya Sofya, an ancient Orthodox Christian church that was taken over by invading Muslims and turned into a mosque. There are tour groups everywhere – and tons of police. I have never seen such a strong law enforcement presence as here in Istanbul. Next we head across the street to the Blue Mosque. We are “accosted” by a young man who tries to talk to us and tell us all about the mosque and the Muslim religion. He insists he is not trying to be our “guide” or make money off us, but we can’t shake him off or get rid of him. Turns out his uncle has a carpet store nearby and he wants to drag us over for a sales pitch. After much resistance, he wins out and just to get rid of him, Mike and I agree to take a look. The shop is on the second floor of a nearby building and soon two men are offering us beverages and rolling out and explaining a myriad of carpets to us. It’s interesting but they soon figure out we have no plans to buy and we “escape.” Next is lunch at an outdoor eatery called Mesale. They have whirling dervish performances in the evening and the waiters are kind and friendly. The food is very tasty – I have döner, which is the Turkish version of gyros. After an afternoon of browsing in the small shops near our hotel as well as in the Grand Bazaar, Mike and I meet Linda back at the hotel. We also meet Walter, another SeaScape traveler who has just arrived from New York. While the guys have drinks (the local beer is Efes and usually the only brew available), I accompany Linda to a leather shop next door where she has her eye on a jacket. Linda finally makes her purchase and I get talked into buying a bright blue leather blazer. I can’t believe I bought it – I would never purchase such an item at home! I am getting way too much into this shopping thing. The four of us (Linda, Walter, Mike and me) head out for dinner around 8 p.m. and end up at an outdoor café called Dolphin. It’s a fun, friendly place but we are approached all through dinner by “junior vendors” selling spinning tops and flowers. The waiters try to shoo them away but they return again and again and kind-hearted Walter purchases some of their wares. There is supposed to be a light and sound show at the Blue Mosque tonight, but once we find out it has been cancelled, we call it a day and turn in around 11 p.m. I am really enjoying Istanbul. The Turks’ middle name is “hospitality” and they all amazingly friendly, gracious and helpful – and I’m getting hooked on this apple tea they offer us everywhere. We Americans are few and far between – most tourists here are British, German or Dutch. Day 4/Istanbul-Marmaris, Turkey – I’m in the hotel restaurant by 8 a.m. but there is no sign of my travel companions yet. We have to check out of our rooms by 12 noon and have part of the day to finish seeing Istanbul before flying on to Dalaman on the southwest coast of Turkey. Mike shows up around 8:30 and we meet Sharon from New Zealand who is another SeaScaper who has just arrived at the hotel the night before. Eventually, we all get checked out of the Alzer, stow our luggage and head for Topkapi Palace. It’s a quick walk and situated just behind the Aya Sofya. Entrance fee is 15 million lira and another 15 million to tour the Sultan’s harem. The palace is huge and extremely interesting. We don’t have nearly enough time to do it justice but spend a few hours taking in as much as possible. The palace is set high on a hill so there is a great view of the Bosporous and across the water to the newer part of Istanbul. We all separate to make better time and Mike and I end up back at the Mesale restaurant for lunch. We are greeted warmly by the waiters we’d met there the day before. After lunch, our waiter offers us complimentary tea. In return, he asks if we would mind letting his young sister practice her English with us. She is a very sweet girl, pulls up a chair with her school notebook in hand and we visit for 20 minutes or so. She knows much more English than we know Turkish! One final gift shop stop for Mike, a quick chat with some shopkeepers we’d met the day before, and then we head back to Hotel Alzer to claim our bags and catch a minivan to the airport. We are a group of 5 now but meet 4 more of our fellow SeaScapers once we arrive at the airport – Deanna, Brad, and 2 more Sharons. We all board our Turkish Airways flight to Dalaman around 5:15 p.m. and arrive at our destination just over an hour later. We then all board the local bus to Marmaris, the seaport city where we are staying for the night, and ride for another hour and quarter before heading up over a large hill and dropping into the city on the waterfront below. Marmaris is a true resort town – bars, restaurants, shops, street vendors, people walking everywhere – more like Mexico than Turkey! Our hotel, the Begonville, is a quick cab ride from the bus stop. It’s just one block from the waterfront and has a beautiful pool area out front. The rooms are clean, but sparse and the air conditioning and pillows are marginal at best. A few of us regroup after check-in and head down the street to Basil’s Bar and Steak House. The food is good, but the bar’s theme is very “cheesy” – karaoke and well tanned young Turkish hustlers with gyrating hips dancing to tunes like “Hot, Hot, Hot and “Follow the Leader.” There are lots of Brits here on group package charters – mostly sunburned and drunk. Kind of reminds me of Mazatlan on spring break, only on a smaller scale. We turn in around midnight but the room is hot, stuffy and hard to sleep. Oh, well, it’s only for one night! Tomorrow we finally get to meet our SeaScape boats. Photos on Webshots: Istanbul before boarding: http://community.webshots.com/album/40676351JlBcqZ Week One from Turkey - Part 1: http://community.webshots.com/album/40678737PuYeqv Week One from Turkey - Part 2: http://community.webshots.com/album/42007934xyvvvC Week Two from Greece - Part 1: http://community.webshots.com/album/41924549DeSznv Week Two from Greece - Part 2: http://community.webshots.com/album/42007991CCbeww Athens After the Cruise: http://community.webshots.com/album/42009364CKxFbV
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