A Day in Mykonos ...May 8, 2016

Celador and her crew sailed into Mykonos in early May, before tourist season had begun in earnest. We were  able to enjoy the beautiful Cycladean architecture and the iconic windmills for which it is famous without hordes of people. The local business people were  friendly and enjoyed chatting with us, which of course made our visit more fun.  Since there was only a day for us to explore, I took a lot of pictures.  Here are a few of them.

These villas exhibit the best features of Cylcadic architecture;
Pure white cubist shapes softened by curved walls and gables, and decorative brick dovecotes

Mykonos town on the bay.  It's sandy beaches and throbbing nightlife (in season)
make it one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Greek Islands.

Sixteenth century windmills overlooking the bay were used to grind flour.

An old piper playing his goatskin bagpipe and singing a mournful shepherd's song.

The part of town called Little Veniceis the artists quarter.

The tall houses, now cafes and tavernas, have painted balconies which hang out over the sea. 

It was Mother's Day, and Greek families turned out in happy crowdss to celebrate it.

The famous Paraportiani church. 

In Greece, there are grand panoramas of nature, and small, cozy vignettes of artful simplicity.

An artist displays his work in a complimentary setting.

These ladies, of Mykonos and Switzerland, come each day to feed and doctor the
feral animals of Mykonos.  A cat being fed some medicine just scratched the Greek lady!

The traditional dovecotes have been used as a decoration on this stairway.

These French boats found a great place to anchor!

Kids having a blast on the beach.

A little fisher.

I met these English and Welsh ladies, fresh off the airplane from UK, at a cafe and we had some laughs!

Girls relaxing on the quay.

The sun setting over our marina,  and bringing to a close our day in Mykonos.

Captain Ron and me.  Thanks, Ron, for a lovely cruise.

“This is a great moment, when you see, however distant, the goal of your wandering. The thing which has been living in your imagination suddenly becomes a part of the tangible world. It matters not how many ranges, rivers or parching dusty ways may lie between you: it is yours now for ever.”  Freya Stark

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Lost on Leros May 6, 2016

 We spent two days in Lakki, Leros, an island we knew pretty well since we spent several days here last summer.   The first day, Ron and I walked across the island along the same route as we did last year, reorienting ourselves and seeing what had changed and some familiar faces along the way.  

The green line is my path....

On the second day, I was full of energy and Ron had things to do, so I started out to walk across the island once again to take photos along the way.

Ron in his office.

Two roads leave Leros from the same square, and by accident I took the wrong road, leading not to Agia Marina but to the other side of the island. As happy and cheerful as I was, reveling in the fine spring weather, I was well along before I realized that I had taken the wrong road. Using my Iphone map feature, I decided to travel along overland to meet up with the correct road. Simple?

The farm country in Leros

 I walked up and down steep and narrow farm lanes, past tidy and fruitful farms, where small patches of wheat, pomegranate, eggplants, zucchini and melons, olives, tomatoes, and grape vines grew near paddocks for donkeys and sleek cattle. It was lovely and quiet with only the sounds of birds and animals.  Winding down and up steep craggy  hills, I took several wrong turns and came to dead ends, but was set right by friendly farm folk and eventually found the way.

Nobody here but us chickens.

Once I was back on the main road, I stopped for rest at Dimitri's Taverna in Vromolithos where we had stopped last year.

Lovely clear water, but still a bit chilly for swimming.

Classic Aegean.

Dimitri's octopi drying in the sun.

 I drank a bottle of cool water and enjoyed the spectacular view. Dimitri helped me with my  "one-a-day" campaign to learn Greek words and phrases. My funny practice phrase from the book was yiati yalas meaning why are you laughing...he gave me the answer...yaiti ieme charoumeny...because I am happy!

I walked down to Pandeli and all the way out to the end of the fisherman's pier.

The fishing fleet in Pandeli

Fishermen mending their nets

Grim faces, no fish.

 Admiring the colorful tidiness of the boats, nevertheless I saw crews with grim faces and no fish.

 I made my way over through Platano town to Agia Marina for lunch at a nice cafe,

Greek salad, so fresh,,

then walked along the waterfront to see the sunken windmill.

Beauty around every turn.

Leros' famous sunken mill.

The taverna by the mill...artful.

A chapel in Pandeli

I passed  by the Lemonis Taverna which was closed... but went back to ask a boutique lady if Lemonis is a local family name. From my days long ago sailing aboard the SS Dolphin in Miami, I remembered Second Officer Costas Lemonis. She said yes, annd suggested I inquire further. I went on to the Taverna by the sunken mill. There I asked about Costas; the proprietor's mom is a relative and made a few calls and found out Costa's son is here and he is in Crete. What a small and wonderful world! I began the long walk home. At a rest stop long the way back I chatted with Paris, who owns a local radio station.

Paris the radio man.

Back at the boat, happy with my day and ready to rest, I estimated that I had walked at least 20 km  this day. It felt like the Greek Camino!

Discovering Istanbul April 16-20, 2016

The beautiful Blue Mosque....you can enlarge any photo by clicking on it.

A map of the Mediterranean, with Istanbul circled

A map of the Old City, where I'm staying.  20 is the Topkapi Palace; 54 is the Blue Mosque;11 is Hagia Sophia: 40 is the Grand Bazaar.   My hotel is across from Hagia Sophia.

I arrived in the Taksim area of Istanbul around midnight local time, after over 24 hours of travel.  It was dark, I was tired, I had strange currency, and I got hustled.  The cab driver fast changed me out of  over $50.  I caught on too late and it made me angry, mostly that I had been so foolish.

TRAVEL LESSONS;

1.  Take a photo of the cab license plate first, and let yourself  be seen doing it.   Be ostentatious!
2.  Take your time with your money, turn on the lights and put your glasses on, even if you're dog-          tired.
3.  Repeat; take your time. Don't be an eedjit!  (Mea culpa)

I was shown to the tiniest room ever (about 8x8 feet, including a double bed, desk and wardrobe!), but crashed into my bed most gratefully.  On my first morning in Istanbul, I met another solo lady traveler, who is headed to Spain for her second Camino. So nice to meet her. Buen Camino, Julie!

Peregrina Julie and me at Ottoman Hotel Imperial.

After breakfast, I stepped out of the hotel lobby to see the Hagia Sofia literally right across the street.

The view from the window of my tiny room. Wow.

I wandered along the cobble streets and took my bearings, then entered the Gulhane Garden, a part of the Topkapi Palace grounds. Drifts of tulips were blooming everywhere, in this, the homeland of tulips, and storks were raucously nesting high overhead in the tops of the plane trees. Turkish families were picnicking in the lovely spring weather.

The Dutch merchants got their tulips from the Turks!

Overlooking the garden was the Topkapi palace, where I fell in with a group of four German friends who welcomed me to join their guided tour. Our Turkish guide, Omer, explained Ottoman history, and led us through the palace, the harem and the treasury filled with bowls of fabulous gems, walnut-sized diamonds and the famous Topkapi dagger.

The tower at the Topkapi Palace

Imperial red tulips grace the ground of Topkapi

The main rooms of the palace are covered with lovely Iznik tiles featuring
 flower patterns and calligraphy, and mother-of-pearl inlaid wood.

The palace has sweeping panoramic views of the Bosphorus.

The Topkapi dagger, set with diamonds and giant emeralds.

After lunch we made our way through the Spice Bazaar, rich with aroma and color. Down to the waterfront we went for a boat tour of the Bosphorus.  Traditional wooden Yali houses worth multi-millions sit side by side with Byzantine castles, luxurious modern hotels, and the hillsides were purple with redbud blossoms.

Layers of history are everywhere to be seen.

Yali  houses are the historic waterfront "cottages" of old Istanbul,
now sought by wealthy Gulf Arabs.

The Ottoman castle guarding the mouth of the Bosphorus.

The Train Station where the Orient Express rolled in.

I enjoyed the company of my new friends very much.

Yrsa and Cedric...thanks for letting me join your tour!

und auch  Herbert.  Danke fuer den schoenen  Nachtmittag!

I also changed hotel rooms to a much larger one, which was so much more comfortable.

The second day in Istanbul, I toured the Hagia Sofia, the center of the Byzantine Church and Eastern Roman Empire. This 1500 year old miracle of architecture, the largest dome in the world save one, soars skyward nearly 200 feet, naturally illuminated by windows circling the base of the dome.

The soaring interior is adorned with beautiful booked slabs of patterned agate and marble.  

A view of the golden dome nearly 200 feet above.

A golden mosaic of Christ, with delicate accents of rosy stone coloring his face

Another golden mosaic, with Byzantine king and queen and Virgin Mary.

The capitals and arches are splendidly carved.

A view of the Hagia Sofia from Sultanahmet Square.
 I'm wearing conservative attire..."when in Rome"...!

The golden mosaics which adorned the interior were plastered over when it was converted to a mosque by the conquering Turks. They were rediscovered during the early 20th century. Ataturk, moving the nation toward secularism, decreed that Hagia Sofia would become a museum and the golden mosaics should be restored to their Byzantine splendor.  The work is still underway as is evidenced by the towering scaffolding inside the nave.

I met up with Omer, and he showed me through the Basilica Cistern, the size of an underground football field and once fed by aqueducts which the Byzantine Emperor Justinian built to help withstand siege. The builders collected columns from all over Turkey, so there are many styles of columns all mixed together, including two fine massive column bases carved like Medusa. Cool and dark, it is home to fish and ancient echoes.

In the Basilica Cistern

Smiling Medusa

Next we visited the Blue Mosque. I wore conservative clothes and headscarf to enter, out of respect for local custom.  This mosque is truly splendid.

The splendid Blue Mosque at Sultanahmet

Inside the courtyard of the New Mosque

There are four massive pillars supporting a soaring dome, the design inspired by the shape of an elephant.  Words and pictures cannot describe the beauty of this sanctuary.  The interior is completely tiled with thousands of handmade blue-patterned Iznik tiles, and is bathed with soft diffused light.

Prepared to enter the Blue Mosque for the first time.

Afterward we walked the Galata bridge over the Bosphorus, rode the century-old tram up the hill to Beyoglu and strolled the fashionable streets, past embassies, boutiques and Belle Epoque buildings.

The busy Istakal Street in Beyoglu. Many embassies are in this area.

 A window on the street of music shops.

We drank Turkish chai tea at the foot of the Galata tower, and headed home as the sun set over the Bosphorus.

Tea with my guide, Omer.

 Back at the hotel at dusk, I bought savory roasted chestnuts and roasted corn from a street vendor...the toasty aromas smelled like autumn.

On the third day I headed to the Grand Bazaar, where persistent vendors swooped in on me like hawks. My senses were overwhelmed with silk and leather, inlaid wood, glistening ceramics and Ottoman antiques and I was lucky to escape with no (major) purchases.

One of the gates to the 500 year old Grand Bazaar

Inside the labyrinth which is the Grand Bazaar.

 I retreated to the cool marble tranquility of the archaeological museum on the grounds of Topkapi Palace.  All the regions of Turkey contributed their finest pieces to this national showcase, and there is magnificent Grecian and Roman sculpture unblemished by time. Many pieces correspond to pieces in the British Museum.

Hermaphrodisias...something for everyone!

Room after room of beautiful marbles in the Archeological museum.

I lunched on fazuliye...green beans in tomato-meat sauce with rice, savored  pistachio baklava and Turkish tea for dessert, and moved on.  I met Aziz the carpet man who went to Ohio State, and  Kurdish Emil, who chatted with me in German.

Aziz the Buckeye and his friend

A view from the roof garden. Wow! 

They showed me their roof garden with sweeping views of Blue Mosque and the Bosphorus.  I continued through some unlikely neighborhoods and returned to see sun set over the marble spires of the Blue Mosque.

A 300 year old Istanbullu house, still a family home.

My last day in Instanbul started early. I retraced my walk to Beyoglu and went to the top of the Galata tower for a panorama of Istanbul's famous skyline.

The Ottoman Galata tower.

 As a watchtower, it was well situated, as you can see past the Asian side and all of the Bosphorus and Golden Horn waterways.

The Galata bridge which I crossed to get here.

Topkapi Palace is on the peninsula.

Suleimaniye Mosque and the ferry docks.

 I walked down steep cobbled lanes through neighborhoods, crossing back over the bridge, wending through more neighborhoods and the bustling local shopping area of the Egyptian Bazaar (selling pots, inflatable chairs, christening dresses, hardware and everything else). Up to the University and over to the Suleymaniye Mosque for another amazing view of the Bosphorus.  I went on to the Sufi Museum, the Carpet Museum , featuring 14-17th century carpets still vivid in color and the Mosaic Museum, which displays fine mosaic floors from the Byzantine Palace of the 6th century.

Centuries old handwoven prayer carpet from the Blue Mosque, now at the museum

Late in the day, I sat with friendly street vendors and drank a last cup of sweet tea from a tulip glass. Ahh.  ( I walked nearly ten miles on this day!)

A cup of chai with the chaibar guy!

I spoke with Omer about the recent bombings. He told me the story of the bombings in Sultanahmet Square, where a guide friend of his was leading the group of Germans when a" bulky" young man entered the group. The guide was immediately suspicious of his appearance and demeanor. He tried to detonate, and the first attempt failed. The guide shouted for the group to run, which Omer says saved the lives of many.  The second detonation did not fail.  Omer showed me the shrapnel scars on the granite paving stones and on the base of the ancient obelisk.  As a result of this and more recent bombings, as well as warnings from various embassies,  tourism has declined dramatically; ten cruise ships with their thousands of passengers have canceled their calls here, and the vendors are starving for business.   Istanbul is under siege once again.

Salaam.  Peace.