Turkey and Greece 2009 - DRKester
A cruise around the Greek islands with a visit to Istanbul and Ephesus Turkey.

Istanbul
Istanbul, Turkey
First stop Istanbul and our hotel in Sultanahmet. The Kybele Hotel had over 4000 lamps in the ceilings of the lobby and rooms. This is our room
Our room at the Kybele Hotel
and the stairs to get to our room.
Marble stairs
And the lobby of the hotel
Kybele Hotel
We were dealing with jet lag, and decided just to walk down to the square between the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque and do some people watching.
Blue Mosque
We also went into the Four Seasons Hotel which was beautifully restored from a former prison.
We ate the first night at a sidewalk restaurant recommended by the hotel. The owner also had a rug shop next door. In fact I think everyone in Turkey had at least one rug shop, and they all wanted to be our new best friends.
Sidewalk dining
It turns out that we arrived on the first day of Ramadan. So after our dinner we walked back down to the square, where there was a line for the traditional first meal.
We did most of our touring on our second day in town with a trip to the Suleymaniye Mosque
Suleymaniye Mosque
and the Grand Bazaar. Note the convoluted wiring on the outside of buildings.
Grand Bazaar
Grand Bazaar wiring
After lunch, we went inside the Blue Mosque.
and went down to the Basicilica Cistern.
Basilica Cistern
Our hotel was built on top of the Cistern, so it had limited head room in the basement restaurant.
Our hotel was an easy walk to the square near the Blue Mosque, that turned out to be the hub of the celebration.
Ramadan Celebration
There was entertainment in the square with a juggler, magician and other acts. We snapped a picture of this cutie with his face painted for the occasion.
Ramadan
The third day we went to Topkapi Palace.
Topkapi Palace
There are wild cats all around the city, but this mother and her kittens lived on the Palace grounds.
Cats
After checking into the ship, we took a boat ride up the Bosphorus.
Bosphorus Cruise
On our last morning in Istanbul, we walked to the Galata Tower and rode to the top.
Galata Tower
We also passed a restaurant with an apt name, so Rick posed for a photo.
Enginar
written by  DRKester on August 24, 2009 from Istanbul, Turkey
from the travel blog: Turkey and Greece 2009

Ephesus
Kusadasi, Turkey
Our first stop on our cruise was Kusadasi Turkey. Oceania offered several organized tours to Ephesus, but we prefer independent touring. The ship provided a local representative each morning to answer questions about the city. We discovered that we could get a taxi to take us to the site, drop us at the top, and pick us back up at the bottom for no more than $100. We connected with another couple to share a cab, and the guys haggled the price down to $80 for the four of us.
Ephesus is amazing. We took tons of pictures, and here are just a few.
written by  DRKester on August 25, 2009 from Kusadasi, Turkey
from the travel blog: Turkey and Greece 2009

Delos and Mykonos
Mykonos, Greece
Our next port of call was Delos Greece.
Delos Lions
Delos Ruins
We also were supposed to stop at Mykonos, but it was too windy to safely tender to shore. So the best we got was a shot from the ship.
View from the ship
written by  DRKester on August 26, 2009 from Mykonos, Greece
from the travel blog: Turkey and Greece 2009

Rhodes Greece
Rodos, Greece
Rhodes
One of our favorite stops was Rhodes Greece. Well preserved old town with an interesting walk between the walls.
Old town
Inside walls of old town
Rhodes from the ship
written by  DRKester on August 27, 2009 from Rodos, Greece

Santorini
Thira, Greece
Santorini was next. After tendering to shore, Rick decided to ride a donkey to the top. Ask Rick what it's like to ride the Alpha Donkey.
Donkey ride to the top
I took the easier cable car.
View from the top
Very picturesque place with a walk/climb along the edge of the hill.
Church
Santorini city view
We both took the cable car down. The donkeys are limited by gravity on the way up, but on the way down they run to get to food at the bottom. Possibly life threatening.
written by  DRKester on August 28, 2009 from Thira, Greece

Old Olympia
Katakalion, Greece
We took the train to old Olympia.
Olympia Train Station
We only had 2 hours to tour before catching the train back to port.
Olympia
Olympia entrance to arena
Ancient Olympia
We ran out of time, but took a quick look at the museum.
Ancient Olympia Museum
written by  DRKester on August 29, 2009 from Katakalion, Greece

Crete
Aghios Nikolaos, Greece, Greece
We spent a day at sea and played some ship games. Rick won his Ping Pong game.
Games at Sea
Then we went to Crete.
After a bit of walking around town, we walked towards a swimming beach. Rick went back later for a swim.
Crete beach
written by  DRKester on September 2, 2009 from Aghios Nikolaos, Greece, Greece

Athens
Athens, Greece
The final stop on our trip was Athens. We'd been there before, but still had to see the sights. We went to the Parliament Gardens and old Olympic stadium.
Ancient Olympic Stadium
Then walked to Hadrian's Arch
Hadrians Arch
and the Temple of Zeus.
Zeus
Near the Temple of Zeus was the remains of old houses.
Old homes
Lastly we went to the New Acropolis Museum,
New Acropolis Museum
which is across the street from the Acropolis
Acropolis
Lots of walking.
We finished our day with a great dinner on the ship.
Last dinner on the ship
written by  DRKester on September 3, 2009 from Athens, Greece

Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik, Croatia
One of the more interesting stops was Dubrovnik Croatia. We took a local bus to the old town.
Dubrovnik Old City Walls
Dubrovnik Church
Dubrovnik old port
written by  DRKester on August 31, 2009 from Dubrovnik, Croatia

Corfu
Kerkyra, Greece
We took a bus to town, and then walked around a bit.
written by  DRKester on August 30, 2009 from Kerkyra, Greece

Our room at the Kybele Hotel

Marble stairs

Kybele Hotel

Sidewalk dining

Blue Mosque

Grand Bazaar

Grand Bazaar wiring

Ramadan

Cats

Topkapi Palace

Galata Tower

Enginar

Ephesus

Delos Lions

Delos Ruins

View from the ship

Old town

Inside walls of old town

Donkey ride to the top

View from the top

Church

Santorini city view

Olympia

Olympia entrance to arena

Ancient Olympia

Corfu

Dubrovnik Old City Walls

Dubrovnik Church

Dubrovnik old port

Dubrovnik

Crete

Crete beach

Zeus

Hadrians Arch

Old homes

Last dinner on the ship

Bosphorus Cruise

Acropolis

Basilica Cistern

Ramadan Celebration

Suleymaniye Mosque

Rhodes

Rhodes from the ship

Olympia Train Station

Ancient Olympia Museum

Games at Sea

New Acropolis Museum

Ancient Olympic Stadium