The Edifices of Ephesus

We pulled into the thriving town of Kasadaski, the best port to visit the ancient city of Ephesus. Cruise ships assault this town on a constant basis. And the town has responded by putting up a solid defense of souvenir shops and rug stores. When you walk through the bazaars, storeowners constantly are calling out asking where you are from. They are naturally friendly but sometimes a bit aggressive in trying to lure you into their shops. You soon learn that a quick smile but continue to look straight ahead is the only way to maneuver through the maze of tourist traps.

Just a short bus ride from here is the ancient city of Ephesus. Yeah that same city Paul wrote those letters to that made their way into the Bible. John also spent time here and legend has it that he brought Mary, the mother of Jesus, here to live out her final days. There is a little home nearby where she was allegedly to have lived. John is suppose to be buried nearby in a tomb that is surrounded by an ancient Basilica of St John fallen in ruin all around his final resting place. What is known for sure is that the city of Ephesus was once a major metropolis with a population of around 200,000 inhabitants. The ruins attest to its former glory. I think it is one of the biggest ruins ranking easily with Pompeii and Herculean in size and grandeur. Lots to look at and learn about as you walk the broad marble streets of this once great city. Ephesus eventually declined because the harbor finally silted up for good. By then, a new power in the region, the Byzantines, took over and the city was eventually abandoned after a few earthquakes hurried the process along. It is now about 40km inland as the river continued to deposit thick layers of silt between it and the sea. This was the jumping off port for Jordan and Candice as they make their way to the airport and continued their journey to Dubai.

Apollo’s Little Place

Our next port of call is the small town of Altinkum. It is the sleepy little village that is the jumping off point to visit nearby Didyma, the location of the Temple of Apollo. Darisu of Persia destroyed the original temple around 494 B.C. It lay in ruin until Alexander the Great arrived around 300 B.C. This magnificent sacred site just missed being one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world by a couple of columns. The temple of Artimus near Ephesus beat Apolllos temple by 7 columns. While it lost out to that fame, it seems this site got the last laugh because it is way more intact today than the temple of Artimus. A bad earthquake ultimately destroyed Apollo’s temple in the 15th century.

Castles and Underwater Treasures

Bodrum is a thoroughly enchanting town. The core of which is a beautiful complete castle build by that band of knights of St John. Evidently they set up a branch office here in Turkey from Rhodes. Now the castle contains treasures from the ocean. A museum that has collected vases, glass pieces, anchors, dishes and other artifacts from the unfortunate demise of sunken ships. We roamed around the grounds accompanied by a couple of strutting peacocks. This is a stopping point definitely worth checking out. I finally figured how those vases with the pointed bottoms worked. They store them together in the hull of the ships interlocking and nesting them together. Since they are mostly used for transporting, it is not necessary to set them on a table. It is more like tiny container boxes of centuries past. We anchored out and slept to the beating of the local discos into the night.

Turkey with all the Trimmings

The first day, Jordan and Candice were planning to take a day trip ferry to Rhodes. So they got up early and headed to the little bus station at the marina entrance. I stayed on the boat to do a little more prep work. But just as I was getting into the job, I get a call from Jordan. Candice didn’t think she would need a passport for the little trip across the channel. I assured them it was mandatory. The Greeks and the Turks would never let free flow between their borders. So I jumped into a taxi in hopes of catching them before the ferry left. I got there in plenty of time because we found out the ferry only goes to Rhodes on Mondays and Wednesdays. So Jordan and Candice ended up renting a motor scooter and exploring the entire peninsula while I returned to the boat. It ended up being a fun day for them as they visited water falls, small villages where traditional clothing is still being worn, a little town that still makes the wooden luxury sailing Glocks and just driving through the pine forests that look more like lake Tahoe than what people normally think of as Turkey.

The next day we set sail early in the morning headed for Datca. Datca is a sleepy little village that has some resort feel to it. After our first day sailing we decided to pull up to the town quay. We dropped the anchor and backed into the stone wall that has been used for centuries to welcome boats from around the world. With a little instruction and a few fumbles, Jordan and Candice managed to throw the lines to helpful natives on shore and tie up the boat for the night. For our first docking things went pretty smoothly. After a little dinner aboard, we made the leap to land and wandered around the charming town. The streets were filled with merchants and restaurants. We bought some desserts from a pastry shop and a few souvenirs to cement the remembrance of this little town.

The next day we left in the early quiet of morning. I like sailing before the sun rises high in the sky. Often the water is glass smooth and the quietness of it all sooths the soul. This time of year a sweatshirt and jogging pants are enough to keep the brisk morning at bay. But before too long, we are peeling those off in favor of shorts and a tee shirt. As we turn the boat north around the peninsula, the winds pick up and we unfurl the white sails. There is nothing like a strong breeze and turning off the motor to get my blood excited.

Back on the Boat

All the trauma instantly melted away as I stepped aboard our sailing home. It feels so good to be back aboard. The boat is no worse for wear over the winter season. While it is a bit dirty, it is nothing a bucket of soap and a scrub brush can’t fix. So for the next couple of days we scrub, wax, sweep, dust and shake out. We went to the local market to get some new supplies and are ready to set sail for a new adventure. That night, Steve leaves for a little exploring of his own. We will catch up with him at Ephesus. My son, Jordan and his wife, Candice step aboard. We plan to spend about 5 days heading to Ephesus

Stamped, Signed, Delivered

While we were surprised how easily it was to get them on the plane and through London, our nightmare began when we tried to get them through customs in Turkey. We waited for our baggage to come off the plane and when the last piece of luggage looped around the belt, none of our luggage was to be seen. Just when that acid reflex was starting to build up deep inside of me, this nice woman came over to us in broken English that had enough recognized words to give us a clue that we were to follow her. We tagged along to the brand new international terminal. You could still smell the damp concrete that had been poured not that long ago. My heart leaped as I saw our lone items regurgitated from the plane in this lonely terminal. We were virtually the only passengers in the entire structure. So we gathered things up and took them to customs to screen. We explained our prize solar panels and they told us we would have to get a special paper from the customs office before we could take them. With a full smile on his face and a look of hopefulness, it didn’t seem like too big of problem. To save you a very grueling torturous story from totally depressing you, 12 hours later we had been stamped, signed, approved, 200 euro fees paid, stamped again and when we though it might be all over, stamped again and interviewed. I am positive I met every bureaucrat in the entire city of Dalaman only one of which spoke just a little English. Ok, I am still traumatized by the whole event. If you can’t tell, then I should have given you more horrific information into the whole affair.

Summer 2010, Back in the Mediterranean

After spending a cold wet winter in San Francisco, we are back to the Mediterranean. It feels so good to be back. After a little delay caused by the volcano in Iceland that grounded all flights into Europe for a week, we left San Francisco on April 24^th and a grueling flight later, made it to England. I am still waiting for the transporters promised to us by Star Trek. Until then, I guess my lot is to be stuffed into economy class with the rest of the herd. We stayed a couple of nights on the banks of the Thames at Rob and Dave’s condo. What a luxury to have such a beautiful place to stay. We spent a day wandering through the Tate Modern and meandering through the streets crowded with people and history. I love London. The next day we jumped aboard our magic carpet to Istanbul and after a 9 hour layover, (yeah pretty much as horrible as it sounds) we flew the final leg of our trip to Dalaman.

Along with our prized possessions from the states, we were carrying 2 solar panels with us. I am excited about having solar on the boat. It will give us much more flexibility and independence when we anchor out. So now we are even greener, the latest buzz thing to be. But it was not without a lot of pain and suffering.