Thursday, October 09, 2008
Kusadasi, Turkey
Kusadasi was a wonderful and pleasant surprise. It is set in beautiful countryside and appeared very clean and much less frenetic than Italian cities. Just outside Kusadasi is the ancient city of Ephesus. Our day long excursion was a wonderful inspiring and educational experience. I will have a page on my website dedicated to it when I am able to get it published. I am able to connect and post at Blogspot but for some reason cannot get my website to publish. Ah, the perils of internet technology at sea.
After our morning exploring Ephesus, we were treated to a wonderful meal at a hotel in Kusadasi. The first course was a sampling of several different vegetable salads mostly with beans and tomatoes. Then there was a small cheese filled crepe, followed by an entrĂ©e of grilled meats—chicken, beef and a meatball of sorts, and more veggies. It was all topped off with fresh fruit and baklava. I enjoyed the baklava that was not as heavy as the Greek baklava I’ve tasted. The Turks make theirs with light sweet syrup rather than a heavy honey.
After our meal, we were entertained by a troupe of dancers in native costume. The men were quite energetic and athletic doing leaps and landing on their knees then turning circles on their knees. The ladies were elegant and graceful and of course, beautifully dressed in their gold and red trimmed white gowns.
This is a Muslim nation but they do not wear the veils and follow many of the fundamentalist regulations of the religion of Islam. There were many minarets around the city and while we did not hear it, others on the ship did hear the call to worship that came over the loud speakers at the top of the minaret.
Turkey will be on our list of return trips.
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