Turkish Delights

Day four of the cruise brought us back to Turkey this morning. We had a show time of 7:15 AM for our tour of Ancient Ephesus, so we were up and out by 6:45 for breakfast and bus boarding. We boarded bus number 22, along with all the other "English Speakers Not Affiliated with Other Groups" a.k.a. the adults not chaperoning EF tour groups... We were led by a very nice turkish man called Oz, who spoke absolutely impeccable English. (As an aside, it embarrasses me to think that so many non-native English speakers exists outside our borders and so many Americans refuse to learn a second language with any sort of proficiency...) Our bus took us about 30 minutes inland to the archaelogical site of Ephesus, a Roman city which thrived between the 2nd century BC and 2nd century AD, and then finally was abandoned in around the 7th century AD. On the road, we passed an arena which is used for CAMEL WRESTLING. Yes, you read correctly, CAMEL WRESTLING. Oz advised us to Google it on YouTube and we would see the phenomenon of the sport. Apparently, two festooned male camels are led into a ring. A female camel is led in and is "introduced" to the males. They are sufficiently "aroused" then they are muzzled and the female is led out. They then fight until one gives up and the other proudly struts around the ring the victor. It is unclear if he actually gets the girl in the end... But, nonetheless, it sounds dazzling! I cannot wait to get home to see how it all works!

So, we arrived at the archaelogical site and toured the ruins in about an hour and a half. It was the perfect amount of time. My friends are forever surprised that I am not such a fan of touring ancient sites. The truth be told, I don't watch movies with ancient themes or high school kids as protagonists, either. I find that I spend all my professional time with the ancient Romans, I need some other interests. Also, I find that the tour guides usually screw up facts and I have little patience for misinformation and cannot stand to keep quiet. So, rather than look like the obnoxious Latin teacher, it is easier to steer clear. That said, we went from there back to Kusadasi, the port, where we were taken to a rug and jewelry gallery.

The were led into a shop and upstairs to a staging area where there were 4 long cushioned benches. A rotund man came in and introduced himself. At this point, I wasn't really paying attention, because I had no intention of buying anything, and really was fixated on heading back to the ship to work out before our spa appointments. This man then asked who would like "refreshment" (insert appropriate Borat accent). Maureen, who by now has fully imbibed the kool aid, ordered a Turkish coffee, I ordered nothing, not wanting to get bogged down by the "extra." the next thing we knew, a gaggle of 20 year old guys came from nowhere and started unfurling carpets onto the hardwood exposition floor. The whole while, the emcee was talking about the ways in which the rugs were made, the women who tied each knot by hand, the goats who supplied the wool, etc. it was dazzling to see the speed with which these boys slapped the rugs one on top of each other. Then one came out and caught my eye. With that I got sucked in. The emcee kept inviting the audience to "please. Come touch carpet. Stand on carpet.". I walked over to the one I liked and felt it. It felt like a rug... But, I was mesmerized by the colors; they really were unlike anything I had ever seen in a Turkish/ oriental carpet. Then, another rug came out, (by now, there had to be 150 rugs on the floor) and Maureen made a bee-line over to that. With that, the round man came over and asked me if I like. I said I did, and the next thing I knew, I was being led into a back room where I negotiated in a culturally appropriate manner. Maureen soon joined me and, she, too, settled on a good price for her rug. After the paperwork was finished, we were led downstairs into the jewelry gallery. We were then shown a myriad of pieces, all beautiful, but, again, one spoke to me as soon as it came up: a rose gold bracelet with rubies and diamonds. So gorgeous. Likewise, Maureen heard the siren song of a beautiful ring. It is absolutely the perfect ring, interesting and one of a kind. The designer of both pieces, the wife of the young Turk who was behind the counter, was there to ooh and ahh with us over her creations. We decided we couldn't leave without these pieces and again produced credit cards... I am very pleased, however, with my purchases. In both instances, as soon as I saw them, I knew they needed to come home with me. The rug is absolutely gorgeous, and unlike any sort of rug I have ever seen in my life. It is blue, orange and yellow and will go in my bedroom. It is 4x6 and they were able to fold it up into a little attache case size for easy transport home. It was really surprising how the whole operation works, however, I shouldn't be surprised. But, the prices were excellent and really were deals I couldn't pass up.

After we collected out booty, we high tailed it back to the ship in time for our honey massages and rejuvenating facials. Wow. They basically drip honey on your back and knead it in, removing toxins along the way. I have no idea how it works, because I slept through the whole thing. It was the most relaxed I think I have ever been in my entire life! We went from the spa to the gym, then from the gym to the cabin to clean up for the afternoon's tour: Patmos. We boarded bus number 10 with our guide, Sakki, who had a perfect Australian accent. It was a little distracting, but he, too, spoke perfect English, albeit Aussie English. We went to the town of Choros to see windmills and breath taking views, the grotto when St. John the Apostle wrote the book of Revelations, and breath taking views, then to the other side of the island for, you guessed it, more breath taking views. Patmos is what you think of when you think of Greek island: white stucco homes, rocky hillsides, bright blue cloudless skies. It was without a doubt some of the most picturesque photos I have ever taken

We came back into the port for an aperitif and then headed back to the ship, tired and feeling like we had accomplished so much: up early, tours, retail, exercise, relax... it was a day with EVERYTHING!

After cleaning up just a bit, we headed up the stairs for dinner from the buffet. After dinner, we went to the Rendez-Vous Lounge for some hits from our favorite Filipino singing couple. Tonight, we had a new entry into the repertoire: an ABBA MEDLEY!!! We also had "We are the World..." I cannot comment on that choice without appearing elitist, so I will just say that I sang along, wishing I had a cigarette lighter to send up...
But, in the end, I was so excited to hear the hits, especially some oldies but goodies! By 10PM, the banana latte was clearly NOT keeping my eyes open, so I made the decision to head to the cabin and type the blog. Even as I am typing this, drunk 16 year olds are making their way, noisily down the hall to their rooms. Maureen poked her head out and decided that they were going to their rooms, waaaaaay down the hall, so didn't scold them... yet. We are hoping to get a nice quiet night's sleep so we can get up early and get the gym out of the way. Our tours of Rhodes and Lindos have been cancelled on account of planned strikes. I guess that is how it goes in Greece. I suppose I would have been disappointed if there hadn't been any striking.

We are planning a full morning on board of exercise and yoga. Then we are going out on our own to walk around Rhodes. Wish us luck that we make it back for the 'all aboard!' We are having a great time and today both admitted that we were getting used to the idea of cruising and that we would both do another cruise again. I think that now that we know how the whole process works, and that we know what to expect, the set backs and disappointments are less devastating.

I leave you with this: "It's true we make a brighter day, just you and me..." Hearing the chanteuse sing these words tonight made me reflect on the veracity of those words. We need to make our own destiny and stop being victims... when we decided just to roll with it, baby, our entire attitude changed. This has been a great vacation so far. Hope yours is equally peaceful!