Turkey...and I'm not talking about Thanksgiving

Turkey

Going into Turkey our goal was to see Ephesus. The tour books had a few other small suggestions but we decided to invest in once place and do it well.

The ship ported into a very touristy area of Turkey full of vendors vying for ones attention (more about that later). We easily found the taxis and before we knew it we were off to Ephesus. The drive there was about 35-40 minutes. One thing I really likes was that Ephesus was outside the city. For some reason it seemed more protected with it being away from the hustle and bustle of every day life.

 please note the guide book in Beckie's hand

We decided to for go a translator or audio guide. I’m not sure if this was a good idea but this far into our trip we were sort of “history out”. In other words we were just ready to look at old buildings read a few things in our tour books and call it good.

the library

                                       

public toilets

For me personally it was pretty amazing to walk through a city that I have been reading about for so many years. I knew that the book of Ephesians was a letter from Paul to the believers there but walking through the city brought a whole new reality to the bible.

   heart mosaic found in a house

                           

Some of the buildings and ampatheaters were pretty amazing and just plain beautiful.

I wish this blog could describe the feeling one gets when they walk through an ancient city. It’s pretty surreal to walk through their homes, libraries, and gathering places. History suddenly becomes alive and you are granted a connection to the past. It’s pretty cool.

the big ampatheater 

I was surprised to see graffiti on some of the buildings and could not stop myself from taking pictures of other tourist. I applauded after the cheesy gladiator reenactment and took time to let my imagination run wiled.

All in all it was a pretty great experience.

 tourist!

part of the cheesy gladiator reenactment 

Once we returned to our port city our goal was to eat some local food. After I lead our group down a sketchy ally (sorry girls!)We finally made our way to some local restaurants. We did our best to order what we thought was “local” and it was not so bad. The Turkish specialty came when they served us Apple Tea at the end of our meal. Friends, let me just tell you that it was GOOD! I’m thinking about writing an ode to apple tea right now…but I will focus and press on with this blog.

 apple tea

From what I could tell the Turkish people were pretty friendly…if not a little too friendly.

The men in the market where pushy to say the least. As the four of us ladies walked by we would here things like “hey lovely ladies come into my shop”, Or “My name is Akim, remember that for when you decided to come back”, and my all time favorite was “hey soul sist’a come here”

If you know me and my friends then you would know that although this made us laugh it also made us run away from the bazaar…but not before we found a little ally that housed a bakery, which in turn housed some fresh baklava.

 just a few of the things vendors were selling

My time in Turkey seemed short but I enjoyed what I saw. If you want to hear more maybe we could talk about it over some apple tea and Turkish baklava.

Rhodes Greece

 Next Stop; Rhodes Greece.

After Athens, Rhodes was a welcome relief to the hustle and bustle of the city. It felt more like what I had imagined Greece to be.  It was the Greek island that I had seen in the movies with it’s blue blue waters and white washed walls.

The actual city of Rhodes is the sight of one of the Seven Wonders of the World but now it no longer exists. The city is separated between the old town and the new town. Old town is surrounded by medieval castles, houses, streets and…TOURIST.

As quaint as Rhodes was my friends and I decided to take a bus and check out a small town outside the city. This particular town was famous for it’s acropolis that you can go up to by riding a donkey.

Once we arrived, the town reminded me of what I’ve seen in Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants or Mamma Mia. It was picture perfect. After getting a quick bite (a gyro) we were off to find this ancient sight our travel books had told us about.

My friends and I were all healthy enough to walk up the hill to the ancient sight thus not requiring a donkey….that and I’m not sure how I feel about riding on a donkey.  

The walk was beautiful and I loved winding through the streets with it’s tiny white washed buildings.

The ancient ruins were nice and they provided an amazing view of the Aegean Sea.

Before we knew it, it was time to board the bus to head back to Rhodes and board our ship. 

The sunshine, walking, and public transportation had taken its toll and we were all pretty tired by the end of the day.

Rhodes made me want to take a vacation to the Greek islands. It’s beauty, laid-back feel, and food was an invitation to come back soon.

If you want to know more about my brief time in Rhodes maybe we could meet up and day dream about it over a scoop of gelato. 

Athens

After saying goodbye to Italy we were off to Athens Greece.

Athens was a crazy day. If you keep up with world news you would know that they are in the middle of political unrest. The day our shipped docked was the day of a transportation strike from 9-5. The morning we got off the ship we walked to the train station just in time to catch the last train into Athens.

I think what surprised me the most was just how big Athens is. When you see pictures of the Acropolis you don’t see the sprawling city with millions of people surrounding it.

When we arrived at the Acropolis there were thousands of other tourist there as well but I did manage a few good pictures nonetheless.

My favorite area was Mars Hill. There is even a plaque that explains how Paul preached from that very hill.

Mars Hill

view of Athens from the Hill

Standing from that hill the Acropolis is so big and intimidating. I love the image of Paul boldly preaching the gospel “You worship a god that you don’t know and this is the God that I am telling you about! The God who made the whole world and everything in it….he does not live in temples built by human hands.”  Visiting Athens has added a whole new dimension as I read through the book of Acts and Romans.

Some other favorites from Athens were….

The soldiers touching feet

Gyros

And running into old friends.

That’s right in the middle of my journey I saw some old friends that work for the same company I do. We went through training together two years ago and I had no idea that they were in Athens. Needless to say, it was sweet surprise to see familiar faces.

I know that there is a lot more that I could tell you about concerning Athens. If you want to know more maybe we could chat about it over some baklava.

second stop...Naples

Our next stop was Naples Italy.

Naples is the fourth largest city in Italy. It is most famous for it’s pizza and Pompeii. Our first stop on the trip was Pompeii. After bargaining with and old man he agreed to drive us around for the afternoon.

 our driver...typical cheap old Italian man 

Just a quick recap for those non-history buffs; Pompeii is a partially buried Roman city that was destroyed when Mt. Vesuvius erupted for two days in 79AD. It was rediscovered in 1952 and the excavation continues to this day.

my cruise buddies 

The city is huge and after walking around for hours you still have only seen a small piece of it. While walking around you can see original art in their homes, temples, kitchens, and imagine their every day life.

Amber remembered Pompeii from school history class and kept referring to dead bodies. We gave Amber a hard time but sure enough towards the end of our tour we saw the dead bodies. The positions that they were in were creepy, for example a pregnant woman laying on her stomach and a man covering his face. We also learned that Pompeii was a pretty evil city. They worship other gods and prostitution was a strong. Lesson learned from Pompeii…don’t build an evil town next to a volcano.

After Pompeii we went for a nice drive to give us a better view of Naples. The city is full of beautiful buildings, churches, and statues. After eating the famous pizza we explored on foot. It was a Sunday so most of the city was closed but we still enjoyed what we saw. We found a market and ate fresh canolies.

I have more stories to tell from my one day in Naples but will end this blog for now. If you want to know more then maybe we could meet up and talk about it over a couple of canolies. 

the beginning

I want to blog about my cruise but find it difficult to even know where to start. You might say “well Jess, the beginning sounds like a good idea” and you would be right.

    throwing coins into the Treve Fountain

The problem is this; after returning from my trip I had about 48hrs to rest, re-pack, and then I was off to the Himalayas to do medical camps in a few small villages. I am now back in the city resting up, washing clothes and catching up on e-mails…and Europe feels like a dream.

My other problem is that I have to blog about this now. Today, summer students arrive and in four days I have to take a few girls up into the mountains again. I could go on about my crazy summer schedule but that is not the point of this blog.

So, from the beginning…at least what I can remember.

Rome. I love it. You should visit.

There were so many things about Rome that intrigued me. I will attempt to share a few.

First and foremost the architecture and history of this city is the richest I have ever seen in my life. It was like walking through a textbook. Every street you turn down is picturesque. A tourist struggles between looking up at the amazing buildings and looking down at their travel book to figure out what exactly they are looking at.

The people are so affectionate. While waiting for my cousin in the airport a viewed more than one very, shall we say, “passionate” hello.

 touching something very old

Italian women dress nice all the time. When out in Rome it is easy to distinguish between an Italian woman and any other woman based primarily on her shoes. i.e. Italian women wear high hills.  Yes, even their tenni shoes have heals.

 the fountain at St. Peters...yes, that where the Pope lives

My absolute top favorite things about Rome were

History

Language

And food…I’m pretty sure that I could live forever on a diet of pizza and gelato.

 Spanish Steps

If you ever plan on going (which you totally should) know that Europe in general is expensive. My suggestion is to look for a small bed and breakfast or family friendly hostels.

Don’t be afraid to use local transportation.

Eat where the locals eat not where the tourist eats. 

I'm back!

After two long days of travel I am back from my cruise.  At this moment my mind is a little too mushy to blog about the entire trip plus I’m pretty sure I’m going to have to do it in sections.

I will tell you that it was amazing…worth every dime!

In two weeks I’ve been in 6 foreign countries (7 if you count the Vatican).

I’ve travel by trains, buses, ships, and airplanes.

And I’ve enjoyed some of the best food that I’ve ever had in my entire life

I loved the way “chou bella” rolled off the Italian tongue

I loved the white washed walls in the Greek islands

I loved walking in the Apostle Paul’s footsteps

And I loved the food…or did I already mention that.

My mind is still processing all that I’ve seen

My mind is still trying to pull out facts from history class

My mind is remembering good times spent with friends

And my mind is reminiscing over new friends met along the journey