BOKMAS: MEETING A MILESTONE ON ANCIENT STONES

On May 30th I celebrated my 60th birthday...a milestone of sorts, to be sure! Not wanting to deal with all the attention that comes with big events like that, I decided to be out-of-town for the occasion. So Harry and I took a trip to Europe. After spending three days in Rome, we boarded a ship to sail to ports in the Eastern Mediterranean. The attractions in many of the places that we visited were ancient sites with impressive stone ruins of ancient civilizations.


Harry and I in the Eternal City of Rome

ROME

Day One - Monday - May 14

We spent the day riding the green hop-on, hop-off bus, getting oriented to the city, and getting off the bus whenever we wanted a closer look at some of Rome's endless attractions. The Foro Romano and Palatine Hill were the first "piles of stones" we explored.


Roman Forum and Palatine Hill


Tiber River

For lunch we walked across the Tiber River to Trastevere, a seedier neighborhood that is less touristy.


The Pantheon

Our hotel was ideally located, and we were able to walk to many of Rome's scenic attractions. In the afternoon, we walked to the Pantheon, a Roman temple that was dedicated to all gods. It has a huge dome with a hole that opens up to the sky. The building looks so good considering that it was built in 27 BC!

Day Two - Tuesday - May 15

Villa Borghese Gardens

Galleria Borghese

Around the corner from our hotel were the Borghese Gardens. We took a morning walk through this huge park to go to the Galleria Borghese, where we had reservations to spend three hours admiring the art housed there. One of my favorite works was the Bernini sculpture of David, pictured here.

Castel Sant'Angelo

This building was originally Hadrian's Tomb, later turned into a castle, then a prison, then a place of refuge for the pope (there is a fortified wall with a tunnel in it connecting it to the Vatican), and finally a museum.

Trevi Fountain


Spanish Steps

Day Three - Wednesday - May 16

Parting Shots of Rome

We spent our last hours in Rome strolling. The highlights on the way were the Piazza Venezia and Campo de Fiori (we finally found it!)

EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN CRUISE

MARINER OF THE SEAS


Welcome Aboard!

The verandah of Stateroom #1538 was a nice place to rest after our busy three-day stay in Rome.

Messina, Sicily - May 17

Shore Excursion: Taormina On Your Own

Taormina's pedestrian friendly streets

Ruins of Greek Theater in Taormina

Gardens of Taormina


Mount Etna

Chania, Crete - May 19

Shore Excursion: Lake Kournas, Arkadi Monastery, Rethymnon


Lake Kournas, the only freshwater lake on the island.

We were given samples of Raki, the distilled drink of Crete, and Sfakiani, which is sort of like a tortilla filled with cheese and drizzled with honey.


Arkadi Monastery

Rethymnon

This cute little seaside town, with both Roman and Byzantine influences, was our stopping point for lunch and free time. We were tempted to do the "foot spa" where you put your bare feet into a tank of baby piranha, who nibble away the dead skin on your feet!

Rhodes, Greece - May 20

Shore Excursion: Scenic Rhodes

As we left the port area by bus, we could see the spot where the hundred-foot high Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, once stood. The giant statue was destroyed by an earthquake in 226BC. No one knows for sure what the Colossus of Rhodes looked like, but there are souvenir shops that sell their impressions:

Kamiros

Our first stop was at the ruins of this ancinet Greek city state. It dates back to the Bronze Age, around the fifth century BC.

Poppies were blooming among the ruins.

We had a short walking tour inside of the walled city of Rhodes, and then we had the whole afternoon free. The old town of Rhodes was just a short walk from the ship. We loved the convenience of the accessibility of everything!

Palace of the Grand Masters

Views from the clock tower of Rhodes

The Aegean Sea

Streets of scenic Rhodes.

Istanbul - May 22 - 23
Shore Excursion: Complete Istanbul

We saw all the "must see" sights of Istanbul on this tour.

The Topkapi Palace

This is a model of the palace grounds with its gardens surrounded by elaborate and beautiful buildings. The complex was started in 1459. It was the residence of the sultans.

We were very lucky, because the palace grounds are usually closed on Tuesdays, but Royal Caribbean was able to talk somebody into opening the site just for Royal Caribbean passengers on tour. The palace grounds, which usually are extremely crowded, were nearly deserted, except for a film crew which films a very popular Turkish TV series on the grounds on Tuesdays.

Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia Exterior

This structure is celebrated by both the Christian and Muslim worlds. It was built in 547 AD by Emporer Justinian as a Christian place of worship, but when the Ottomans conquered the area, the church was converted to a mosque. It is now a museum.


Hagia Sophia Interior

It's interesting to see both the Christian and Muslim decoration of the interior.

Underground Cistern

When the city encountered a water shortage, this underground cistern was built to supply water for the palace. It's huge! About as big as two football fields. There still is water in this underground "forest of pillars."

The Grand Bazaar

The world's oldest market with over 4000 shops. We were surprised how upscale many of the shops were. There is an intricate web of alleys that branch off this main drag.

Cruise on the Bosphorus

Dolmabahce Palace

Rumeli Fortress

When the Ottoman sultans were criticized for being outdated, the Sultan built this very European style palace to replace the Topkapi Palace.

The Rumeli Fortress was constructed in 1452 and gives a good example of Ottoman military architecture.

The Blue Mosque


The Blue Mosque is so called because of the blue-colored tiles of the interior.

Harry has his feet placed in the dark circles on the carpet in the Blue Mosque. The ring of flowers directly in front of his feet show where his body should be if he were a Muslim responding to the call to prayer. He would kneel in that circle. Another man (the women pray in a separate area, not because they are inferior, but because men are weak...according to our guide) would have his feet in the circles beside and in front of Harry's feet.

The tour guide that we had our two days in Istanbul said that he was Muslim. When he entered the Blue Mosque he wore this New York Yankees hat. I thought that was odd.

Turkish Rugs and Culture/Salespitch?!?

We expected to be bored at this Turkish Rug and Turkish Culture talk, but it was actually very entertaining and effective! Forty percent of the people in our tour group ended up buying a Turkish rug....including a cheap Dutchman I know!

Spice Market

This 350 year old market was built to promote the spice trade in Istanbul. It is a colorful place, filled with tourists, locals, and the smells of all the different spices of the world.

Parting Shots of Istanbul

Minarets....

Magic Lamp Outlet Stores???

Muslim Tourists...

Pretzels? Anyone?...

Ephesus, Turkey - May 24

Shore Excursion: Ephesian Modus Vivandi

The Library of Celsus

The ruins of this ancient city are impressive.

Our tour focused on the way of life of the people who lived in Ephesus.

It was a society that honored gods and godesses and themselves.

Of special importance to the city of Ephesus was the worship of the goddess Artemis, which made the city very rich. No wonder the Apostle Paul was seen as a threat when he said that man-made gods were not gods at all. Here is the theater where the mobs shouted for two hours, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"

Artemis of the Ehesians

This impressive ancient city had a sewer system. The photo below shows the toilets of the day. Apparently pooping was a social affair.

The excavation of the Terrace Houses is ongoing.

These lavish homes were where the wealthy citizens of Ephesus lived,

right near the "Rodeo Drive" of the town.

The street where all the finest shops were located is decorated with beautiful mosaics.

The drive to the small local "Efes Muzesi" shows the fertile and agricultural nature of the area around Ephesus.

Ephesus Museum

The tour concluded with a Roman feast at a local restaurant.

Athens, Greece - May 25

Shore Excursion: Taste of Athens

Our first stop was at the Panathenaic Stadium

This stadium was built in the fourth century BC to host the Panathenaic Games. It was rebuilt in the second century AD, using the beautiful gleaming marble you see today. Not only did we get to see the stadium, but we could use the public restrooms there, with normal and familiar looking stools.

Not all bathrooms in Eastern Europe have user-friendly equipment!

After driving by some of the monuments of Athens,

we were at the top of the Acropolis where the Parthenon is located.

The Parthenon

The Parthenon - We were there!

Mars Hill or the Areopagus sits just below the Acropolis.

This is where Paul spoke about the Unknown God.

"A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, "What is this babbler trying to say?" Others remarked, "He seems to be advocating foreign gods." They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.

Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, "May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean. (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)

Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you."

...When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, "We want to hear you again on this subject." At that, Paul left the Council. A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others." (Acts 17)

Standing on the highly polished marble stones of the Areopagus

The tour concluded at the Plaka, the old historic shopping and dining area of Athens. We had a couple of hours of free time. Our goal was to find a Rick Steves recommended restaurant. We were not optimistic, with street names constantly changing, written in Greek letters, alleys and pathways going every which way, but, amazingly we stumbled upon the Taverna O Thespis within three minutes! That gave us lots of time to have a long and relaxing lunch. I don't know if it was because we had the Rick Steves book with us or what, but we were treated much more generously than the other customers dining there. The owner did not speak much English, but kind of took control of the situation and told us, through gestures, what we should order. He welcomed us with glasses of ouzo, on the house, and brought several courses of tasty Greek food, and copper pitchers of house wine. We enjoyed our time there very much!

Sea Days

This was a pretty busy cruise, but we had three days at-sea to rest and to enjoy the shipboard activities.

We always looked forward to cocktail hour in the Diamond Lounge and dinner each night with our table mates for this cruise.

Alma, Harry, Ron, Flora, Karen, and Larry.

Alma and Ron live in England, where Ron is retired from Shell Oil, and Alma is retired from working for a wine distributor.

Larry and Karen live in Goodyear, Arizona, but also have a home in Washington state. Larry is retired military Lieutenant Colonel, and Karen is a retired mortgage broker.

Naples, Italy - May 27

Shore Excursion: The Ruins of Herculaneum

Because our tour did not depart until 1:30 in the afternoon, we had the morning free. Once again, we relied on our Rick Steves guidebook, as we left the ship and walked across Naples, enjoying the sights and sounds of this graffiti-covered, ground-littered city. It was Sunday morning, and nearly all the shops were still closed. But, thankfully, we found the Archeological Museum open!

We spent most of the morning in the Naples Archeological Museum, which houses

much of the art and treasures taken from both Pompeii and Herculaneum, which were destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius on August 24, in 79 AD

Naples Archeological Museum

In the afternoon, we met our tour guide, and drove to Herculaneum.

Our first stop enroute to the site was a cameo factory,

a place with decent restrooms, and (you guessed it) a sales pitch.

This time my Dutchman remained true to his roots. Ha!

Giovanni Apa Cameo Factory

Herculaneum

Unlike Pompeii whose population suffocated from the ashes when Vesuvius erupted, Herculaneum's people perished when they were buried in boiling mud. Excavations at the site began in 1738, uncovering a remarkably well preserved town. Herculaneum was a small seaside resort for the wealthy.