May 27, 2019
Kusadasi, Turkey
We were only in Turkey from 10AM until 4:40PM. Again a free half day tour to Ancient Ephesus and yet again we chose to do our own thing. We walked from the ship to old town which is also a pedestrian only area. I soon got tired of being politely asked into a shop over and over despite saying no. The Turks are pushy salesmen. They don’t take no for an answer. I might have purchased something, perhaps a cotton blouse or maybe a leather wallet but as soon as I looked at anything I felt swarmed. So we walked and checked out the sites and even walked a bit in what was a normal non tourist area. Overall impression, everything was very clean, the shops large and well designed, lots of tiny coffee shops and lovely flower gardens and most of all tall trees everywhere. We later walked along the malecon enjoying the views and young families out with their children. Once back at the ship we had a light lunch as we expected to have an early dinner. The afternoon was spent packing in preparation for our early morning departure off the ship.
I actually was up for a bathroom visit and saw the sunrise.
Preparing the gangway to exit the ship. Those on the tour got off first. Those blue carts with a white roof were older Turkish men who for two euros would pedal you to the grand bazaar which was only two blocks away.
I assume that the water coming out of this public tap is good water. We saw a few in the centre square. This older gent was refilling his water containers.
For lunch we had spanakorizo this is spinach sautéed with garlic, onion and rice pilaf. It was a huge service and we could only eat half of it.
I had this lemon verbena scented fruitcake which was served with lemon sherbet. The sherbet was fresh made with a very tart finish.
I have to say that dinner was our least favorite meal of the entire cruise. The salmon was cinnamon coated which just was not right and it was served without any sides. Fortunately we had a salad and a bowl of vegetable soup as starters. Dessert was not what we expected based on the menu description. It was still a lovely meal but we had become spoilt over the week.
The final performance of the week was ‘Mythologia’, a spectacular show inspired from the Greek mythology.
Our plan was for a quick drink in the lounge and to say adios to our favorite cuban band.
However as usual we became involved in the music.
Once Colin and I started to dance, others joined in and soon we had seven couples on the floor.
We met Patricia and her sister who were traveling with their mother. They are from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
A wonderful end to a very special week. Danny, our cruise director, told us that this past week, our ship had 388 crew from 29 different countries and 788 passengers from 35 different countries. Wouldn’t it be nice if the rest of the world could get along as well as we all did on a small ship? The ship is 162 meters/531 feet long.
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ACTUALLY YOU HAVE HAD TWO SHORT TRIPS TO TURKEY ALREADY. LOL!! LOVE ALL THE BRIGHT COLORS. HERE IN NORTH AMERICAN WE ARE SO BLAH. CUBA ALSO HAS BRIGHT COLORS. SORRY YOUR LAST MEAL WASN’T UP TO YOUR EXPECTATIONS.
What a great cruise, thanks for taking me along 🙂
Loved the colors! Too bad about the pushy sales people.
Turkey – I am guessing on my list of next 3 countries to visit. I have only spent one day in Kusadasi on a cruise like this one. We spent that day at the fabulous ruins of Ephesus. So glad you enjoyed your cruise!