Day Seven: Cruising to Patmos

We had a later wakeup call  and a more relaxing morning that usual on our last day in Turkey.  We were the last EF group to leave the hotel so we could take our time getting ready for our next adventure, cruising the Greek Islands.  We said farewell to Suleyman, our fabulous guide in Turkey. He was a fabulous guide and we learned so much about Turkey in a few short days.

 It was a short drive to the port where we were met by Carol, our new Tour Director.  Carol travelled with us for the rest of our tour.  We dropped off our luggage and boarded the ship.  Our group was very lucky because all of the students were given twin accommodations instead of four to a room.  That would have been very cramped quarters for a couple of days!!  Our rooms were on the 2nd, 3rd and 6th deck.  We went to our rooms to grab our life preservers and then headed to the Lounge for the safety meeting.  then we headed to the Dining Room on the 4th deck for lunch.  There was a beautiful buffet lunch with so many choices.  While we ate Carol looked after paper work for our group such as our beverage plans, optional tours and other details.  She had also arranged for a birthday cake for Jon and we all sang "Happy Birthday" and then Carol sang to him in Greek!

Our  cruise ship, the Olympia

Happy Birthday

By the time we were finished lunch our luggage had been delivered.  Many of our group went up on deck and enjoyed the view,  explored the ship, ate ice cream, had a nap and visited until we arrived at Patmos at 4:00 PM. The ship could not anchor in the port so we had to take a tender boat to the island.  Since everyone was getting off at the same time we had to wait our turn. In the meantime, we met on the 7th deck for tea and cake and waited to be called to disembark.  There was a variety of cakes, cookies and scones along with tea, coffee and other beverages.  Certainly enough to tide us over until dinner!!!

We boarded the tender and headed for  our first stop Patmos, one of the Dodecanese Islands.  First we went to visit the Cave of the Apocalypse.  It was a steep climb about halfway up the mountain.  Some of us went into the cave where it is believed that John wrote his Book of Revelations.  We could see the Monastery of St. John at the top of the mountain.  On our way down we stopped for a group photo. We had a bit of free time for shopping and some of our group stopped for ice cream and to check their email.

Up the mountain we go

A view from the top

Windmills

Monastery of St. John

Ice cream and email

Preparations for the Easter Vigil

A very happy group

We headed back to the ship and got ready for dinner.  Most of the students decided to have dinner at the buffet on the 9th deck, while most of the adults had dinner in the dining room.  There were many items to choose from and all of them were delicious.

At 10:00 we boarded the tender boat again and went back to Patmos for the Easter Vigil.  We were very lucky that the Greek Orthodox church was celebrating Easter at the same time as us so that we could take part in the service. Carol handed out white candles to all of our group and we made our way to a small church in a square nearby.  We arrived early enough to find a spot and many of our group quietly went to see the inside of the church.  Just before midnight the priest and two others came outside and stood on a platform.  A flame was passed from person to person and the priest called out "Christos Anesti" and everyone else joined in.  The church bells began to ring and there was lots of fireworks.  It was a wonderful experience and we are so fortunate we could be a part of it.  With our candles still lit, we made our way back to the dock. 

The priest outside the church

Lighting our candles

"Christos Anesti"

When we arrived back on the ship Carol told us that the Greek people would be gathering for a midnight meal.  There would be Easter bread called Tsoureki and dyed red eggs which represent the blood of Christ and the rebirth.  The Greek people also enjoy Mayiritsa, which is a lemon lamb soup eaten at the midnight meal.  When we were walking near the cave earlier in the day, Carol and her daughter Victoria commented that they could smell the soup cooking nearby.  A few of us went to the dining room to see the food but we were all too full from dinner to sample the food.

Day Six: Ephesus and Shopping in Kusadasi

Our breakfast included hot items such as eggs and  pancakes as well as the usual items such as tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, bread, yogurt and fruit.  After breakfast we drove to the site of Ephesus, the best preserved Roman city in the Mediterranean. it is believed that over 250,000 people lived in Ephesus.  The city is also an important part of the lives of  St. Paul and St. John  who arrived at different times to spread Christianity.   We began our tour at the upper entrance to the ruins.  It began to rain shortly after we arrived but Suleyman found a few places for us to gather with a bit of protection from the rain.  We were all happy that we had packed rain gear and umbrellas before leaving the hotel.

Hurray for rain gear 

Upper entrance

Beautiful Arches

Well-worn stairs

Ephesus Arch

Our first stop was the Odeion, which seated about 1500 people and was the council chamber for the senate.  It looked like a small amphitheatre. There were Roman baths near the amphitheatre. 

Odeion or Small Amphitheatre

We walked along the Marble Road and Suleyman explained that there would have been many shops on either side of the road.  There were beautiful marble columns and statues. 

One of our stops was the public toilets.  This was quite interesting and humorous  for our group as we imagined the men gathering in the public toilets to visit and use the facilities.  It is assumed that the women would also have had a public toilets, although they have not been found.  Ephesus was  also home to numerous cats and snails!!

Public toilets

They used what????

Kaylee examines a snail

More cats

Near the corner of the Marble Road and Curetes Street there was evidence of a brothel.  Beautiful mosaics were found in many building.

Mosaics

The skies cleared and  a rainbow appeared  as we arrived at the library. We took a few minutes to explore the area and pose for a group photo. 

Beautiful rainbow

The Library seen from a distance

Group photo

Ephesus Library

South gate of Agora

 Our final stop was the Great Theatre.  It is an impressive structure with a seating capacity of 25,000.  The theatre was used for concerts and plays as well as political discussions and gladiator and animal fights.

The Great Theatre

Just one more photo!!

After leaving the ruins we browsed the souvenir shops and then met our bus.

Shopping for souvenirs!!

Genuine Fake

Our next stop was a Leather Factory.  We were seated and the fashion show started.  Doug and Loghan were called up to be models.  After the fashion show we went to the show room and some purchases were made.

Models Loghan and Doug

I think these guys enjoyed the fashion show

We headed to Kusadasi in time for lunch and our last opportunity to shop in Turkey.  Some of our group stopped to have an ice cream cone.  The salesman was very entertaining and a large group soon gathered to watch his little show.  

Doug buys an ice cream

A bar and restaurant just down the street began playing music and some of their staff started dancing. It didn't take long for some of our group to join in.  Some of the local children seemed to find this very entertaining. 

Cha cha

Stamp your foot

How low can you go?

Those crazy Canadians!!!

 We went back to the hotel in the late afternoon and there was time for a rest, a walk to the beach or a massage before dinner.  In the evening our group joined other EF groups at the disco for our last night in Turkey.

Day 5 Part 2: House of the Virgin Mary and Kusadasi

We left the Carpet Shop and drove about a half an hour to a restaurant for lunch.  it was a large cafeteria style place that was well- prepared for large tour groups.  There were at least 3 bus loads of people arriving at the same time as us.  The menu was limited but everyone enjoyed visiting and eating lunch.  After lunch we had a three-hour drive to Kusadasi.  We drove through Izmir, the third largest city in Turkey.  Most of us used the bus ride to catch up on our sleep.

Sleep Cam

Suleyman suggested that we visit one more attraction before heading to the hotel and we are so happy that he did.  We arrived at the House of the Virgin Mary  (Meryem Ana  in Turkish) near the end of the day and most of the tour buses had already departed. The house was discovered in the 19th century by following descriptions of the visions of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, a Roman Catholic nun.   Catholic pilgrims visit the house based on the belief that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was taken to this stone house by St. John and lived there for the remainder of her life. The shrine has been visited by many Roman Catholic Popes  Outside the shrine is the "Wishing Wall" where people can tie or attach their personal wishes or intentions.  There is also a water fountain nearby where people believe that the water has special healing powers. 

A statue of Virgin Mary

House of the Virgin Mary

Healing waters

The Wishing Wall

Wishing Wall

Shopping for Souvenirs

Our hotel was a short drive  from the House of the Virgin Mary and  on our way we saw the port where we will be boarding the cruise ship on Saturday.  We were also informed that our accommodations had been changed to the Arora Hotel in Kusadasi.  It included 3 swimming pools, beach access, a large deck with music, a disco and a Turkish Bath.  After checking in we had some free time to check emails and a few of the parents booked appointments at the Turkish Bath.

Dinner was served buffet style and there was a large selection of food, but it was very congested.  Once again we found that we needed to be more aggressive that usual when standing in line to keep other people from cutting in front of us.

After dinner some of our group joined the DJ on the deck and showed off their Saskatchewan dance moves!!!

Students

And some of the Moms!!!