Grand Ideal Marmaris

... as Manuel from faulty towers - only he got everything right, he did all the cooking (he was a bloody good cook!!)...<br>Koycegiz is a small village/town set on a lake - on the west coast of Turkey, inland from the Aegean Sea, famed for it's bird-watching and thermal baths.<br>I took a day-long boat tour the next morning (I unusually woke early, but that was more of a direct result of the ...

Another beautiful day. Sunny 78 degrees on the island of Rhodes. We travel to Lindos half way down the island. To see the Acropolis were Paul spoke to the Greeks. A long climb to the top with a view to forever. Just outstanding. Back to the boat early to catch some sun by the pool.<br><br>I am going to upload a couple of pics from yesterday on Myconos to give you an idea of the beauty here.<br><br>Davo and Janet

... But they were our first ruins, so we enjoyed them anyway. The best part about the area was that we were all the way on top of the island, and could see for miles down the coast in either direction. <br>We zig-zagged our way down the hill and back into town, rewarded ourselves with a glass of wine at a local cafe. We were excited to try our first greek restaurant, and even ...

What a difference a day makes. This place is absolutely beautiful. There are still lots of walls and castles that have been here for thousands of years, but it is nice and clean and friendly. We walked into the walled city and saw heaps more shops with locally made things and also lots of touristy rubbish, but no-one was hassling us to buy and we could just wander around looking and not fighting people off ...

... a magnificent bronze statue of Helios, a Greek God. It was one of the seven wonders of the Ancient world. The statue only stood for 56 years before an earthquake destroyed it in 226BC. <br><br>The medieval town of Rhodes has now been declared a world heritage site. And no wonder with its winding old lanes, ancient defensive walls and its beautiful clear sky and water. We couldn't have afforded a night here but we sure are glad we got to spend a day in this touristy little town. <br><br ...

... of the world is explored, and that some areas can retain a look and feel unique in the world. <br><br>For me some of the best places are areas that retain a pleasant and unique environment, whilst subtly presenting me with the things that allow me to be more comfortable. Simply presenting me with an English menu describing the local cuisine would be a good example - not one filled with pictures of overly sweet iced-cream desserts.<br><br><br>

... in the summer. It was lovely to look down on the clear blue sea. We came across an aquaduct that had been built by the Romans to transport water from the hills to the town and we had not known it was there. Peter writes ..... Apart from the walk life has been pretty ordinary really. I'm beginning to get a bit worried however that recently we seem to be getting a bit too close for comfort when it comes to the quiz nights; two first places and a second are more than I can ...

Next we were onto Rhodes, one of the most historically significant Greek Isles. We saw the medieval old town, the Acropolis (yes, Rhodes has one too), and the site where the Colossus of Rhodes presumably stood in ancient times. We also got in a little beach time and visited a neat pottery factory.<br>

Had a great time, it was very cheap, loads of trips to do - boat trip was a really good day and I got very burnt. Most of the tourists were scandanavian, dutch or russian, and were very chatty. Loads of places to eat and drink and dance. Bar street ...

... said.<br><br>Tomorrow we are taking the hydrofoil to Turkey and will attempt the arduous sixteen hour overnight bus ride to Istanbul. The ticket agent dismissed my suggestion that there may be beurocratic entanglements involve in crossing over. He did concede when I asked him directly that we would be subject to a ten dollar 'port tax' (Turkey tax?) for only going one way. My only hope is that it will be a straightforward crossing although, this being Greece, I'm sure it won't be. <br>