Imbat Kusadasi

... the feral dogs, not quite as nice as the ones in Greece. But then I heard a meow, and we started to see the feral cats. They were very handsome, with sweet faces. But is is so sad to see these animals begging for food. We wondered how they survived out there as there is nothing around.<br> As we got down to the main temple, a three story wonder, something stirred the crowd. Many men in dark suits, earpieces, Ray bans, staring at the crowd. I've seen this before. We ...

... one mile of thread in the cocoon and we saw the teasing out of this thread and its spinning into multi-strand threads used for carpet making. The owner had his employees lay out many carpets on the floor for us and we were impressed with the variety of colours and different materials used in their weaving. One type of silk carpet had 650 knots per square inch! We demurred at spending anything on the admittedly splendid carpets so they lost interest in us and we went back to the boat.

(Steve)<br> <br>Turkey was an interesting place. Friendly but quite pushy, the merchants literally stood in the street and tried to herd us into their stores, acting as if you were rude for not looking at their wares. We had pre-booked an excursion to see the ancient ruins at Ephesus that was well worth it considering the out of the way location and the commentary of our guide. Once built near a bay and an important trade route, silting turned ...

Our Trip to Ephesus. <br><br>It is the 3rd day on the Island and we are sailing to Kusandasi. <br>The village where we stay is about 10 or 12 kilometres from Vathi and we have to get up early to catch the Sailing boat. <br><br>EPHESUS <br><br>Ephesus was one of the most significant cities in Antiguity, built on the western shores of Asia Minor opposite Samos. <br>During the period of acme the city was situated next to the sea, but with the passing of eons the deposits from the river ...

... Canadians, $70 please...each...expensive for Canadians, no?" No kidding! In looking at the list, visas for Canadians cost more than twice as much as any other country...and New Zealanders get in free! After selling one of our kids to pay for the visas, the 4 of us ambled over to immigration..."Canadians...very expensive, no?" "So I have heard", was my less than enthusiastic response, as I watched the cruise boat herds get channeled through ...

... Turkish ice cream again, which was great. Today we drove down the coast to get on our gulet in Gocek. On the way, we stopped at a town that is supposed to have the best meatballs in Turkey. There was a boy there who was traveling from Istanbul with his dad to go diving for a vacation. He was wearing a Fenerbahce shirt like me and we started talking to him. Then Levent said he would translate if I wanted to interview him. So I did. He ...

... all year but come the winter/spring one has to pay for it by scrubbing down all the underwater parts and painting them with antifouling, thus preventing the growth of weed and barnacles. This is a particularly unpleasant task and one spends more time on one's knees than a pregnant nun at Easter, scrubbing, sanding, priming and painting. Still, when it is finished it gives the boat a very smooth, colourful, efficient, pretty bottom ...

... about a half-hour from Selcuk. I had been told that it's a really cute village, which it was, but there wasn't much there and it's become pretty touristy. The main street where the minibus drops you off is lined with little shops filled with tourist ****. There were a couple of old churches and a bunch of cute houses, but after an hour I was done exploring and ready to head back to Selcuk. That evening I found out that ...

... though we only live a few blocks from each other in Dubai. How crazy is that? When I walked up and tapped him on the shoulder, he was stunned of course. We had a bit of a laugh about it all and then we headed off to see something that I would have never found on my own - the whirling dervishes. If you haven`t heard of these guys, they are basically a religious sect of Islam that believes they can get closer to God by reaching an ecstatic state by, you guessed it, spinning ...

... their wares on the side of the road to sell. Many spices, pashminas etc. Most everyone stayed in for dinner again, so there was a big crowd. Might have been due to rumours of a belly dancer...The food was fabulous once again, and just as dinner finished who should show up, but of course, a belly dancer! She gave a great show, and had everyone either up dancing or stuffing money into her bra straps. She ...