Kanarya Hotel Cesme

... Had breakfast at the hotel which consisted of hard boiled egg, tomato, cucumber, cheeses, an entire loaf of bread (move over France), sweet spreads, and olives (green ones and wrinkly black ones). Delicious (this was on the day when I could still eat)!

Then we went out for a little walk and got Brian a haircut - finally! Over 5 months and things were getting a little scraggly. But this wasn't just a haircut. it was a Turkish haircut. It ...

... the dog to bark enough to alert someone inside. Turns out there are no coastal roads and we’ll have to backtrack to Cesme and try to find an old road that shadows the bike-banning highway.

But that something that can be worried about tomorrow. Now we’re being led through a property to have tea while listening to booming Turkish music and watching the sun glint off the waves.

... work and make useful tools?

Where do spice shops abound and everything is sold in bulk?

Where do you get friendly waves and honks while cycling?

Where can you go into a shop to buy something they don't stock ad the shop owner runs out to get it for you from another shop?

Where do old men eat more mandarins than they sell?

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TURKEY!!!!!

Destination 396

[Ferry]

According to the fact, that I already have travelled around Eastern Europe at the beginning of this worldtrip, there was little reason - or better said, little money left - to do it again. So it was planed to take one of those many ferrys connecting almost every corner of the european coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
Chios, Northeast Aegean Islands, Greece pajas

... fresh fruit and veg which was all served at breakfast. The room was nice and bright with 3 single beds and an en-suite. The downside to the room was the lack of any sound proofing which meant that the group of people in the chill-out area could be heard into the early hours and the high winds, which Alacati is famous for, howling through the night.

In town, we found a ...

Today we piled into a mini van and took off to explore the island from which my family comes from. Chios is a fairly large island here in Greece and it is located aprox 8 nautical miles from the west coast of Turkey. The island has a rich history of which played a pivotal role in my ancestors life. Chios is the only island in which the Mastique tree produces a hardened resin. Mastique trees in other areas of the island and in other countries produce a soft ...

... led to our having a dinner together--with his companion Italian Rita--in the time between their catching the Greek ferry to Pireaus.

However, upon entering the harbor at Chios as I saw the rocky hills behind the town I resolved the next day to try and climb to the top of them.








And this I did. The first picture of the "climbing" series is ...

... who experienced it--by missing a boat trip due to bad weather; no excuses accepted--the penalty to be around US$50). So I decided that I best go this same day to Çesme, check into a hotel there, and then just be there early enough the next morning, the day of the boat crossing. I also thought that since I had just checked into the Izmir hotel, washed my hands and used a towel, then laid on the bed, that I’d just have to keep the room, and “eat” the bill for ...

... by the families back in New Zealand, Australia and the UK. As we read them we could imagine the widows, mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters composing them and sending them faithfully back to Turkey to be inscribed. Most of the families will never have seen their inscriptions but, take it from me, their messages are very effective in showing how loved these lads, some as young as 14, were. The Turkish graveyards were also beautifully kept but were certainly not places of great ...

... Muslims acknowledge her holiness by tying pieces of fabric, paper or plastic to a wall near the house. Overall we had an amazing time in Turkey. We were very happy finish the trip on such a high note and in a place that was quite different from the other cities we had seen. The Turks were unfailing friendly an hospitable towards us, the country is beautiful, there are an unbelievable number of historical sites to see - all in all, many reasons to return!