Olympia

Katakalon is a Greek port close to the archaeological site of Olympia.  Olympia is where the ancient Greeks gathered every four years for more than a millennium to celebrate the sacred games dedicated to Zeus.  These games were the genesis of the modern day Olympics.  The archeolgical site is where the Olympic Flame is lit every four years for the Olympic Games.

Site where the Olympic Flame is lit in front of the Temple of Hera

Patmos

Patmos is a small Greek Island with a population of around 3,000.   Patmos is a destination for Christian pilgrimage as John is said to have received his Revelation there.

We walked around the town for a while and then relaxed in a quayside bar.

Cannakale

Cannakale is across the Dardanelles from Gallipoli.  We did a full day tour of Gallipoli with a very knowledgable guide.  The experience was very moving and a major highlight.

The “Sphinx”

Anzac Cove

Lone Pine Memorial

Anzac Commemorative Site

Lone Pine Cemetery

Istanbul

We overnighted in Istanbul so had plenty of time to sample the city.  The first day we did a full day tour which included the Blue Mosque, Haga Sofia, Topkapi Palace and the Spice Market.  The second day we visited the Grand Bazaar and walked through the Spice Market again.

Blue Mosque

While we were in the Blue Mosque we came across this young man.  He is dressed in a sünnet costume – sünnet is the Turkish circumcision ritual and is a very open and celebrated affair, performed when a boy is about 10 years old.

Circumcision Outfit

Spice Market

On the way back to our ship, we could see our ship alongside one of the larger cruise ships – an amazing comparison.

Kusadasi

Kusadasi was another port that we had recently visited so didn’t take any tours.  We spent some of the day wandering around the shops and checking out the leatherwear.

In the evening we went to Ephesus which is an ancient Greek City for a classical music  open air concert.  The concert was held in front of the old amphitheater and was amazing. Unfortunately the light was not conducive to capturing decent images of the event but it was an amazing thing to do.

Athens

Our cruise ended in Athens where we disembarked and flew to Venice to wait three days for the next leg of our cruise on Seabourn Spirit.  Sadly when we arrived in Venice, our luggage didn’t, and about 50 other people’s luggage didn’t make it either.  We were stranded with only the clothes that we were wearing.  Our bags didn’t turn up until more than 48 hours later, 9.30pm on the night before we were due to board the cruise so the clothes we were wearing almost marched themselves to the laundry!