Turkish delights

July 04, 2008

Not a Greek island of course, but still well worth a look-see is Kusadasi, Turkey. Unfortunately, we only have four hours here, and it is quickly obvious that it isn’t nearly enough time. We set foot on land and note the mountainous landscape stretching upwards. The city sits on terraced levels of the slopes. The streets are lined with palm trees. We put Turkey on our list of places to visit again.

We decide to forego the excursion, which is to Ephesus, the ancient city of Anatolia. Those who did the excursion gave it a thumbs up, but I wanted to explore the famed Turkish bazaars. There was much shopping and bartering to be done! In the streets of the Kemeralti Market, there are antiques, knock-off handbags, scores of jewelery stores, and stores offering local handicrafts such as handwoven rugs, mozaic lanterns (I buy two), and handpainted dishes. We are harrassed by the Turkish vendors – all part of the experience, I’ll warrant. One vendor asks us outright, “What can I do to take your money?” One jewelery store owner successfully get us into his shop, where he presents me with all sort of sparkling items. But we resist.

The aroma of exotic foods tempts us and there is more seafood here than we have seen to date, but time is of the essence. Besides we have encountered a problem with our new memory card, and if we don’t find a solution fast, we won’t be able to take any more pictures. We find a photo store, make a CD of pics from our old memory card, and are once again able to click away.

The ship’s horn calls us back to the port, and our brief stay in beautiful Turkey is committed to memory.