Two Days in Turkey

We arrived in Bodrum, Turkey on Friday the 26^th of April.  This is an absolutely beautiful town, often described as the St. Tropez of Turkey.

Bodrun, Turkey

 

  While the population is normally around 120,000 inhabitants, this swells to over a million in the summertime. This is the place that most Turks come to in the heat (average 45 C) of summer because of the Mediterranean Sea.  Our guide told us that it is impossible to navigate the streets at this time.  Normally, in the winter time, the tourists are mainly from Britain and continental Europe.

We took a tour of the area starting with a look at the remains of ancient Bodrum.  At the time of Alexander the Great, this town was called Halicarnassus and was fortified by a wall through which the only entrance was Myndos gate.

 

 In 335 BC, after a year’s siege, the city fell to Alexander who immediately had all the adult males killed and the females and children were sold into slavery.  What a guy he was! We were also taken to see the ancient theatre of the city and to Gumbet Hill which has the remains of some very old windmills.  The hill also provided a panoramic view of this area. 

Theatre of Halicarnassus

John at Windmill

Our tour continued to a village, called Gumusluk, at the tip of the Bodrum peninsula.  We had a cold drink and snack in this quaint little village and had a chance to take in the life style of the villagers.  Oh yes, there was also an opportunity to shop.

In the town of Gumusluk

After returning to the ship, Gail began work on another project at the request of ship’s management.  She was asked to paint aprons for a special World Cruise event showing scenes from different countries so that they can be worn when the ship celebrates the food of different cultures. Luckily she had one of her art students from Binghamton to help her.

The next morning we arrived at Kusadasi.  Many of the passengers took tours to Ephesus but, since we had been there just two years ago, we chose to stay in town.  We took a walking tour of the town, stopping for a refreshing Efes beer along the way. 

Town of Kusadasi

Relaxing with an Efes

 

Despite the incessant pestering by merchants, we were proud to say that we did not purchase anything, except for the essential beer of course.

The following day we were at sea and had our second Art Show.  Our students did an amazing job. 

 

 We also had the unique experience of having internationally known comedienne Rita Rudner come to our classes. She was a very refreshing presence and was very appreciative. 

Rita Rudner with her art

 

She also put on an amazing one hour comedy show (her Las Vagas act, essentially) in the evening and had everybody “rolling in the aisles”.

We are now approaching Corfu, Greece, arriving on Monday.