I write in a force-9 gale, on our way for Piraeus tomorrow morning. I am ‘island hopping’; as the wind is from the north, I am trying to stay south of the numerous Greek Islands, here in the Aegean Sea. The theory is that the islands provide a lee (of sorts) from the large swell, which is sweeping down the north, hence we pass the islands to the south.
I managed a rather hurried post yesterday, while we were in Kusadasi and I will start with some photos of the place. Then, of course, we had our ‘Special event’ of the Grand World voyage at Ephesus, the ancient city renowned for its historic connections to St. Paul and Mary Magdalene; those photos will follow.
It was chilly, in the 50’s F, around 11 Celsius and wrapping up was the norm. The town is full of shops, leather-wear is predominate, however one can buy anything, jewelry, watches, bags, you name it. they’ve got it.
If one can’t walk along the pier, there’s always these to ride on
We berth quite close to the town
The fort, now a hotel, was once surrounded by water and guarded the hinterland; it is 200 yards from the sea now
Shopping galore
A view across the Fishing harbour
The Turkish and Port Authority flags
Then, around 4:30, the guests started buses to take them to Ephesus, about 30 minutes away by road.
On arrival in the car park, one then has to pass the numerous stalls, selling bric-a-brac and souvenirs.
Karen, Linda Kruse and President of HAL,Orlando Ashford get dangerously close to a large lump of ice-cream.
So, a walk along a cobbled road, towards Ephesus itself. Guests have two venues for the reception and buffet, before proceeding to the Amphitheatre for an evening of Classical music.
On the walk, we pass Cleopatra and Anthony…
Protected by the Roman cohorts….
We make our way towards the library area, one of the reception venues.
Stein and Orlando, waiting for guests and deep in conversation
Some Chamber music as an accompaniment.
Opposite the library are the ruins of the ‘house of pleasure’, the brothel. Such is Roman ingenuity that one could visit the establishment and use an underground stairway, this took you to the library and one could walk out of its doors, no-one the wiser . 😉
A sign in the pavement, directions to the ‘House of Pleasure’
The Guests arrived in this wondrous location and spent the next 3 hours eating, sipping wine and wandering around this magnificent spectacle. I, of course, went wandering with my camera…….
Another view of the library facade
Guests and Officers arriving.
Karen, Stein Kruse, Linda Kruse, Orlando Ashford
Henk Mensink, our Hotel Director, Gerald Bernhoft, Moi, Stein, Orlando.
This section is under rebuild
Chefs, busy in the background
The alternative guest reception area, the Amphitheatre in the background
The Amphitheatre itself
A view of the Library facade from the side.
Darkness slipping in, a wonderful time for photography, how could I resist?
Guests at the reception near the Amphitheatre
The reception, at sunset
The Amphitheatre, the last of the sun’s rays turning the stones red.
The Library facade
Another, taken from the side
Peeking through an arch
Then, as a glorious finale, we climbed the steps to the Amphitheatre for a recital by the Aegean Chamber Orchestra. There have been only 2 concerts in the past 3 years here, one of them being Elton John and the other ‘Sting’.
Stein and Orlando address the audience
Dancers start the evening
The Orchestra
Guests, wrapped up for the chill, enjoy the music.
And so, at midnight we sailed for Piraeus, a day at sea and, as I wrote earlier, a rough one, winds are up to 55-60 kts now; the Greek ferry service, which ply between all the islands, are shut down and the only company we have is a Greek naval destroyer, which seems to be enjoying itself, cavorting around at high-speed, oblivious to the weather.
