Count Dracula, Bulgaria, Istanbul and Home

We enjoyed our sea day in route to Constanta Romania. Finished the last blog post and mostly took it easy. 

Castle Bran

Because the ports in Ukraine were taken off the itinerary, we stayed two days in Constanta.  The benefit for us was the ability to take an overnight trip to Transylvania to visit Dracula’s castle.  It was a long bus ride but the scenery was pretty so all in all it was a good day.  First we went through the plains, Kansas came to mine.  Green flat fields o wheat, forever.  Finally we reached Bucharest and crossed the Danube and a Danube channel that was dug at a great cost of lives.  We skirted town so did not see the old part of town that is known Little Paris due to it’s architecture.  More plains and then we hit the foothills and on up into the mountains—again terrain like the swiss alps, sometimes green and rolling and other times jagged and rocky with a few remnants of snow.  We made several stops and had lunch along the way before reaching the Bran Castle aka Dracula Castle,  around 5:00 p.m.  

Castle Bran

The castle, built in the 14th century, is quite the impressive place high on a hill it towers above green hills scattered with homes. Up the many stairs and we entered. Now for some it is a disappointment as the castle was gifted to a Queen who renovated and refurbished it over the years to be a quite nice place. Not the dark and spooky place you envision when thinking of Count Dracula. We climbed up and down staircases visiting all sorts of rooms. The kings bedroom, the queens sitting rooms, card rooms, armor rooms, and a music room. Small openings were equipped with little canons. But more impressive was the ornately carved doors and woodwork. We did climb up a secret passage which is not much of a secret. 

Count Dracula

Dracula or Vlad the Impaler was the son of Vlad Dracul who was a knight in the Dragon Order The older Vlad got the nickname of Dracul from the dragon on the coat of arms (the devil).  Vlad the Impaler  signed his name as Draculea, the Devil’s son which was distorted to Dracula.  He was know for his cruelty and that is why he later became associated with the name sack bloodthirsty vampire in the 1897 novel Dracula.    A legend was born and that legend continues today.

Palace of Parliment

Bucharest has wide tree lined boulevards and Belle Epoque buildings.  We went to the Palace of the Parliament, the world’s second largest building to the Pentagon.  WOW, it is huge, twelve stories and more than 1000 rooms.  It was built to be the countries headquarters of the communist government in the 1980’s and now houses the Romanian Parliament.  Four stories are below ground,  We walked 2 kilometers inside and saw less than 2% of the building.  The extravagance in its marble floors, columns and walls, mahogany ceilings and trim, oak multi storied doors, crystal chandeliers, hand made rugs and curtains are not to believed.  Most of the material comes from Romania, the mahogany was a gift from Zaire and the silk for the curtains was made in Romania after importing the silk worms from China.  There is a nuclear bunker and one of the rooms features a “sliding roof large enough for a helicopter to fly through”  Only a rumor, the roof does not open.  Romanians have a great sense of humor and lover to tell stories some of which are fictional, there are lots of them about this palace.  One last thing—no are conditioning, their paranoid leader, later executed by firing squad was afraid of being poisoned though an air conditioning system.

Off to lunch to a Bavarian style restaurant, the Beer Wagon, built in 1879 and frequented by the Bucharest aristocracy.  It has served food and beer continuously since then.  Outside we found a gem of a monastery with a small church with intact frescoes much like we have seen in larger more elaborate and ornate churches.  The smallness and simplicity of this one was appealing.  We learned through our conversation with the women tending the church that the American Embassy had donated funds to help with its restoration.  Once she knew where we were from she was delighted to share this information with us and made sure we also visited the courtyard.  Sometimes these brief encounters hold the best memories.   The lovely, peaceful courtyard had many remnants of a cemetery and buildings collected.

We took a short walk around the old streets, there 16 cobble stone pedestrian streets.  We were fascinated by the ornate statues and building decorations and domed roofs.  Street musicians, cafes, and a glass floor over the remains of the real old city.  Back to the bus for several hours to re-board the ship headed for Nessebar.

Next stop Nessebar Bulgaria, a major seaside resort with sandy beaches in a strategic location of the Black Sea.  The old part of town sits on a rocky peninsula and is connected to the main land by a narrow isthmus.  We tendered ashore and walked through the town of small shops, restaurants, seven or eight church ruins from various centuries and old stone and timber homes and remnants of the second century city walls.  The church construction is unique with layers of red and white brick and rosettes and discs for decoration above the archways. 

The highlight was when  Sue said hello to an older woman in a back alley who asked where we were from.  She was highly appreciative of the US and then tried desperately to engage us in conversation.  I think the house was 200 years old, and her children live in homes nearby.  She invited us in to see her very modest home and we stood in the doorway.  Many smiles, guesses to her meaning and then we took pictures and were on our way.  Ah, if only we spoke Bulgarian.

Back to Istanbul!  Fun to wake up on the Bosphorus with boats going to and fro.  One time in the afternoon Nancy counted 38 boats in view all in motion.  Ferries, tankers, sightseeing cruises, police, and private boats….We choose to take a tour to see a few places we had missed a few weeks ago.  Turns out only one of the sights was new.  The Rustem Pasa Mosque is small but magnificently decorated with ethnic tiles.  Blue and white tiles of 20 or so designs ornamented the walls.  We found it prettier than the Blue Mosque, although the grandeur of the Blue Mosque is breathtaking.  

Cistern

Medusa

Nancy finally remembered that she had been to the cistern, an underground water collection system built by the Romans.  It has 336 marble columns many taken from remains of pagan churches and to this day is strong enough to support the city above and still collects water.  Two of the columns have bases that were once ornamental tops depicting Medusa.  In one her head is sideways and the other, she is standing on her head.  Quite humorous, those Romans.  

Chora Church

Chora Church Dome

Chora Church, again a small gem that we had seen many years ago, never gets “old”.  The walls are covered with mosaics depicting the life of Mary.  Early religions in the region worshipped the mother goddess and the current connection to Mary in modern religions is rooted in this history.  When converted to a mosque, the walls were covered with wooden panels to conceal the icons.  Now as a museum, the panels have been removed to unearth the fine art of mosaic tiling.  When money became scarce, the last sections of the church were decorated with stunning frescoes, many of which still remain intact.  

Mary, Chora Church

One more trip to the spice market to buy apple tea.  The afternoon involved lots of verandah time—watching the ships, relaxing and appreciating the trip.  As evening approached, as promised, the bridge over the Bosphorus was lit up and periodically changed colors.  

Now is a good time to muse about the ship and the people we met.  Meant to accommodate 670 passengers, we had 540 or so   We kept wondering where everybody was.  The port cancellations in the Ukraine caused people to cancel.  We are glad we stayed on, but must admit, our first four weeks were our favorite part of the trip.  But we love not having to pack and unpack and pack again and again….The food onboard was exceptional as always.  We forgo the grand dining room and fancy steak and pasta restaurants to eat on the back deck of the ship outside the buffet restaurant, which has much of the same food.  We find our favorite wait staff and feel comfortable there.  We meet people in the laundry room, at meals, on tours and sometimes just around.  Two guys each named John traveling with two women, each named Liz from Australia were great fun.  Jennifer invited us to dinner where we met Keith and Lynn and Marlene.  Keith and Lynn went to Dracula’s castle with us so we had great times during that trip.  Rose and Lou were on the pre-trip and they must have gotten tired of eating with us, as we often joined them for meals.  Juliette and Henry were good photo buddies.  And Raelene who we met in the laundry room has invited us to Picton, New Zealand.

A few factoids:

Tulips are from Turkey—exported to Holland.

We followed the path Jason and the Argonauts took to the Golden Fleece.

80% of the world’s hazelnuts come from Turkey.

At is the highest mountain in Turkey where they think Noah’s ark is to be found.

They have just discovered a 12,000 year old temple in Turkey.

Florence Nightingale worked during the Crimean war in Sinop.

And so we close, heading to the airport at 2:30 a.m.  Through Amsterdam and non-stop to MSP.  Looking forward to seeing Jesse and catching up with our lives at home.  We left when spring was still amongst the missing, we are hoping we have a little bit before hitting full blown summer.  Peace and happy travels.  

PS made it home safely and are glad after a wonderful trip to be here with Jessie, our cat. 

To Sinop, Trabzone and Sochi

Our pilot came onboard at 5:30 a.m. for our transit through the Dardanelles, one of the most difficult and dangerous waterways in the world due the currents of Black Sea meeting the Sea of Marmara.  The ancient city of Troy was located near the western entrance of the straights and the battle of Troy was fought here.  Also in Greek mythology, Helle, the daughter of Athanas was drown here in the legend of the Golden Fleece.  The Dardanelles has seen many wars over ancient and contemporary times.  The Gallipoli campaign of WWI was fought for 10 months resulting in 65,000 deaths of British, French, Australian, New Zealand and Indian soldiers and 60,000 Turkish.  Here is were Ataturk defeated the allies.  We sailed past a war memorial to the troops who died here.

 On deck for the passage through the Bosphorus gave us the opportunity to see familiar sights and to take some more pictures of Istanbul from the ship.  This time we were could see places we had visited and connect a bit more with the scenery.  The wind was whipping, much like our last Bosphorus cruise.  From here we sailed to the Black Sea.

First stop, Sinop, Turkey.  Sinop has the finest natural harbor on the Black Sea and is the northern most point of Turkey.  During the cold war, a US listening post was established here.  Sinop takes its name from the mythical Amazon Queen, Sinop, the daughter of a lesser river God.  She attracted the attention of Zeus who promised her anything in return for her favors.  She requested and he granted eternal virginity.  We saw three of the highlights in town, a mosque, archeological museum, and an ethnographic museum.  The Aladdin mosque was built in 1268 in a long rectangle, unusual for mosque design.  No one is completely sure why it was built this way, but one idea is that those praying in the front are closer to Mecca.  To allow more to be in front, and thus closer, the rectangular design was used. It was a simple and thus elegant mosque.  

The ethnographic museum was an old wooden house, a konak, from the 19th century.  It has rooms depicting life of a traditional family of the times, common living and eating spaces, separate bedrooms with bath, to allow for families living together, stables in the basement.  Most impressive was the Sinop Archeological museum.  Outside was a statue of Diogenes who was born here.  A small but interesting collection of earthenware, vases, bronze age jewelry and coins.  Also included were icons from the Byzantine era.  

Icons where made to be portable, hung on the walls of churches but available to be taken through town during festivals.  Outside were the ruins of a temple and many grave markers of interesting design.  The town also has a large fortification wall which is centuries old.  In 1853, the Crimean War began in Sinop.  After our journey we stopped in the center of town to visits shops displaying and selling hand made wooden ship models.  All sizes, shapes and complexities, it was engage to look and to engage with the shop keepers about their craft.

On to Trabzone, Turkey, located on the old Silk Road.  Our morning adventure took us into the mountains for a drive to see a monastery.  Much like the monasteries in Greece, the Sumela monastery is perched hanging off the side of a cliff at 5,000 ft. To quote our guide book, “the monastery looks as if it has been taken from heaven and pasted on the side of a mountain.  From the bottom it looks like it is impossible to get to.  The original part was built in the 386 AD with additions in the 6th and14th centuries.”  Our bus took us to a parking lot were we boarded mini-vans to continue the winding trip up the mountain side.  

Off the vans to begin our trek…up a mountain pathway of loose gravel, tree roots and mud. The last part was rock staircases, several, leading to a small door opening to the monastery courtyard, several staircases below. We arrived at the top to be greeted by the rain.  Used as a teaching monastery there are rooms for students, communal dining and cooking rooms, a church, priest house and bell tower.  The church and its exterior walls were covered in frescoes.  We never tire of seeing these.  Brilliant colors have survived the years and depict stories from the Bible.  The rain continued but the low hanging clouds in the beautiful place provided a mystical experience.  We took our time down the now slippery path and rebounded mini vans to our bus.  The mountains are quite jagged but fertile, our guide kept comparing to the alps.  Looking at the fields, homes and animals clinging to the sides of the cliffs was impressive. There was a roaring river, with occasional waterfall, along side the road throughout the trip. Back to the ship for lunch before an afternoon in town.

The rain stopped as we headed to a mosque, church turned mosque, and Ataturk’s summer home.  The mosque was built by a Sultan and his mother’s body is in the mausoleum in the courtyard.  The church, Hagia Sophia, is currently used as a mosque.  There are frescoes in a courtyard that have survived out of the sunlight.  They was spectacular, but eclipsed by the frescoes inside.  

The mosque has erected an inside canopy to hide icons.  While Muslims believe in many of the same religious figures, they do not allow any representations of people or animals inside the mosque.  Your connection and attention should be solely on the prophet.  Rather than destroy the art of the church they cover it over.  From the side, there is a visitor spot from which you can above the canopy to the fresco filled dome. 

Unfortunately, Ataturk’s summer home was undergoing restoration work as we could not go inside but visited the gardens.  The rain returned.  We had fun watching a group of college grads pose for pictures in the garden, in the rain, in their cap and gowns.  After here about the history of Ataturk throughout our Turkey land tour, we were disappointed that we could not visit his home.

Moving on to Sochi, Russia.  At one point we were told we would have to drop anchor and arrive by tenders, fortunately the powers that be changed their minds.  We were the first cruise ship since the Olympics to use the new passenger terminal.  Greeted by the Olympic Rings in the harbor we entered this city which the second longest city in the world and is nestled between the mountains and the coast.  The cities climate is very moderate, but the surrounding mountains as we now know have winter snows for skiing. Putin is known to come here to ski.

We could see the signs to quick growth and worry about the overbuilding.  Time will tell.  Our guide lamented the number high rises that have sprouted on the pebble covered beaches and in town where once no buildings were higher than 6 stories.  We strolled the promenade above the beach observing the winter theater and the many different species of vegetation.  They go from California pines to magnolia trees, palms and other tropical plants including eucalyptus which helped eradicate malaria by drying up standing water with their roots and repelling mosquitos with their fragrance.  

Our main site for the day was Stalin’s Dacha or summer home built in 1937.  Painted grey green for camouflage, this building on a hill is invisible from below.  It was quite interesting to hear our guide describe Stalin, his family and his paranoia.  She also spoke of families affected by his regime and the fear that plagued the nation.  The villa remains as it was in Stalin’s time with most of the original fixtures still in place.  The most weird, was the wax figure of Stalin seated as his desk, pipe in hand, and desk set received from Mao Zenong.  

A lavish villa with interior paneling and ceiling work of various woods.  He had a billiards room and was a bad player.  

Annoyed by losing but also by those who let him win.  No one wanted to play for fear of his anger.  A mechanic, known to be a bad player was the best opponent and got everyone else off the hook.  We did not get to do any Olympic shopping, nor did we get near any Olympic sites which are far off on a peninsula outside the center of town.  We stopped by a sulfur spring.  The area is known for many springs and connected bath houses.  At the end of our journey the guide said, “tell Obama he is our friend and to keep pushing-things get better for us.”

Back on ship for a delightful dinner with Jennifer, the future reservations person, Diego, the executive concierge and three other guests.  Good conversation and stories about ships and travels.  Late night for us and looking forward to the sea day to follow.

Black Sea Cruise

It’s Greek to me.  Not very clever, but true.

We walked across the street to the terminal where we surprised our contact by showing up before the plane we said we were on landed.  We had to tell them we were coming in a day later in order to get transported into town.  

It all worked well and we found our way to the hotel in downtown Athens with about 1 1/2 hours to rest before leaving for the Acropolis Museum.  The museum was not open when we were here last and we kept hearing good things about it.  It was filled with artifacts found in the acropolis, parthenon and surrounding areas.  One hall is the size of the parthenon footprint and has a wall of reliefs—some of the original panels are in a British Museum, they sent copies when the Acropolis Museum opened.  Other panels go between well worn and very detailed even today.  Well worth a visit.

Our restaurant for dinner was up a hill in the shadow of the Acropolis.  We sat on the patio enjoying souvlaki and other greek dishes while listening to a musical trio. They were playing traditional Greek music with two instruments and one singer.  Poking his head through the fence/hedge was a cat—we are glad to them here is Greece as in Turkey.  Back down the hill and home to sleep before our early wakeup call.

The morning bus ride was 2 hours to Delphi, the site of a Temple for Apollo.  Once a temple for mother earth, Apollo took it over as his own.  It also housed one of the Oracles, a priestess (Pythia) who gave predictions for the future.  People would travel for days/weeks to bring her their stories to get her advice and counsel.  During it’s 1000 year history, people brought offerings which were housed in treasuries for each town/region and Delphi became fabulously rich. The temple was considered to be the spiritual and physical center of the earth—two eagles were sent out in different directions and they met here on a rock.  It was hot and quite a climb up the side of a mountain.  The view from 2000 feet up Mt Parnassus was spectacular.  The museum houses a collection of offerings and statues from the site.  Included is the world famous sculpture of a charioteer.  It is quite amazing, you can even see his eye lashes and piercing eyes sculpted of metal.

More bus ride, lunch, more bus ride and we arrived in Kalampaka for the night.  We could see a monastery at the top of the rock towers that required pope pulley systems to bring in supplies.  They are now preserved, have bridges to ease access and small cable car systems for supplies.  James Bond—“For your eyes only” ended with scenes from one of the monasteries.  Meteora, a world heritage site, has six preserved Eastern Orthodox monasteries, two of which have now become nunneries.  The scenery would have been enough to make the trip worth while but perched on top were complexes, each with an ornate, highly decorated orthodox church from the mid 16th century.  The frescoes survived due to the paint being applied to wet limestone plaster, the colors dry with the materials and have lasted in full color due to the dark surroundings of the church.  It is one of those places that is hard to put in words and reminds again of the rich history and artistry that can be found around the world.

The pre-trip was through the south part of mainland Greece.  The drives were delightful as the scenery changed constantly.  Over mountains, near the sea, vast plains filled with crops, lush greens dotted with flowering trees and bushes and then higher up the rocky mountains.  We saw mountains and towns that we have read about in history classes including Mt Olympus.  

We boarded the ship around 5:00 and were happily greeted by out suitcase that was shipped from home—yea, a new set of clothes.  The evening was spent in the laundry so now all our clothes are clean.  A late dinner on the back deck with reminders of past cruises and dinner companions.  We miss Richard and Linda who shared many meals with us there.  We also miss Em, Larry and Dee from our recent Indonesia trip, and Carol and Bob, but we have not made it to the grand dining room where we used to eat with them.  One of the destination staff members was on our Bangkok to Dubai trip, it was run into him here.  

First stop Hermoupolis, Syros, Greece, the capital of the Cyclades.  It is a Greek Island port in a cove with the neoclassical houses and large public building built on two major hills topped of by churches.  One is Catholic and one is Greek Orthodox.  Mostly white washed homes, though there are blues, yellows and the occasional home as well.  It makes a striking sight from the harbor.  We hopped on our tour bus and drove around the south part of the island, there is some agriculture but much of the land is hilly and rocky.  Small villages dot the coast along the blue waters of Aegean Sea.  

Back in town, we began our walking tour.  Remember we said the town was built on the hills.  Up, up, up we went to stop at a Greek Orthodox church.  Similar to our pre-trip in decor but not as ornate but larger in scale.  The icons scattered throughout the church  are quite interesting, some are painted, some hammered in silver with cut out and painted faces.  The Greek Orthodox church head still resides in Istanbul and the Greeks consider it to be like an Embassy.  In 1983 a Englishman discovered an icon on display in the corner of the church, he asked for some mineral spirits and cotton and began to clean it.  He discovered a painting by El Greco,  depicting the assent of Mary into heaven, signed with his original name and it is estimated to have been painted when he was 19 after graduation from an icon painting school.  They believe it came to be here when someone transported it for safe keeping during one of the wars and then brought to the church as an offering.  Nancy bought a postcard for 2 Euros as got a free blessing from the monk.

Up more steps to the city square, fun to watch a little boy feeding the pigeons.  Up more steps to a very small archeological museum. 

A trip through town hall to the Apollon Theater, we were seated in the 19th century, acoustically sound, first Opera house of Greece.  Styled after Milan’s La Scala, this building hosts many music, art, ballet and opera performances to this day.  Quite amazing when you consider the island has only about 20 thousand people.  

We climbed again to a second church, St Nicolas Cathedral, also Greek Orthodox.  Here St Nicolas is associated as the patron saint of sailors, where in Turkey they focused on the children.  Outside the cathedral was a statue to honor fallen soldiers.  On the top was a lion to indicate bravery and strength, but with a very, very sad face.  It brought tears to our eyes.  

We wondered back down to the port through some of the side streets and alleys.  Quaint town with small shops and restaurants. The Greek Orthodox church follows a different calendar than traditional Catholics.  As you can imagine, that means different Easter dates.  On this island, because there is so much intermarriage, the Catholics have special permission from the Pope to celebrate on the Greek Orthodox dates.  Afternoon and evening spent quietly on the ship.

New day at Ephesus.  We find ourselves in Turkey again, Kusadasi again and you may wonder why we would return to Ephesus since we were just there and saw the Odeon Theater, public baths, Library and the 24,000 seat grand theater where St Paul once preached….Why?  Because we had not seen the Terrace Houses.  Built into the side of the hill off the main road of Ephesus, these were the houses of the wealthy inhabitants.  They have recently been excavated and are continually under restoration.  These homes were quite large, each having a courtyard, its own well and indoor plumbing and heated floors.  The floors are often marble and/or beautiful mosaics in animal or geometric motifs.  Other ornamentation on the walls include marble wall coverings and fresco paintings.  One of the larger compounds had communal walls, like a condominium, probably housing extended family members. We climbed three stories of steps following the homes up the side of the hill.  It was well worth the return trip.  By the way, on the first you remember we mentioned the cats.  The night before we pocketed some shrimp from the ship to take to them.  Happy kitties.  But today there were far fewer cats and many, many more people due to the cruise ships.  We found two who were quite excited by our treats.  We saw another new sight today, backgammon boards carved into marble tables.  

Our other goal for the day was to have time to shop in Kusadasi.  Kusadasi means Bird Island  which is just off the coast and now connected with a concrete bridge.  It is on the flight path of migrating birds.  During the off this is a town of 70,000 people, during the summer time, it swells to 700,000.  With 300 days of sun a year it is a popular destination.  School is over next week so the crowds will begin, we are skipping town.  Sue remembers buying eyeglass frames many years ago on our first visit here. We asked for directions and found a shop where she found new frames.  The owner kept trying to pick out frames for her but the woman working in the shop was a better judge and would stand behind him and shake her head, “no.”  She would go find other better choices—success again this visit.  One last stop at the recommended leather shop, one stop too many, Nancy has a new coat.

Today is a welcome sea day, sailing through the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus.