tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17820950149398554582024-03-05T19:39:24.202-08:00Colossal Waste<b>...a life without travel is a colossal waste...</b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015320491290016603noreply@blogger.comBlogger275125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1782095014939855458.post-63696766712083005772013-01-01T12:53:00.000-08:002017-07-18T13:05:57.847-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
For nearly a decade, Colossal Waste was the official travel & food blog of Jeff Howard. His now ex-wife Barbara was (still is, actually) one of the premiere travel agents in Hollywood, with fabulous and important clients. This meant that Jeff & Barbara had to fly around the world visiting the same fabulous cities, staying in the same fabulous hotels, and eating at the same fabulous restaurants as the Hollywood elite.<br />
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As an amateur photographer and a man who cannot help but sit and write at the end of the day, Jeff did his best to chronicle everything he saw and everything he ate. Barbara still travels the world, but now Jeff has grown some roots in his new life. When he does travel the pictures go on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/heffay111/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> & <a href="https://www.facebook.com/heffay111" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.<br />
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The Waste is now dormant, but Jeff is pleased with to have chronicled all 274 days of travel. And it's more than a little fun to know that there was a time when the Waste was pulling in hundreds of strangers and the pics were getting thousands of views. The only regret is that I never had time to get the African trip from 2008 onto here.<br />
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Now that the Waste is one big archive of a past life, I leave you with the "Quick Guide" to the world that is Colossal Waste.<br />
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<b>THE THREE MAJOR TRIPS</b></h4>
<a href="https://colossalwaste.blogspot.com/2011/06/around-world-2011-day-1-la-to-bangkok.html">Around The World 2011 (52 Days Across Three Continents) starts HERE</a><br />
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<a href="http://colossalwaste.blogspot.com/2010/06/eurotour-2010-day-1-la-to-paris.html">Europe 2010 (48 Days Across The Continent) starts HERE</a><br />
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<span style="color: #0000ee; text-decoration-line: underline;">Europe 2009 (59 Days Across The Continent) starts HERE</span><br />
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THE REST </h4>
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<a href="http://www.colossalwaste.com/2011/03/nyc-march-2011-day-1.html">New York City, March 2011</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.colossalwaste.com/2011_02_01_archive.html">Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show 2011</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.colossalwaste.com/2010/12/austin-texas-december-2010.html">Austin, Texas, December 2010</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.colossalwaste.com/2010/12/venice-canals-holiday-boat-parade-2010.html">Venice Canals Holiday Boat Parade 2010</a><br />
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<a href="http://colossalwaste.blogspot.com/2010/11/nyc-november-2010-day-1.html">New York City, November 2010</a><br />
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<a href="http://colossalwaste.blogspot.com/2010/10/journey-to-rally-to-restore-sanity-part.html">Washington D.C., The Rally To Restore Sanity, October 2010</a><br />
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<a href="http://colossalwaste.blogspot.com/2010/09/four-season-resort-maui-hawaii-2010-day.html">Four Season Resort Maui, September 2010</a><br />
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<a href="http://colossalwaste.blogspot.com/2010/06/montana.html">Rock Creek, Montana 2010 starts HERE</a></div>
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<a href="http://colossalwaste.blogspot.com/2010/05/southern-swing-may-2010-day-1.html">Southern Swing 2010 (Charlotte-Savannah-Charleston) starts HERE</a></div>
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<a href="http://colossalwaste.blogspot.com/2010/04/delray-beach-florida-april-21-25.html">Delray Beach, Florida 2010 is HERE</a></div>
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<a href="http://colossalwaste.blogspot.com/2010/04/aspen-april-2010-day-1.html">Aspen, Colorado 2010 starts HERE</a></div>
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<a href="http://colossalwaste.blogspot.com/2010/03/thrashers-live-on-sunset-strip.html">The Thrashers Live On The Sunset Strip 2010 is HERE</a></div>
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<a href="http://colossalwaste.blogspot.com/2010/03/mindshare-la-march-event.html">Mindshare L.A. March 2010 is HERE</a></div>
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<a href="http://colossalwaste.blogspot.com/2010/03/nyc-march-2010-day-1.html">New York City, 2010 (the Oreo experience) starts HERE</a></div>
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<a href="http://colossalwaste.blogspot.com/2010/01/las-vegas-ces-2010.html">Las Vegas, Consumer Electronics Show 2010 is HERE</a></div>
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<a href="http://colossalwaste.blogspot.com/2010/01/vegas-christmas-2009.html">Las Vegas, Christmas 2009 is HERE</a></div>
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<a href="http://colossalwaste.blogspot.com/2009/12/banana-cream-pie.html">Banana Cream Pie, yes, Banana Cream Pie is HERE</a></div>
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<a href="http://colossalwaste.blogspot.com/2009/08/best-burger-in-los-angeles.html">Best Burger in Los Angeles is HERE</a></div>
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<a href="http://colossalwaste.blogspot.com/2009/08/cabo-san-lucas-day-1.html">Cabo San Lucas, Mexico 2009 starts HERE</a></div>
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<a href="http://colossalwaste.blogspot.com/2009/08/hollywood-bowl-august-21.html">A Night at the Hollywood Bowl is HERE</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015320491290016603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1782095014939855458.post-38910738297025228772012-08-26T14:52:00.001-07:002012-08-27T12:24:09.950-07:00Santa Monica SIx Taste Food Tour<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
You might have noticed a long gap since the last Waste post. A very long gap. In brief, among the list of changes for yours truly in 2012 is that I have very few travel plans. But I decided to make an effort to approach Los Angeles now and then the same way that I would approach a city that I am visiting overseas. Museums, sites, etc. I have not been a good boy about sharing these things with you, but here is a pretty good one.<br />
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Especially for those of you who care most about the food.<br />
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A friend got a half-price offer from <i>Six Taste</i> for a food tour. There were many choices, but in order to use the pre-paid tour before it expired we settled on Santa Monica on a Saturday morning. Perhaps in the future I will get around to Chinatown, Koreatown, and other towns.<br />
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The tour began with, of course, the meet up.<br />
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Sixteen intrepid foodies... looking to eat and listening to the spiel from the struggling actor who will be our guide. There was a <i>very</i> good chance that, considering this tour is centered around Third Street Promenade, I will have eaten at these places before. He read off the list and, yay, I had not been to a one of them. This is likely because the Johnny Rockets chili cheese fries tend to dominated my Promenade eating.<br />
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First stop, the Röcken Wagner bakery. <br />
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Started by a German who moved to Santa Monica, we are told that this bakery is going to be great.<br />
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First, pretzel croissant. It tasted more like croissant than pretzel, but I sure liked it.<br />
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Second, a taste of the mint lemonade. Delicious. I could drink a gallon without thinking about it.<br />
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Third, a bacon and cheddar pretzel croissant. Yes, they bake bacon and cheddar into the croissant. This fall under the <i>to die for</i> category.</div>
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Fourth, tri-berry scone. Raspberry, blueberry, blackberry. I am not scone guy. This did not convert me. If you are a scone person, I bet you would love it.<br />
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And with that... we walked out into the Farmer's Market for a second stop.<br />
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Bill's Bees... an aeronautical engineer who started bee keeping as a hobby. Today he supplies restaurants and does the farmer's market thing.<br />
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The first honey taste, honey from bees fed on sage. He controls the bees food sources to create different honey. This honey was <i>fantastic</i>. Wow. Just wow. Amazingly delicious and fresh.<br />
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The next honey is from bees fed avocado trees. Not quite as good as the sage, but if I had not had the sage, I would be using superlatives here.<br />
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The last taste, honey from bees fed orange blossom. Probably as good as the sage. At this point I wanted to grab the bottle from him and fill my mouth with honey like a cartoon bear.<br />
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After some time to wander the farmer's market, we headed to stop three.<br />
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No mystery here. Joe opened the place when he moved here from NYC. He makes pizza.<br />
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If you long for NYC pizza in L.A., come to Joe's.<br />
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Next stop, Bar Pintxo. I have always looked at this restaurant but never stepped inside.<br />
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If you want a leisurely meal filled with a variety of tastes, a tapas bar is your best option.<br />
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We were given a taste of red and white wine.<br />
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Time for the tapas. This reminded me of Valencia, Spain, where they made me taste several jamón ibéricos, and my conclusion was that they were all tasty and I kind of prefer the Italian version that comes from Parma, proscuitto. Which is not to say you should ever duck the chance to eat jamón ibérico.<br />
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A taste of jamón ibérico on a piece of bread. This is where the restaurant's name comes from. The tradition is to pinch different tastes on bread. Apparently the Latin root for <i>pinch</i> in English and <i>pintxo</i> in Spanish makes life easy for us here.<br />
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The second <i>pintxo </i>was white asparagus with herb sauce and sprouts. Pretty amazing.<br />
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Then came the chorizo & cheese & honey pintxo. Are you kidding? Why would you not put honey on every meat you eat from today forward?<br />
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We closed here with churros and chocolate milk. I lost control for a moment and ate mine without taking a picture. I had to recover and find the <i>last person</i> who did not do the same. I stopped her from eating that last bite so that I could get this pic for <i>you</i>.<br />
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In case you are wondering if you should rush over to Bar Pintxo for a tapas extravaganza, you might be interested to know that Los Angeles Magazine named it the best Spanish restaurant in L.A. So, yes, go to this place.<br />
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We walked over to the bluffs to have sandwiches from the Bay City deli.<br />
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They were filled with stuff that I do not like; therefore, you get to look at someone else's <i>Godmother Sandwich</i>.<br />
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For our last stop... Angelato, the Promenade's gelateria.<br />
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Since it was early afternoon I got the refreshing <i>limoncello sorbetto</i>. There should be no doubt that it was light and delicious and refreshing.<br />
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How many of you Angelenos would have wanted to join on this three hour eating trek? Well... <a href="mailto:heffay111@gmail.com" target="_blank">email me</a> and maybe we' will put together a bunch of Wasters going on our own food tour.<br />
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Not a bad Waste update after such a long break, no? I will have to check out the pics I have taken this year and see what else should go up here.<br />
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¡Adios!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015320491290016603noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1782095014939855458.post-26367747867153489412012-03-29T23:30:00.000-07:002012-08-26T14:53:08.663-07:00Lakers Game... with a BONUS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Yeah.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015320491290016603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1782095014939855458.post-41226696779810159752011-11-07T05:53:00.000-08:002012-05-10T03:53:33.846-07:00Byzantine Tour 2011 Day Twenty: Istanbul to Rome<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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We spent three incredible days in Istanbul, but now it is time to leave one capital of the Roman Empire for another. How often do you get to say that? To be fair, I am sure that countless people fly from Istanbul to Rome or Rome to Istanbul every year. But me? This might be the only time that I ever do it.</div>
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But first things first.</div>
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Breakfast. The day after tomorrow we head home. I look forward to being home, but oh my am I going to miss having a breakfast buffet every morning.<br />
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The view out the window from the Ritz Carlton Istanbul restaurant. To the left is actually the Besiktas Football Stadium.<br />
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We took our bags and headed to the airport.<br />
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Was I not going to be excited when the highway crossed under a Roman aqueduct?<br />
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Look at how the lanes of traffic weave through the ancient aqueduct. Coolness.<br />
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Again, if you want to see ancient Greece and Rome, come to Turkiye.<br />
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In the previous picture was an aqueduct that was built around 1,700 years ago. In this picture you can see high-rises going up.<br />
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Entering Istanbul's airport.<br />
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If you think about it, it is amazing how every airport is different. Noticeably different. You would think there would be more uniformity, really. Perhaps the land upon which airports are built creates challenges that have to be overcome. Or maybe cities seek unique landmarks to distinguish themselves. Either way, you would think that someone would figure out the best way to build an airport and then everyone else would follow. But no. Not even close.</div>
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Destination: Roma.<br />
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Airport lunch self portrait.<br />
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A lunch for kings.<br />
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Our ride to Roma.<br />
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Istanbul Airport Candid, November 2011.<br />
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Leaving Istanbul.<br />
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Entering Italy.<br />
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Ciao Roma. You see the sky? It looks pretty there, but it is about to turn into a downpour.<br />
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Driving through Roma in the rain.<br />
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We pulled up to our hotel, The Hotel De Russie, next to the Piazza del Popolo. Yes, our hotel is a few hundred feet from my favorit obelisk in Rome. This happens to be yet another Rocco Forte hotel. Very much looking forward to the extra firm mattress that Rocco provides. <br />
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We got into the room and decompressed. <br />
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Room service. Salad and pizza.<br />
We are in Rome. Feels good to be home.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015320491290016603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1782095014939855458.post-16717253203583172692011-11-06T09:39:00.000-08:002012-02-01T20:14:50.878-08:00Byzantine Tour 2011 Day Nineteen: Istanbul<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We woke up this morning in a room that was not floating. Weird, right? Alas, at some point we had to abandon the sea for land.<br />
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We have an agenda today. We have site inspections at many of Istanbul's best hotels, and tonight... tonight is a biggie. But I will save that story for when we get to it. TIme for your third day in this fascinating city that bridges continents and cultures.<br />
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Breakfast buffet at the Ritz-Carlton. We did not expect to be served bacon in this Muslim country. And then it turned out that the bacon was <i>beef pastrami bacon</i> and tasted so close to the real thing that I cannot believe this is not the standard for all of my sad Jewish friends who do not eat pork.<br />
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Room update. Remember yesterday when we had trouble with our car's tinted windows and ended up back at the hotel? During that stop, we switch from a <i>hypo-allergenic </i>room to a normal room. And there was a perfume smell in our room, and after what happened on that cruise we decided to ask for a switch, even though that is very rare for us.<br />
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And the wonderful people of the Ritz Carlton Istanbul gave us a switch to a hypo-allergenic suite.<br />
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Suite panorama. Living room on the left, bedroom on the right. After almost two weeks in a cuise-ship cabin, this feels like a house.<br />
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Ready to see some hotels?<br />
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Okay. This picture does no justice. This is the Çırağan Palace, which is today a five-star Kempinski Hotel. I could not get far enough away for a decent picture, but imagine the coast of the Bosphorus just to the right, and the hotel stretching as far as the eye can see to the left.<br />
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Now. If you want to talk luxury... to the left and up the road is the entrance of the hotel. This is the entrance for a wing of the hotel that is only suites. But we use the work suite loosely here. This is a hotel that hosts billionaires. B. Billionaires with a B. Care to see how Oprah travels?<br />
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This is the lobby for this wing and of course there are not counters or anything hotel-like at all.<br />
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When they call this a palace, that is literally what it is. The last few hundred years of the Ottoman Empire it became custom for the Sultans to build their own, new palaces. Living in the same place that your parents lived was so... pasé? Çırağan Palace was built by Sultan Abdülâziz in 1867.<br />
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Seriously. If you want to know why the Czars and Emperors all fell, look no further than how they chose to live.<br />
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Time for a suite.<br />
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This is a pretty funky panorama of the entry hall, but note not just the luxury but the fact that there are <i>five</i> doorways. Yes, this suite has more square footage than many homes.<br />
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A living room with a view of the Bosphorus. You tired of my talking about that? So what. I will repeat. This living room is in Europe, and across that water is Asia. <br />
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Not a bad bedroom, is it.<br />
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A crazy living room panorama. But if you want to move around inside this picture, <a href="http://photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=b55bb1d7-4ff9-4549-bf12-f51d68b43113" target="_blank">click here</a>.<br />
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Crazy 360 of the bathroom. Want to see the sort of bathroom that a billionaire enjoys? Where Oprah does her business? Go ahead, <a href="http://photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=2e1f8c42-3b15-4496-83d5-acdb89aab120" target="_blank">move around inside</a>.<br />
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We looked at a few more over-the-top suites, and then headed toward the part of the hotel for less absurdly rich.<br />
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Just in case you thought Turkish culture never has fun with its past, I think this cartoon Sultan is all you need to see.<br />
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I walked out along the Bosphorus, and, yes, of course, inevitably took a picture of the bridge again. You know that bridge connects two continents, right?<br />
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Not a bad spot for the pool.<br />
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The back of the Çırağan Palace Kempinski hotel. Palatial.<br />
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Here is the indoor pool. Not bad.<br />
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But this sign heading toward the outdoor pool is bad. Apparently they get enough Europeans here to warrant the sign?<br />
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Finally, as we exited through the lobby after a very long and thorough look around, I snapped a pic with these fun guys here to entertain the kids.<br />
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We hopped into the car for a drive along the Bosphorus to our next destination. But along the way...<br />
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We passed under the Bosphorus Bridge. And the tinted windows add quite the nice hue to the shot.<br />
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Time for another hotel.<br />
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The <i>Hotel Les Ottomans</i>. This seaside mansion was built in the 1790's as an aristocrats home. Burned down in 1933 it remained a ruin for much of the 20th century, until a famous Turkish interior designer rebuilt it into a boutique luxury hotel with just 10 suites total.<br />
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This is luxury, my friends.<br />
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A pretty fancy shmancy room. <br />
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As I have learned, the Turks are proud of their Republic of Turkiye, but they feel a strong connection with the Ottoman Empire. Why would they not recall the days when they ruled a vast empire? The thing is, from my point of view, that this longing for the old days may or may not recall just how awful this era was for the common person. The reason feudalism and monarchies all fell and were replaced with democracies and republics is that the landed aristocracy lived like kings while everyone else lived in misery.<br />
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People seem to have forgotten this, and it bothers me. Parts of the world are freeing themselves from monarchy for the first time, while the developed parts slip into a perversion of capitalism that borders on neo-feudalism. Bad news.<br />
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Sure, it may recall the days of a landed aristocracy, but look at that tub!<br />
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Time for the third super-luxurious hotel of the day.<br />
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Ah... the Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at the Bosphorus.<br />
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This was an Ottoman Palace built in the 1800's known as the Atik Pasha Palace.<br />
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Today it is knows as te Four Seasons. <br />
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Basically, if you are extremely wealthy and wish to visit Istanbul, you get to just a little like the rulers of the Ottoman Empire,<br />
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A view of the Bosphorus Bridge from the Four Seasons.<br />
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An outdoor fountain at the Four Seasons.<br />
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We toured the spa, and I thought you might like this indoor pool. <br />
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Barbie takes a picture from the balcony of a rooftop room.<br />
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Not bad, people. Not bad.<br />
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Time for lunch at <i>Aqua </i>at<i> </i>the Four Seasons<br />
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Maybe you are wanting to see the restaurant?<br />
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We absolutely loved this olive oil and balsamic vinegar bottle. Barbie liked it so much that she asked where she could get one. The restaurant manager came over and explained that they are hard to get, because she found them in a small shop on the Aegean coast of Turkiye. <br />
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And then, in classic Four Seasons fashion, she brought us one in a gift bag to take home. Which means that if <i>you</i> make the list to a dinner party in our home, then <i>you</i> might get to experience the joy of this brilliant jar.<br />
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This bread was... some of the best bread I have ever tasted. Seriously. This bread alone was like a warning signal that we were in for a fantastic meal.<br />
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Barbie started with the <i>Spinach Salad, with beetroot carpaccio and gorgonzola cheese.</i><br />
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I started with the <i>Braised Octopus, warm Sicilian "caponatina" and rosemary bread.</i><br />
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Barbie's main, the <i>Risotto with porcini and black truffle.</i> This was one of the best risottos I have ever tasted.<br />
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I had the <i>Duck Cannellone, with spinach, parmigiano, and hazelnut cream. </i>I have never tasted anything like it. It was absolutely delicious. If a restaurant at home served this amazing dish, I would go there at least once per month.<br />
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After what we both agreed was the <i>best lunch of the trip</i>, and probably best meal of the trip, we had a little time to spend before our big evening begins. How to spend it?<br />
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Well, our entire time in Istanbul has been spent in Europe, looking at Asia. Who wants to take a ferry across? <br />
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We do. <br />
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Uskudar is the neighborhood on the Asia side, Besiktas is the neighborhood on the Europe side.<br />
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Good-bye, Europe.<br />
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Hello Asia.<br />
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As you can see, football is very popular here. We had very little time on the Asia side, but at least we made it across.<br />
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Our feet, standing in Istanbul, in Asia.</div>
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I think that I like this shot for the way it catches some normal turks with their flag.<br />
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Soon a massive flock of birds came at us, and I shot away.<br />
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Sea gulls. </div>
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A simply stunning and lucky shot.<br />
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Remember Galata Tower from tow days ago? I <i>told you</i> that you can spot it from almost anywhere.<br />
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So...<br />
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Now the surprise. Sometime after I knew we were going to Istanbul, and before we left for the trip, something occurred to me; a well-known NBA player had told the league to stuff it during the owners' lockout of the players and gone to play professional basketball in Istanbul. NBA All-Star Deron Williams, inspired by having had a Turkish teammate tell him about IStanbul for years, had the courage to go on an adventure while the players and owners sat on their hands. As long as Barbie and I were going to spend a few nights in Istanbul, why not try to see a game?<br />
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I researched online, found out the team he played for, and they did have a home game during our visit. Barbie sent the idea to Levon, our guide, from home and he said that he would about getting us tickets. When we arrived in Istanbul, he told us that he had gotten us good tickets. <br />
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And, to show what an intelligent and thoughtful host he is, Levon surprised us today with the plan that our driver, whom we knew and trusted, would attend the game with us. Genius. No searching for a cab in who-knows-where Istanbul.<br />
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At the end of our day of touring, we drove out to the Western suburbs on the Europe side of Istanbul.<br />
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Passing the Byzantine walls that surrounded Constantinople.<br />
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Turkish freeway. Yes, I know that most everyone is sophisticated enough to know that freeways exist everywhere. But just in case you did not think of Istanbul as a normal city with normal highways, look above.<br />
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The Sinan Erdem Dome, home to the Besiktas basketball club.<br />
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I have my ticket.<br />
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Geting to our seats was <i>an amazing journey</i>. The fans are fanatic to the point that as we entered, before tipoff, every person was standing and cheering, even in the aisles. I thought we were toast, but people let us step through the crowd pretty easily until I saw what I thought was our row. All I had to do was show my ticket to a person or two, and then that fan pointed to the row behind him and I thanked him. As we got to our seats, we really were not sure which were ours, but the same process worked and some guys standing in front of our seats moved closer to their friends.<br />
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Tip off! <br />
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Did I mention seats? I have no idea why this arena has seats. <i>Not one person sat in our section for the entire game</i>. This is not exaggeration. People sat during time-outs and half-time, but during the game every single person stood and cheered. <br />
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Need I mention that at an NBA game, people mostly sit during play and then get up and go during a time out. In Istanbul, you stand and cheer during play and you sit during a time out.<br />
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A pretty incredible panorama. If you want to look around first-person, <a href="http://photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=f04bec42-e2b8-4b61-a4ff-56c397ad9903" target="_blank">click here.</a><br />
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Besiktas Home Game Candid, Sinan Erdem Dome. November 2011.<br />
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Proof that we were there, and proof that the Turkish fans <i>adore</i> the NBA player who came to their city to play for their favorite team.<br />
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Do you want to feel the energy at a Turkish basketball game?<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/AgCe0ifvQVo" width="640"></iframe>
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This video is the best that I can do to put you in our seats.<br />
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We were cheering along and waving our arms with everyone, but we did not talk to much. Finally Barbie told the guys next to her that she was from Los Angeles, and they <i>loved it</i>. Soon they were high-five-ing her all the time and just adoring that an American was rooting for their team.<br />
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They liked Barbie so much that one of them gave her a Beskitas banner to wave around.<br />
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Besiktas was playing against the reigning repeat champions, but with help from Deron Williams they won tonight. And guess what happened when they won? Everyone kept standing and cheering. See the player up there waving his arms to the crowd? That is long after the game was over.<br />
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Still cheering the victory, probably fifteen minutes after the game ended.<br />
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I told the guy next to me that I had come from the USA. He smiled and high-five'd me during the game, but then after the game, as the crowd finally quieted down, he turned to me and expressed, in excellent English, that he was personally honored that I came to the game. He said that he loves his team and for an American to respect it by taking the time to come to the game was something that he greatly appreciated. I was floored. It was one of the most touching moments I have ever had while visiting another country.<br />
<br />We then talked about the NBA lockout and how he will miss Deron Williams when the NBA resolves its labor dispute and Deron heads back to the USA. I could think of nothing else to say but to ask him to take a picture with me.<br />
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Yours truly with the Turk whose name I will never know but whom I will never forget.</div>
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We went outside, met up with our driver at the car, and headed back to the hotel. If it seems like I laid it on thick about this experience, let me tell you that the opposite is true. This experience was incredible. The energy of the fans was more than I have ever seen at a game, even in college when my school defeated the semi-professional team from UNLV at home. The graciousness of the fans was even more incredible; the gift that Barbie received is now pinned to the wall above her desk. And to be there and feel a connection with people in a country very far away from my own was the best part of all.</div>
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We returned to the hotel, and it was time to rest. </div>
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Room service burgers. No need to compete with today's lunch.<br />
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Until tomorrow.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015320491290016603noreply@blogger.com0Istanbul Province/Istanbul, Turkey41.00527 28.9769640.621829500000004 28.345246 41.3887105 29.608673999999997tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1782095014939855458.post-90174913343484738422011-11-05T22:13:00.000-07:002012-02-01T20:15:18.434-08:00Byzantine Tour 2011 Day Eighteen: Istanbul<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It is funny. This morning marks <i>disembarkation</i> from the Crystal Serenity, which always has that, "Get off the boat now!" feel. But we are looking forward to escaping this ship and getting to a hotel, because in spite of the luxuriousness and the kindness of the staff, the noxious fumes that have made us both sick on this voyage are a factor we are eager to escape. Sad and ironic that fresh air could not be found on the open sea. But joy of joys, Barbie has booked us at the Ritz Carlton Istanbul for a few nights. And we plan to make the most of it.<br />
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The last breakfast aboard the Crystal Serenity. I think I will miss the breakfast most of all.<br />
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Barbie headed down to the stateroom to finish up the last bits of packing while I went to the front, top of the ship to see if I could get a desired photo.<br />
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See it? You really cannot see it unless you expand the picture. That is the Bosphorus Bridge. Here is a crop...</div>
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See the bridge? Sometimes called the Frist Bosphorus Bridge, because now there is a second one, that bridge connects Europe and Asia. The land you see to the left is Europe, the land to the right is asia. The land behind it is Asia as well, as the Bosphorus turns North-East after the bridge.</div>
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You have no idea what a big deal I made out of this bridge. I kept taking pictures of it. For 2,500 years, humankind wanted to bridge these continents here, instead of having to load onto ship for the short journey or travel hundreds of miles out of the way around the Black Sea. On the North side of the narrow Bosphorus Strait sat Europe and its civilizations; on the South side sat the Middle East, Africa, and near-East Asia with their countless civilizations.</div>
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<br />The Bosphorus Bridge was not built until 1973, and at that time it was the 4th longest suspension bridge in the world and the longest outside North America. </div>
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A look at the Bosphorus from the front of the ship. The black tower to the left is our next destination.<br />
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Levon, our guide from yesterday and our guide for tomorrow, is not available today, but he arranged a colleague for us today. We were met at the seaport by our guide and driver, and taken to our hotel to drop off our bags and spend the day touring Istanbul.<br />
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Ah... I just learned that the heritage of this name goes back to Swiss hotelier Cesar Ritz, who opened the Hotel Ritz in the Place Vendome, Paris, in 1898. Next came London and Madrid. I doubt he knew that over 100 years later his last name would mean <i>super-classy</i> and be an American cracker.<br />
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Our room was not ready, as expected, but we dropped off our bags and headed back to the car with the same driver as yesterday, whom we really liked.<br />
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Sometimes extravagance is funny.<br />
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But then...<br />
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We were no further than a few blocks from the hotel when were stopped by police.<br />
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We had no idea what was going on, and it was very unpleasant. We soon learned that we could not be in the van we had been in all day yesterday, because of the <i>tinted windows</i>. This was not at all cool. When you are in a foreign country, one whose officials you are not sure you can trust, being pulled over like this was unnerving.<br />
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What happened next was highly unpleasant. The short and least unpleasant version is that we took a cab back to the hotel, Levon arranged another car for us, It turned out to be a mini-bus big enough for 20 people, but it would do. The truth is that it was a struggle of sorts for an hour there, and our day was "this close" to being over.<br />
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But we got back on the road and we are headed to Golden Horn, home to ancient Byzantium, and Roman and Ottoman Constantinople.<br />
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This is all that remains of the Byzantine walls. This walled peninsula was extremely well fortified and stood for centuries. Even after all of Anatolia and the surrounding areas were Ottoman, the Golden Horn of Constantinople remained Byzantine.<br />
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In fact, the walled city is what the Turks called <i>Istambul</i> or <i>Stambul</i> depending on dialect, which meant, "the city," during Ottoman times while the rest of the city was called Constantinople. It was not until the Republic of Turkiye was established in 1923 that the Turkish name Istanbul became the official name of this city.<br />
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The Ottoman struggle to take this city was legendary. Perhaps I will get to it today or tomorrow?<br />
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We are now approaching the Imperial Gate of Topkapı Palace. <br />
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The Gate of Salutation. Topkapı Palace was the official residence of Ottoman Sultans fro 1465 to 1856, for 400 years of their 624 year reign, when they moved to Dolmabahçe Palace that we visited yesterday. As this palace was built and added to and added over the centuries, it has many different courtyards and elements.<br />
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I often wonder if all the pre-War European monarchs gather in the afterlife and ask, "Good lord, why are we toast and yet those Germans & Scots living Birmingham Palace have stuck around?"<br />
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The Ottoman Turks were strongly influenced by their Arab neighbors, their European neighbors (Greek/Roman/Byzantine) and the Seljuk Turk ancestors, and <i>Ottoman Architecture</i> is truly a mix of all three. This empire is where East and West met, and their architecture is the result of that.<br />
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The Sultan would sit behind that window listening to his counselors, and then giving his decisions. You know, no truly great leader actually meets his underlings face to face.<br />
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As you can see, the mosaics are ornate beyond belief.<br />
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In the inner courtyard what was once a royal residence is now a museum of artifacts, as well as the treasury of royal jewels. <br />
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No pictures allowed in the room with the crown jewels.<br />
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Barbie always points out how women all attempt model poses now. It happens most often when two young, single women are together and take turns releasing their inner models. I confess; it bothers me even as it entertains me. But I know with mass media you can never come close to convincing people that studying science or teaching is more important than being pretty. Oh well.<br />
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One of the many courtyards of Topkapı Palace. This one leads to the Privy Chamber houses the Chamber of the Sacred Relics, which is one of the main highlights of the palace. Why?<br />
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The Chamber of the Sacred Relics is an amazing thing to see. As the sign reads, there is no photography allowed around the relics. This means you need me to describe it.<br />
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Something interesting about Islam is that the Prophet Muhammad is a historically recent enough figure that a direct connection to him and his possessions can be established. Remember those centuries when the Ottoman Empire essentially ruled the Muslim world? They used that era to collect many of the items sacred within the Muslim faith. The Chamber of the Sacred Relics houses the Prophet Muhammad's cloack, two swords, a bow, one tooth, a hair of his beard, his battle sabres, an autographed letter and others. Unlike the things I saw in Jerusalem that was loosely connected by myths and tradition, these items have a provenance.<br />
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But among the other relics housed here are some where I must add <i>tradition states.</i> Many of these came from Egypt, which means that it was the Egyptians and not the Ottomans who created the <i>tradition </i>that on this day we saw The Staff of Moses. Behind the glass was a very cool looking wooden staff and, yes, <i>tradition states</i> that this is the staff owned by Moses and used for many miracles. We also saw what <i>tradition states </i>is the turban of Joseph, the son of Jacob whose brothers sold him into slavery. Before you go getting judgmental about this, I should add that it is the relics of Muhammad that draw the real attention here. Watching people pass by them with a glance, I suspect that the majority of the visitors here know that the relics that are alleged to date from the Old Testament are not exactly the genuine articles.<br />
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Still, how freaking cool is it for me to say, "I saw the Staff of Moses last November." Bam. More holy than you <i>by a</i> <i>mile.</i><br />
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Our hotel is right THERE. To the right, in the foreground, is the Baghdad Pavilion. <br />
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A trippy panorama inside the Baghdad Pavilion, built to commemorate the victory in Baghdad. Sultan Murad IV had something very interesting to say after his victory. <i>I guess trying to capture Baghdad was better than Baghdad itself. </i><br />
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Inside the Bagdad Pavilion is a silver stove that was a gift from King Louis IV of France, the longest-reigning monarch in European history. Again, the Ottoman Empire was a constant mix of cultures. <br />
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The circumcision room. It is funny how in the USA circumcision is only associated with Judaism, whereas worldwide there are 1.5 billion Muslims and 15 million Jews doing the same. Maybe it is more fair to match the base for each number. For every circumcised Jew, you have around one hundred circumcised Muslims.<br />
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Which is not to say that Islam does not <i>credit</i> the people who came up with the circumcision concept. This mosaic is on the wall next to the circumcision room. The history of Islam and Judaism is about as complicated as a history can get, and is made far more complicated by current circumstances. Maybe in fifty or a hundred years this relationship can be discussed with more history than emotion.<br />
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Within Topkapı Palace, this column is what remains of the Byzantine era.<br />
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Time to leave the palace and venture onward. We saw only the highlights of Topkapı Palace, but there is more on the Golden Horn that we want to see and today is our only day to see it.<br />
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Barbie did not buy one, even though I begged.<br />
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In Turkish this is the Ayasofya Muzesi, in English we call it the Hagia Sofia. <br />
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The Hagia Sofia, what I would dare call the building with the most fascinating history on Earth. Why? This is the third church built on this spot, built over the remain of the previous two. The first was built in 360 AD as the principle church of the Byzantine Empire. The first was burnt down during riots in the early 400's, and the second was built in 415 AD, burned down during a revolt during 532 AD. <br />
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Emperor Justinian I decided immediately to build a third and far more significant church on this spot. It was a massive undertaking so significant that its importance was acknowledged at the time of its construction. Designed by a physicist and mathematician, the Hagia Sofia was completed in 537 AD and at the time was the largest cathedral in the world for a thousand years. A thousand years! In 1520 Seville built a larger cathedral.<br />
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The Hagia Sofia was the seat of the Eastern Orthodox patriarch of Constantinople, and the religious focal point of the Eastern Orthodox Church. You can rightly say that the Hagia Sofia was the St. Peters Basilica of the Eastern Orthodox Church.<br />
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And note that the Catholic St. Peter's Basilica in Rome was not completed until 1626. The Hagia Sofia had been Christianity's unquestioned ost important church for a thousand years before the Popes of Rome completed their great Basilica.<br />
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Being the largest cathedral in the world from 537 AD to 1520 AD would make this building fascinating enough, but then we add the special history of Constantinople. When the Ottomans finally took Constantinople in 1453, Sultan Mehmed II ordered that the Hagia Sofia become a mosque. That is why in that huge space you see above there are a few Islamic elements here and there, and very little evidence of the Eastern Orthodox history here.<br />
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In fact, the design of mosques throughout the Ottoman Empire almost always take cues from the Hagia Sofia. This Eastern Orthodox landmark of technical marvel set the standard for an entirely new religious stream.<br />
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A panorama of one of the more incredible spaces on the planet. I am not exaggerating. To be in a space this huge and overwhelming, and to know that it was built 1,500 years ago, is simply remarkable.<br />
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But the history of this place changes once again.<br />
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Barbie and yours truly, proving that we were actually there.<br />
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The next step in the Hagia Sofia's history might be the most impressive since its construction. At the end of World War I, the Ottoman Empire fell and the Allies attempted to divide the spoils while the Turks regrouped and fought and won their independence. And the Republic of Turkiye was lead by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who more than any other historical figure I can name deserves to be called <i>the George Washington of...</i> <br />
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Atatürk believe so strongly in secularism, democracy, and respect for other cultures that, in 1935 as the first President of the Republic of Turkiye, ordered the building be converted from a mosque into a museum. Most of the Islamic coverings were removed, including carpets and white plaster. Mosaics and flooring that had been covered for centuries were visible again. <br />
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The Hagia Sofia was in bad shape after all of this, but thanks to backing from American Express, restoration efforts are on the way. But I cannot say forcefully enough how impressive I believe it is that the leader of the Turks, a man so honored by his people that he was given the honorific Atatürk as the father of all Turks, chose to un-do a wrong committed by his ancestors centuries earlier.<br />
<br />After all I have seen traveling around these lands conquered and reconquered by great powers, the idea that someone would reverse a previous generation's wrongdoing greatly inspires me.<br />
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One of the Byzantine mosaics, uncovered after centuries.<br />
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This mosaic is, to me, a wonderful piece of politics. It represents three people giving their contributions to the Hagia Sofia and Eastern Orthodoxy itself. In the center it depicts Mary presenting the baby Jesus; her contribution. On the right it depicts Emperor Constantine I presenting the city of Constantinople; his contribution. And on the left it depicts Emperor Justinian I presenting the Hagia Sofia; his contribution.<br />
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This mosaic dates to 944 AD, but if you ask me it depicts a Byzantine desire to closely tie together their Roman Empire with Christianity and the earlier Roman Empire.<br />
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Upon our exit from the Hagia Sofia, I saw a cat in the courtyard that caught my eye. I had to take his picture for a special website.</div>
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The website devoted to Kitlers, or cats that look like hitler. I kidded around with some friends, and soon this picture became...<br />
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I know not everyone is familiar with the <i>i can haz... </i>internet phenomenon, but this is my contribution to it. Just know that the above Kitler is a stray that lives in the courtyard of the amazing Hagia Sofia.<br />
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Walking to our lunch, we passed more street vendors. If this kind of thing makes you think of New York City, consider this: Istanbul and NYC are very close in population. Did you think of Istanbul as comparable to NYC? You should. The funny thing is that when our guide and I discussed this, she was disappointed. Apparently she wanted to think that Istanbul far outsized NYC.<br />
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I have not mentioned her much, because, well, let us just say that we preferred the day before with Levon.<br />
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We had lunch in a small cafe near the Hagia Sofia. <br />
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I would say that eating lunch in a private room that looks like this counts as <i>very cool.</i><br />
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No menu. They simply brought food ordered by our guide. Who... did not ask us what we liked. The day before Levon asked us what we liked and disliked and then ordered what he thought would be Turkish food we would enjoy.<br />
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Soup.<br />
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Pastas and veggies and stuff. Neither Barbie nor I were thrilled.<br />
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Turkish coffee.<br />
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Finishing with some tea. I do love these Turkish tea glasses.<br />
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An old map of the Golden Horn of Constantinople.<br />
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After lunch we walked to the Basilica Cistern. We had no idea what to expect.<br />
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I took this picture to get the sign, but the tourist staring at me is the reason that it made the Waste. I almsot made this black and white, but to claim this to be a candid would be wrong. That guy <i>knows</i> he is on camera.<br />
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I always take pictures of the tickets, so that I have a record of where I have been. How is that for a travel tip? In this case, I include the ticket on the Waste so that you can see the Basilica Cistern well lighted.<br />
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We entered the cistern and went down approximately two stories underground to see this...<br />
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This is what it feels like to walk around this cistern. Byzantium and then Constantinople were able to grow due to two major aqueducts. Of course a city needs water to grow. But have you ever asked what happened to that water? In Roman times? What did they do with that water? <br />
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The water was stored in cisterns, relatively huge, man-built reservoirs with waterproof linings. In other words, you get to walk around the Basilica Cistern and marvel at how a city of 500,000 got their fresh water in the ancient world. This cistern was built as early as the 300's and was expanded over the centuries. In its current form it could hold 2.8 million cubic feet of water.<br />
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This space is, again, incredible. <br />
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In the Northwest corner of the cistern are two Medusa heads, which were brought from elsewhere as column supports. The origin of the Medusa heads is unclear, but it is believed that they came from a building from an earlier period and were used to save money on construction materials. <i>Tradition states</i> that the two heads are sideways and upside to negate their power, but most likely this was to fit best with the column above.<br />
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After visiting the cistern that has been hidden underground, we next went to one of the sites of Istanbul that you can see from many parts of the city; the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, or the Blue Mosque.<br />
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With it its distinctive six minarets, you cannot miss the Sultan Ahmed Mosque. (You have to look the right where the sun is obscuring to see where the front pair sit.<br />
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For the first time in my life, I am entering a mosque.<br />
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Shoes off and held in the plastic bag provided. So courteous.<br />
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Here we are, inside the Sultan Ahmed Mosque. It is often called the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles on the interior walls. Inspired by the neighboring Hagia Sofia, this place is a massive open space inside. Completed in 1616 during the rule of Sultan Ahmed I, the Blue Mosque is around 1100 years<br />
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Only men who intend to pray are allowed beyond the short wall, but as you can see this gentleman and his wife planned a little tourism while he was over there. Behind him to the left, you see what I have to say might be one of the thickest columns that I have ever seen.<br />
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When Pope Benedict XVI visited the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in 2006, it marked the second time in history that a Pope visited a Muslim place of worship. The first was when John Pail II visited a mosque in Damascus in 2001. I suppose that I should not be surprised, considering the history of crusades and invasions between Catholic Europe and the Muslim world. I think that is one of things that Americans, with their lack of attention to history, miss when they consider current conflicts with the Muslim world today. These conflicts did not start in the 1940's.<br />
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And now time for the <i>not nice</i> section.<br />
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I know I am being culturally insensitive, and maybe Muslim women would tell me to shut up, but I have to point out that this wall in the back corner of the mosque separates worshipping men and women. But... how can I not note that the men have that massive, central space and the women have a tiny, walled corner?<br />
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Outside the mosque are facilities for ablution, or ritual cleaning before entering for prayer. And now get to cultural imperialism again.<br />
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I can agree that, yes, it is not an insult to allow women their privacy away from men. But I also happen to know that the entrance is in the front, and that this building is pretty huge, which means that the women also have furthest to walk.<br />
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We walked out the front gate, and turned back.<br />
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Finally, a shot with all six minarets!<br />
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Obelisk! The obelisk of Thutmose III sits in front of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in the Hippodrome, which was the sporting center of Constantinople. Today, instead of being a horse track, it is an open park with this obelisk in the center. Theodosius I, the last emperor to rul both the Eastern and Western Roman empires, brought this pink granite obelisk from the Temple of Karnak in Luxor.<br />
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Good news for me. In the Hippodrom you also see the remnants of the Serpent Column. That is not a rope, but three snakes wrapped around each other to the top, where there three heads supported a golden bowl. In order to boost their new capital Constantinople, Constantine and his successors brought pieces from around the Byzantine empire.<br />
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The Serpent Column was taken from rom the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, where it was called the Tripod of Plataea. It had been made to celebrate the Greek victory in the war against Persia in 479 BC. Constantine ordered the Tripod to be moved to the Hippodrome of Constantinople. Fortunately time and Crusaders made sure that no remnants of serpent remain. For all we know it could be rope.<br />
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And that ended a very long day. Time to go back to that hotel room<i>. </i>Time for work and television. <br />
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The Bosphorus Bridge at night is a fantastic light show. One that we can see from our room.<br />
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I know a lot of people would go out and see the nightlife of Istanbul, but we just want to stay in and order room service. We are still medicating our illnesses quite vigorously.<br />
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Room service!<br />
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Penne pasta for him.<br />
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Salad for her.<br />
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Jumbo prawn risotto for her. (And him.)<br />
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Tomorrow we do something extra cool. No joke.<br />
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Until then...</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015320491290016603noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1782095014939855458.post-19487600389604734152011-11-05T18:33:00.000-07:002012-02-04T05:48:19.883-08:00Istanbul Kitty<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This cat was hanging out on the grounds of the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul. From a distance I could tell that this cat looked like Hitler. I got close enough, took the pic, and then forgot about it. But I loaded the pictures onto our AppleTV and during a party it popped up during a slideshow and I shouted, "That cat looks like Hitler!" Everyone turned to the tv and laughed.<br />
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This reminded me to share the picture on Facebook. Then, after some joking around with friends, I added the internet <i>i can haz...</i> line. I sincerely believe that this is the exact thought in this cat's head.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgADdtzYDyt4MuxwkQGLdPIZpnY6axx9XfyFlDrdpIxJI2t4d6A6EK7YddZa1JNBhMQVvrfzSuVw9A4bu0RTEGsnrYSEzFY9FDGLdf0ZyQWNFZhvqcA0a8iVfmYrYmpz6hHS3K7-ltUB-oZ/s1600/kitler_poland1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgADdtzYDyt4MuxwkQGLdPIZpnY6axx9XfyFlDrdpIxJI2t4d6A6EK7YddZa1JNBhMQVvrfzSuVw9A4bu0RTEGsnrYSEzFY9FDGLdf0ZyQWNFZhvqcA0a8iVfmYrYmpz6hHS3K7-ltUB-oZ/s640/kitler_poland1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can tell by the look in his eyes, this kitteh means it.</td></tr>
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<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015320491290016603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1782095014939855458.post-86507526061718849872011-11-04T21:11:00.000-07:002012-02-01T20:15:18.427-08:00Byzantine Tour 2011 Day Seventeen: Istanbul<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
You have heard this one before, but when you plan some trips you see a certain destination on the itinerary and your excitement for that spot stays in the back of your mind the entire trip. But it is there, and it is real.<br />
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The absolute is that I have been eager to visit Istanbul for some time, even though I have almost no idea what to expect. But the city of Istanbul represents such a unique history and culture that I literally cannot wait to explore it.<br />
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Shall we?<br />
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I woke up excited to know that my bed was in Istanbul, and opened the drapes.<br />
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My first look at Istanbul, ever. I was impressed to see a living roof at the docks. And the minarets. The newletter from Crystal Cruises reads, <i>Istanbul, Turkiye -- Mosques & Minarets.</i> If you are not like me, then you do not hear <i>Rock The Casbah</i> every time you hear the word, "Minarets." I hear it every time.<br />
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It is a cloudy morning, but it is still quite early. Expecting sunshine soon enough.<br />
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Your standard cruise ship breakfast.<br />
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Istanbul morning. I did not know it when I took the photo, but that is the Golden Horn, home to <i>Old Istanbul</i> and the walled city that was once Byzantium and Constantinople.<br />
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I felt like capturing this moment of proof that my iPhone was in Istanbul.<br />
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This is for those of you who want a more exact picture of where Istanbul sits.<br />
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Now... the history of this city is long. Extremely long. In fact, I imagine that an entire college semester could be spent on the history of just this city, because it has been a focal point for 2,500 years. And it is not hard to see why, based on the map above. Think of the amount of trade that would pass through that blue dot on the map above. The amount of trade that would naturally pass through that point is immeasurable.<br />
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Thanks to popular music everyone knows that Istanbul was once Constantinople. And many might even know that it was Byzantium before being renamed Constantinople. But did you know that Emperor Constantine, for whom the name was changed in 330 AD, actually tried to name this city <i>Nea Roma</i>? But for some reason people did not like New Rome. I suspect they did not want an identity based on Rome, considering that ethnically they were still quite Greek. <br />
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The Ottomans kept the name Constantinople and made this their capital from 1453 until 1922 when the empire dissolved. The name Istanbul is literally Turkish for <i>the city</i> and had been in colloquial use for ages, and when the Republic of Turkiye rose from the ashes of World War I, they made Istanbul the official name while at the same time moving their capital to Ankara.<br />
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Today we meet our Istanbul-based guide, Levon, who treated one of Barbie's clients to an amazing visit, and now we are delighted that for the next few days we are in the hands of an expert. We have made no decisions; Barbie has simply told him our interests and he did the rest.<br />
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Our first stop is Dolmabahçe Palace. The picture above is the front gate. Remember that the Ottoman Empire reigned for literally 600 years. Instead of modernizing Topkapı Palace that sits on the Golden Horn, Sultan Abdülmecid I built Dolmabahçe Palace in 1856 and it became the royal residence.<br />
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The guard is changing.<br />
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The grounds of Dolmabahçe Palace are gorgeous.<br />
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Inside there were two rules; wear booties and no photography.<br />
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In all sincerity, this palace is gorgeous. Not quite too over the top, it might be the most beautiful and impressive palace of Europe. It is certainly on par with anything we have ever visited. I suspect nobody would ever visit this city without a stop at Dolmabahçe Palace, but just in case, let me just say it; this is a must-see.<br />
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At the end of the tour we exited on the side of the palace that faces the Bosphorus Strait. In other words, I am standing in Europe, that waterway is the Bosphorus, and the land across the water is Asia. It is simply an incredible place to be.<br />
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That gateway actually represents the front door, in a way. Dignitaries and heads of state would be brought here by boat, and then the great hall that they enter from here might be the most impressive room on Earth. It <i>killed me</i> to not be allowed to take a picture.<br />
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A self-portrait with Levon, an incredibly friendly and knowledgeable guide. <br />
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Barbie and Levon at the front of Dolmabahçe Palace.<br />
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Dolmabahçe Mosque, next to the palace.<br />
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We grabbed a quick pastry covered in sesame seeds before hopping back into the car. <br />
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Taksim Square, built after Turkish War of Independence. At the end of World War I, the Allies carved up the remains of the Ottoman Empire. Among the Allies were the Triple Entente of France, the United Kingdom, and Russia, and each took territory other nations such as Italy, Greece, and Armenia also got in on the land grab.<br />
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From 1919 to 1922, Turkish officers of the Ottoman army organized and soon began resisting Allied demands. Remnants of the Ottoman Parliament still existed, but there was fervor for Turkish independence. Among the army officers was Mustafa Kemal, a hero of the Gallipoli Campaign whose natural leadership qualities lead him to be selected to lead the revolution, helped by the fact that he happened to have nothing to do with the <i>Armenian incidents</i> that happened during the war. <br />
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The Turks took on the armies of Britain, France, Greece, Italy and Armenia, and won significant battles. Mind you, after World War I it was not like all these nations were devoting all they had to the Anatolian peninsula. All the sides met in Lusanne, Switzerland and in 1924 the Treaty of Lusanne established the borders of modern day Turkiye and lead to international recognition of the Republic of Turkiye.<br />
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Mustafa Kemal was given the honorific Ataturk, which means father of the Turks. It was his beliefs in democracy, secular government, and modernization that literally created the Turkiye we visit today.<br />
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Taksim Square has a Starbucks, of course.<br />
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The Monument of the Republic commemorates the establishment of the modern Turkish state, and intentionally represented human forms in order to challenge the taboos from Ottoman times against depicting human forms.<br />
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The city's main pedestrian street and the<br />
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İstiklal Caddesi, <i>Independence Avenue</i>, is a pedestrian-only avenue of shops and cafes. As you can see, it is filled with a countless number of people. And this is the shot that forces me to say it; in case it it is not at the top of your head the street above, that looks like any pedestrian walkway in Europe, sits in an overwhelmingly Muslim country. The people you see in that shot are likely 99% Muslim. And that is a Burger King on the right.<br />
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I am forced to mention the majority religion of Turkiye because too many in the USA seek to portray Islam as incompatible with modernity.<br />
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Along İstiklal Caddesi we stopped for Levon's favorite Turkish Delight, and he explained that this high end Turkish Delight is ground pistachios with gelatin.<br />
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Another İstiklal Caddesi shot, looking the other way.<br />
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Time for a true food break along the İstiklal Caddesi. <br />
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This is an interior space of restaurants off the main street. Levon took us to one his favorite restaurants, where people hang out and chat over food and drink.<br />
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You have been spoiled with full menu descriptions aboard a cruise ship. For this meal, I did not even see the menu. <br />
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All that I can tell you is that this was a delicious Turkish meal. On the right is a hard cheese and on the right maybe a rice dish of some sort?<br />
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This is the hard cheese with olive oil dripped on it and I think ground sesame seeds sprinkled on top.<br />
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Mussels cooked with a sort of rice combination.<br />
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A lovely plate.<br />
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Turkish tea.<br />
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Shrimp cooked in butter.<br />
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Fried vegetables.<br />
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Our next stop, a nearby Armenian church.<br />
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The tradition lives.<br />
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Even though the city is close to 90% Muslim, the churches of other faiths are preserved here. In fact, we are now walking towards one of the Jewish synagogues.<br />
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Along our way, we passed through a section that was all music stores. It felt like that little part of Hollywood that is one guitar shop after another.<br />
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We passed the Galata Tower, built in 1348. This landmark can be seen from may different parts of the city, and in addition to offering a panoramic view of Old Istanbul, it apparently has a restaurant, a cafe, and a nightclub inside. I suspect Levon does not consider going up in it too essential, for he had us simply walk by.<br />
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We arrived at this, one of Istanbul's synagogues.<br />
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I always take this shot in churches, and it would be wrong to not give the synagogue the same treatment.<br />
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How is that for a dome?<br />
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This older gentleman whose head you can see, he is the caretaker of this synagogue. He asked us, in Turkish and translated by Levon, if we thought that he was Jewish. He honestly looked like a tall-ish, older white man tome, and I had no idea. He said that he was Muslim, and that any true Muslim respects other faiths and is as devoted to protecting them as he would his own.<br />
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After seeing the Muslim community in Jerusalem eight days ago, it is an extremely pleasant contrast to be in Istanbul. Again, my feelings are absolutely a reaction to things going on in the USA today, where 1.5 billion people are often painted with the same brush. I am not saying, "All Muslims are wonderful," I am saying, "Not all Muslims are the same, and the ones you have negative associations toward are a tiny fraction of the global community."<br />
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A shot through the moving car window of a mosque and its minarets.<br />
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We crossed the Galata Bridge to the Golden Horn, the peninsula where the Sea of Marmara reaches the Bosphorous. It is the most naturally fortified spot in Istanbul, which is why it is home to the oldest and most important area of the city.<br />
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Our first stop on the Golden Horn? The Spice Market.<br />
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We entered the spice market through a back alley, where Levon showed us shopkeeper who sell the same spices that you can get in the market for less, generally to locals.<br />
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This is what it looks like when you take pictures of spices while walking by without stopping. A happy accident.<br />
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The shops just outside the Istanbul Spice Market.<br />
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We stopped at a shop for Levon's favorite baklava in town.<br />
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Enjoyed throughout the Ottoman Empire, Baklava is chopped nuts inside of filo pastry and sweetened with honey. This was probably the best baklava I have ever had.<br />
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Carts of freshly cooked can be spotted around the city, but especially in areas with foot traffic.<br />
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Here we enter the official Istanbul Spice Market. As you see, over the doorway it shows that it has been in operation since 1664. I keep calling it the Spice Market, but I should be calling it the Spice Bazaar.<br />
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The Istanbul Spice Bazaar. Remember that this was once, literally, the crossroads of continents, of cultures, and of empires. All of the spices in the world moved through here, and, in fact, the age of exploration began as a reaction to the rise of the Ottoman Empire. Until then, European nations ran land and sea routes through the Byzantine Empire. When the Ottomans blocked these routes to monopolize the trade routes for themselves, the European powers took to the sea. <br />
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In other words, if the Ottoman Empire does not get a tad greedy, the people in North and South America do not get light skinned visitors from Europe showing up and spoiling their party.<br />
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Your standard Spice Bazaar booth.<br />
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I would imagine that if this woman saw a row of spice jars at a supermarket in the USA, she would say something like, "How could you buy a spice without smelling it first?"<br />
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Frist world life.<br />
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Next to the Spice Bazaar site the Yeni Mosque. The mosque and Bazaar were built together, and rents from the bazaar shops pay for the upkeep of the mosque.<br />
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After the Spice Bazaar, which is the second largest indoor market in Istanbul, it only makes sense to go to the largest, the Grand Bazaar.<br />
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The entrance to the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul. It was built by the Ottomans in their capital of Constantinople, which had become their capital in 1453 when they finally conquered the city. The Ottoman Empire had existed for 25o years before finally capturing what would be their fourth and final capital. The sultan who captured it is known as Mehmed the Conqueror.<br />
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Construction began in 1455 and it was completed in 1461.<br />
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The Grand Bazaar. People in the USA who see just an indoor mall are correct, this is an indoor mall. But it pre-dates the USA by more than 300 years, which cannot be ignored. In fact, it was completed around Minnesota's Mall of America by 531 years.<br />
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After the Grand Bazaar, which is seriously gigantic, Levon took us for the customary rug push. He knew that we were not interested, but he nicely explained that we would not be pushed and we approached it as a chance to sit down before heading back to the ship.<br />
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An artisan knotting a Turkish rug before our eyes.<br />
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A Turkish rug being rolled out before our eyes.<br />
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They gave us coffee and tea, and as promised they did not push the sale. In fact, the very nice man who was the salesman joked that because we were Levon's friends he was not allowed to try to force a rug on us. That said, these Turkish rugs were far more beautiful than the Berber rugs we saw in Morocco this summer. <br />
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After a long day, one where I really had to cheat you out of a lot of amazing pictures, we headed home for our last night on the Crystal Serenity.<br />
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Home for one more night.<br />
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Tonight is literally the final dinner aboard the ship. Tomorrow we get kicked off bright and early,<br />
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Barbie started with the <i>Chilled Seafood Cocktail with Horseradish Cocktail Sauce.</i><br />
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I started with the <i>Cream of Chicken Soup with Sun-Dried Tomato & Bell Pepper Confetti with Wild Rice.</i><br />
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My second course was the <i>Consomme Double with Truffle and Spinach Royal.</i><br />
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For my main I had the <i>Mafaldine Pasta, with Braised Beef Short Rib and Root Vegetable Ragout.</i><br />
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Barbie had the <i>Whole-Roasted Maple Leaf Farms Duckling, Served with Caramelized Raspberry Sauce, Accompanied by Braised Red Cabbage, and WIlliams Potatoes.</i><br />
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My dessert, the <i>Apple Crumble Tart with Vanilla Ice Cream.</i><br />
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Barbie's dessert, <i>Refreshing Grapefruit Campari Sorbet.</i><br />
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Our head and assistant waiters, whose names I knew at the time but... well, the tall handsome guy is Rama from Mauritius. The guy with my hairstyle is Turkish and I wish that I could remember his name.<br />
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The last dinner picture aboard the cruise.<br />
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Okay. This should work. I tested it. A few nights ago I asked our awesome Head Waiter above, whose hairstyle is the same as mine, for the previous night's menu. He responded by offering to give me a copy of every dinner menu served during our cruise. I took him up on it, and after this photo was taken (and he noticed the ProCamera app that I use and asked about it, because <i>everyone has an iPhone</i>) he handed me a thick envelope with the promised menus.<br />
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I scanned them, and <a href="https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BxEfp4kS7Z3cNTRmOWI3ZGEtMGRkOC00MzI2LTllNTUtOGQzYTBiODNlZDNm" target="_blank">you can see every dinner menu for yourself</a>.<br />
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The cruise is over. Tomorrow morning we switch from a floating hotel to a hotel on the solid ground.<br />
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Until then...</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015320491290016603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1782095014939855458.post-33369083555800287182011-11-03T12:02:00.000-07:002012-02-01T20:15:18.412-08:00Byzantine Tour 2011 Day Sixteen: Dardanelles<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today is our third and final <i>Day at Sea</i>. Those wonderful days spent on a floating hotel with no options but to be mildly busy and mainly relaxed. And the barely functional internet is especially fun.<br />
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We woke up this morning to a treat! A new friend visited!<br />
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His name was Bartholomeu Chripy III, and he wanted to say <i>Good Morning</i>.<br />
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A closer view of Mister Chirpy. He hung out on our balcony long enough for us to worry he was hurt, but he was only resting. <br />
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Eggs, bacon, Sausage, Fruit, Orange Juice. Good.<br />
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A sunrise is nice, but if the clouds are scattered and sea in view, the hours after sunrise are equally beautiful.<br />
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We hit our third and final bridge lesson. No pictures again. But I will tell you this; we got a taste of bridge and liked it. The odds are against our pursuing this hobby when we are home, but we can legitimately claim that our boundaries have been expanded.<br />
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For lunch... they turned the pool area in to a massive USA BBQ Buffet.<br />
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The results of my BBQ grazing.<br />
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The results of Barbie's BBQ grazing.<br />
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After the BBQ we kept busy with relaxation, a DVD, a stroll.<br />
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We stopped in the cafe for a coffee and sweets. Nothing beats swirling your cafe mocha with a stock covered in sugar crystals.<br />
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Soon enough it was afternoon, and we knew that we were in the Dardanelles. The Dardanelles, known to the Greeks as the Hellespont (Sea of Helle, named after the Helle character from the Jason and the Argonauts myth), is the narrow 38 miles strait that connects the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. But what you should really think of it as that of the natural waterway that connects the Mediterranean Sea and the the Black Sea. <br />
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Believe it or not, I braved a massive face wind to get you this picture. But what you see above is two continents at once.<br />
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Delineated.<br />
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For the record, Europe and Asia are the same land mass and one can argue the same continent called <i>Eurasia</i>, but if I get into how geographers have reclassified all the continents since we learned them in school it makes all the old people upset that what they were taught has become wrong. Like Pluto not being a planet, what you think are continents are not. BUT... the geographical areas of Europe and Asia do exist as continents, and always will, which means that the picture above does in fact show two continents on either side of a waterway.<br />
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This map should make it more clear. We are in the yellow shaded area, and tonight we will cruise through that Sea of Marmara in the center, and arrive in the red shaded area by morning when we awake on the coast of Istanbul!<br />
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You want to know why this seaway from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean might be the most important seaway in the Western world? It connects these countries with Black Sea ports (Bulgaria, Ukraine, Russia, and Georgia) to every other port in the world, including Western Europe, Africa, and even North and South America.<br />
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Besides the importance of shipping goods through, think about how important this seaway was during wartime, and then you can see why the Greeks, Persians, Romans, Ottomans, Russians, Austrians, French, British, Germans, and more societies that I cannot bothered to be named fought over this waterway in a dozen major wars.<br />
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Hey, the only battle any of us can name from World War I is Gallipoli, and that battle was solely about controlling the flow of ships through the Dardanelles.<br />
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Sunset in the Dardanelles.<br />
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Are you ready for dinner?<br />
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Barbie started with the <i>Oxtail Consomme with Truffles, Vegetables, Mushrooms and Sherry, baked Under a Puff Pastry Dome.</i><br />
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I starred with the <i>Cream of Asparagus "Argenteuil" with Lemon Croutons.</i><br />
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My main is the <i>Combination of Lobster; </i> <i>Lobster "Thermidor" and Broiled Rock Lobster Tail, Served with Fresh Garden Vegetables, Chive-Truffle Rice Pilaf, Melted Lemon Butter and Sauce Hollandaise.</i><br />
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With her sinus infection still not gone, and with shipboard perfumes still assaulting her in various parts of the ship, Barbie actually skipped the main course.<br />
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Barbie's dessert, <i>Refreshing Kir Royale Sherbet.</i><br />
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My dessert, <i>R+French Vanilla Creme Brulee with Fresh Fruits.</i><br />
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And that was our momentous day spent cruising through one of the most important waterways on Earth.<br />
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Until tomorrow...</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015320491290016603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1782095014939855458.post-62804999355569710982011-11-02T15:29:00.000-07:002012-02-01T20:15:18.420-08:00Byzantine Tour 2011 Day Fifteen: Ephesus & Selçuk<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today is momentous, really. We awoke in the port of Kuşadası, Turkey. We have both longed to visit Turkey for a very long time, and today we step onto Turkish soil.<br />
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In standard fashion, I woke up and looked out the window.<br />
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And that ship is the view. It is a very big one. I looked it up. <i>Navigator of the Seas</i> is the fifth largest cruise ship in the world, holding 4,327 people and 311 meters / 1,020 feet long.<br />
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Breakfast. Eggs, bacon, fruit.<br />
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Turkey. Ever seen Turkey before? The nation that bridges continents and cultures? That rose from the ashes of a great empire at the end of a world war? Yep. That Turkey.<br />
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Barbie poses with our ride.<br />
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Our ride and the one next door. That is the <i>Navigator of the Seas</i>, mentioned earlier. Our ship on the left, <i>Crystal Serenity</i>, is 250 meters / 820 feet long. In other words, our ship is 80 percent the size of that ship. But, if you want to talk real numbers, <i>Navigator </i>has 1,213 crew for<i> </i>3,114 passengers. <i>Serenity</i> has 655 crew for 1,070 passengers. And that is what luxury gets you.<br />
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This Turkish seaport welcomes us to Turkey.<br />
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Instead of being stuck on one of the cruise ship's expeditions, a Turkish guide based in Istanbul whom Barbie has worked with has arranged for us to have a private guide and car. This is the way to tour, seeing only that which interests you.<br />
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Our guide, whose name is slipping my mind, put together a plan. The archeological site of Ephesus is most crowded early, and since we can choose our own agenda, first we will visit a museum that will prepare us for what we will see at Ephesus.<br />
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This was interesting. Our guide said to us, "Our country is Turkiye, not Turkey. And we know a turkey is a dumb bird so please, call us Turkiye." It turns out, with a little research, that much of the world calls this country Turkiye. In Italian it is spelled Turchia, in Greek it is Tourkia, and in English it is Turkey. What is about English that makes it difficult to pronounce simple words? The suffix <i>iye </i>or <i>ia</i> or <i>iya</i> means "owner, land of or related to," in Greek, Latin and Arabic. Look at the country names around here, Italia, Romania, Bulgaria<i>, </i>and so on, and it makes sense that this place is <i>Turkiye</i>.<i> </i>Really, the suffix <i>ia</i> is the same as <i>land</i> in English, like England, Ireland, Scotland, Finland, and even Deutschland.<i> </i>If anything, the English translation of Turkiye would be <i>Turkland</i>, not <i>Turkey</i>.<br />
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Out of respect for our hosts, I shall refer to this country as Turkiye for the rest of this trip.<br />
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We are standing right THERE.<br />
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This is Priapos, the minor Greek fertility god known for his... well, he can rest a stinking basket on it. The thing never <i>relaxes</i>. And now you know why modern drugs warn men of the chance of <i>priapism</i>. If it stays in that state for too long, it gets dangerous.<br />
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When it comes down to it, can you beat a Greek column? This most ornate design is of the Corinthian order. The easiest one to spot of the three orders. Perhaps by now you have asked, "What is with the Greek stuff?" Not all of you, but some. The thing to remember about Turkiye is that it sits on the Anatolian peninsula, with a piece of Europe across the Bosphorus, on land that in ancient times was Greek. We sit on the West coast of Anatolia at this very moment, across the Aegean from modern day Greece, but during the Iron Age (1200 BC - 400 AD) Greek city states covered the region. <br />
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These Greek city states were eventually overtaken by Rome during the first century BC, and the area remained Roman after the fall of the Roman Empire when it was known as... the Roman Empire, but historians have renamed this the Byzantine Empire to denote the difference between the "Western" Roman Empire with the capital Rome and the "Eastern" Roman Empire with its capital in Byzantium/Constantinople. And, yes, this imaginary empire gave us the name for this trip, <i>Byzantine Tour</i>.<br />
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Those two Empires semi-officially separated during the fourth century AD, and the Byzantine Empire was always more Greek and Christian than Rome. The Greek language was more common than Latin, and even though the events that lead to the New Testament took place in Jerusalem, the early followers of Jesus migrated north and Christianity was truly born here. More on that later.<br />
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Artemis, with the many many bosoms. Our guide has explained that we will be seeing the ruins of the Temple of Artemis, which is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. <br />
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Central Anatolia is home to some of the most ancient human settlements on Earth, going back as far as 5700 BC. But we are not visiting that region of Turkiye. The Turks migrated from the East in the 10th and 11th centuries, from the region North of the Caspian sea where modern day Kazakhstan sits. The language of the area changed, but after much genetic research it has been found that the people of Turkiye have more in common with their European neighbors than they do Kazakhs, and really the Turks moved in and the people of the region adopted their culture, but the people of Turkiye today are the same who have always lived here. <br />
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Barbie poses with a <i>colossal </i>statue of Domitian, Roman Emperor from 81 AD to 96 AD. <br />
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We decided to make one more stop before hitting today's highlight, Ephesus. Remember how I mentioned that Christianity was truly developed here? Well, one of the sites here is the House of the Virgin Mary. Mary's House. <i>Tradition states</i> that the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus, was brought by Saint John to this area north of Judea and lived here until the Assumption, when her body was taken up into Heaven. Not just her soul went to heaven, but her body as well.<br />
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Saint John did in fact move to Ephesus, and later we will see the remains of the Basillica of Saint John.<br />
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There it is, the House of the Virgin Mary. <i>Tradition states...</i><br />
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Actually, this one does not deserve a <i>tradition states</i>. This is not Mary's house. In the early 1800's a German nun had visions and described the house that the Apostle John built for Mary and its location. After she died, an author named Clemens Brentano who had listened to her visions published a book with details of her visions. <br />
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Allow me to share an excerpt: <i>Mary did not live in Ephesus itself, but in the country near it. ... Mary's dwelling was on a hill to the left of the road from Jerusalem, some three and half hours from Ephesus. This hill slopes steeply towards Ephesus; the city, as one approaches it from the south east seems to lie on rising ground.... Narrow paths lead southwards to a hill near the top of which is an uneven plateau, some half hour's journey.</i><br />
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A French priest named Julien Gouyet discovered the brick house you saw above and declared it to be the house described by the nun who lived 1,800 years after Mary. He was not taken seriously, but then two more missionaries re-discovered this house in 1891 and started restoring it, and this fairly recent tradition took hold and, today, hundreds of people visit every day and have a meaningful religious experience.</div>
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You do not get to see inside of the Virgin Mary's house.<br />
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Why am I so confident that the Vigin Mary never lived here? As our guide explained, the design and construction materials of this house, the portions not restored by missionaries, date to the Middle Ages. There is evidence around it of a water supply system and small village. This house did not exist when Mary was alive, and odds are that Mary lived out her days in Jerusalem anyway.<br />
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But regardless of doubts about the veracity of this story, the desire to be able to visit a place where the Virgin Mary lives is so strong that Pope Pius XII relented and gave this house status as a <i>Holy Place</i> in 1951, and then Pope Paul VI became the first Pope to visit in 1967 and "unofficially" confirmed its authenticity. In other words, they knew that the Virgin Mary did not live here, but if people <i>feel</i> this is true, there is no reason to discourage them from expressing their faith.<br />
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As you can see, faith is good for business. Thousands come here every day.<br />
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We have spent some time at the museum and the phony Virgin Mary's house, which means that the main site for us to visit, the ruins of Ephesus, should have cleared out of the early morning tourists and be ready for us.<br />
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Welcome to Ephesus. This is one of the most incredible places that you can visit on Earth. Ephesus sat on the Aegean coast at the mouth of the Cayster River, which made it a very important port sitting near where Europe and Asia meet.<br />
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During Roman times Ephesus became the largest city of the empire outside of Rome, with estimates that up to a half-million people lived here. Evidence has been found of artifacts dating all the way back to the Mycenean era of 1500 to 1400 BC, but what you see unearthed at Ephesus today is from the Greco-Roman era.<br />
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Barbie poses not at a theater but at the Bouleuterion, where the city council met.<br />
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Imagine all the politicians of the city meeting here to argue how to manage a city of hundreds of thousands.<br />
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This picture captures how a visit to Ephesus feels like a step back in time. Sure, they are ruins, but you can imagine what it looked like in its prime. Unlike Rome and Athens, you do not have to make the modern buildings go invisible in your mind. The Cayster River dumped silt into the bay in front of Ephesus over the centuries, changing it from an important seaport to a landlocked and impoverished city. This worked out well for you and I, because there was no reason to build a new city on top of Ephesus, and today the city can be dug out from the ground for us to marvel at.<br />
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The Cayster was called the Maeander in classical times, and as it moved silt to fill in the coast with new land it often changed direction. And this is where our word <i>meander</i> comes from, because when you walk along and change your path casually, you are meandering just like the River Maender once did.<br />
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A simply amazing place.<br />
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Our guide brought us to an ancient street corner and told a little story how as it was unearthed they were not certain what purpose the building served. Until they unearthed this...<br />
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The hospital.<br />
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And pharmacy. <br />
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Yes, it delights and amazes me that we get to see the ancient signage of this place.<br />
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A father and daughter explore Ephesus together.<br />
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As they slowly dig this city out from the dirt, they painstakingly place the pieces back together. I would hope that a visit in twenty years would be even more impressive.<br />
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It occurs to me that I do not bother nagging you to right-click and open pictures in a new window very often. You should <i>really</i> do that.<br />
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I keep saying how they <i>unearth</i> this city. I took this picture to show you the process. There you can see an arch and the top of a column. Someday all that earth will be removed and we will see more of Ephesus.<br />
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This main street once went right to the port. Today it heads toward a valley. But by building a seaport near here at Kuşadası that can accommodate a half dozen cruise ships at once, they have turned this site into a genuine destination that will surely generate enough money for it to be restored to even greater brilliance.<br />
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Barbie reads a sign with archeological descriptions of this building.<br />
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This is the Temple of Hadrian. Hadrian was one seriously important Roman emperor, who reigned from 117 to 138 AD. But our guide pointed out that it was a major transition when the Roman emperors began building temples to themselves instead of the gods, elevating themselves to that statue. <br />
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When I wonder what lead to the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire, I do not believe that it is crazy to think that having your leaders elevate themselves in this way would lead their people to look elsewhere for spiritual fulfillment. After a century or two of emperors erecting temples to themselves, a large number of people had turned to the new idea of god that had come out Jerusalem a few hundred years earlier. Eventually a majority believed in Christianity and Emperor Constantine converted as a political move.<br />
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Time for the terrace houses. This is a picture of a picture at the entrance to the terrace houses of Ephesus. Where do the rich people live in Los Angeles? The hills, above the riff raff. It was the same a few thousand years ago. Up this slope they have covered the archeological dig so that they can protect the artifacts underneath and restore these homes.</div>
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These columns have been stood up and wood beams placed as they would have been to eventually support a roof. If you look below, those tables are covered with thousands of fragments that are being placed back together to form the mosaics of these homes.<br />
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Can you imagine that people literally lived in these rooms over two thousand years ago?<br />
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Back outside, I could not help but use the sun again to make a picture pretty.<br />
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The Library of Celsus, which has become the symbol of Ephesus. This amazingly restored facade is a marvel to stand before. <br />
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Accidental photo of our guide. His hairstyle is right on.<br />
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The Library of Celsus, with the Gate of Augustus to the right. You know, I could imagine sitting down here for a long time and taking this in. Where else in the world can you sit in the ruins of a Greco-Roman city that is this well preserved and restored? It was amazing to be in Athens earlier this trip, but the Acropolis is nowhere near as complete or overwhelming as Ephesus.<br />
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Yes. If you want to see Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, do not go to Athens or Rome. Go to Ephesus.<br />
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Birds.<br />
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Turkish birds. This is one of those <i>Can you believe I took this with an iPhone?</i> moments.<br />
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This is the theater of Ephesus. With a capacity of 44,000 people, this is believed to be the largest theater of the ancient world. (Remember, the Colosseum is an amphitheater.)<br />
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They actually held concerts here in recent times, until Sting performed here and brought such a loud sound system that it caused some damage, ending the practice. He likely siad, "Glad that I ruined these Ephesus concerts just like I ruined The Police." Yeah, I bet he said something like that.<br />
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This road literally went to the sea. Two thousand years ago you would have seen coastline. It was at the end of this road that goods were brought to market in this bustling metropolis of the ancient world.<br />
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If we were not sick, but getting healthier, I think we would have spent even more time at Ephesus. But Barbie is not quite well and I feel better but not a hundred percent, and we opted to head back to the car and visit a few more sites.<br />
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This citadel is Ottoman.<br />
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The entrance to the Basilica of St. John, built by Emperor Justinian in 565 AD on what is believed to be St. John's tomb.<br />
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It is believed, and I believe it enough to not add <i>tradition states</i>, that the Saint John fled Jerusalem to Ephesus, where he lived out his life and wrote his gospels.<br />
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Another look at the Ottoman citadel, overlooking the Basilica of St. John.<br />
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A model of the Basilica on the left, today's ruins on the right. <br />
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It is something else to think that the man who wrote the Book of Revelation is buried here. In his time fewer than a handful of people believed what he had to say. Today, arguably 2.5 billion people believe.<br />
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Next stop, the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.<br />
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One column remains of the Temple of Artemis. But they also bring people here because it uniquely captures five eras in one place.<br />
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In case your monitor is small: the İsa Bey Mosque was built by the Seljuk Turks before the Ottoman era, the Grand Fortress on the hill was built by the Ottomans, the Basilica of St. John was built by the Romans, the Temple of Artemis was built by the Greeks, and the homes you see were built by the Turks in the 20th century.<br />
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Kuşadası, Turkiye. Sunlight and clouds can make anyone look like a good photographer. For this I used <a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=c2Zw994rvo8&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fitunes.apple.com%252Fus%252Fapp%252Fpro-hdr%252Fid347104281%253Fmt%253D8%2526uo%253D4%2526partnerId%253D30" style="background-color: white; color: #6538cd; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" target="itunes_store">Pro HDR</a> to capture the light better.<br />
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Our guide and I figured that we are likely distant cousins. If you consider that at least one branch of my family goes back to Odessa, Ukraine, and that Odessa is just across the Black Sea from Turkiye, and it is not too much of a stretch that some DNA could be in common.<br />
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Yes, like every other country that sits on the Mediterranean, I can pass for a local. From Italia to Morocco to Turkiye, I fit in.<br />
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As we walked through this modern port on our way back to the ship, we snapped a picture of us with this Turkish Starbucks.<br />
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Back on the ship, <i>Bacon & Bleu Cheese Turkey Burger with Onion Rings</i> for him and <i>Hot Dog with French Fries</i> for her.<br />
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After a very long day looking at very incredible things, the sinus-infection stricken Barbie was completely wiped out and yet again I went to the dining room by myself while she slept. This is good, she needs the rest.<br />
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Crew members (and a few guests) were swing dancing to a brass band playing The Beatles <i>Ticket To Ride</i>. Pretty great stuff.<br />
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My starter, <i>Crispy Fried Softshell Crab on Marinated Three Bean Salad and Garlic Aioli.</i><br />
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My second, <i>Cream of Sweet Corn Soup with Leek Straw.</i><br />
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And for my main course, sitting off the coast of Turkiye?<br />
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<i>Whole-Roasted Tom Turkey with Orange-Sage Stuffing, Bourbon Gravy, Cranberry Relish, Creamy Peas and Silver Onions, and Sweet Potato Praline.</i><br />
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I ate a turkey dinner on the coast of Turkiye.<br />
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For dessert, <i>Chocolate Ooze Cake with Peanut Butter Ice Cream.</i><br />
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And that, my friends, was a good day.<br />
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Until tomorrow...</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015320491290016603noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1782095014939855458.post-25902990823714643512011-11-01T10:17:00.000-07:002012-01-21T17:13:48.598-08:00Byzantine Tour 2011 Day Fourteen: Mykonos<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today is a mellow day. We have docked at Mykonos, one of the Greek islands we have visited previously. When we visited Mykonos five years ago, it was during an awful rainstorm with strong, cold winds forcing us to walk around briefly and basically hide from the elements. <br />
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As always, the breakfast buffet is a delight. If you have been studying these breakfast shots, you would note that after a brief period of self-indulgence we are returning to eggs and fruit.<br />
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How is that for a disembarkment photo?<br />
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We hopped onto busses for the five minute ride to just outside of town.<br />
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As we walked into town, I snapped this picture of what is clearly the kind of ideal vacation home one imagines staying in during a visit to Mykonos. It is cold and windy today. When we visited here five years ago it was cold and windy and raining. The lack of rain marks an improvement. <br />
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Meta-picture!<br />
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Here we are with the suburbs of Mykonos behind us. The town and main port is in front of us.<br />
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The main town, normally called Mykonos but also called Chora, sits around this bay. Archeologists say that Ionians settled on Mykonos around 1200 BC. The Ionians were Greek, but from the central Western coast of Anatolia in modern day Turkey. We will be near ancient Ionia soon.<br />
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Mykonos was, of course, a tiny and poor fishing village forever, until in the 1950's it started to become a tourist destination. <br />
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We walked around to the windmills of Mykonos.<br />
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As you can see they are for decoration only.<br />
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Exploring the self-portrait theme that began on Crete.<br />
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Little Venice, a nice place to sit in a cafe that overhangs the sea. It is very cold and windy, and a warm lunch awaits us on the ship. You tell me if we stopped here for long?<br />
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This is Manto Mavroyenous, a hero of Greek Revolution against Ottomans in 1821. It took seven years and the assistance of England, France and Russia, but Greece was independent by 1828.<br />
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We have now visited Mykonos twice, and again we are unimpressed. But I am certain if you come in the summer and want to lay in the sun by the sea or a pool, and shop for knick-knacks and do little else, this is a little rock of heaven. Much like Santorini.<br />
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Time for lunch.<br />
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The hot soup of the day was <i>Butternut Squash.</i> After walking around in the cold wind, this was a delight.<br />
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Barbie enjoyed <i>The Chinois Chicken Salad; Shredded Roasted Chicken, Julienne of Napa Cabbage, Lettuce, Snow Peas, Carrots, Celery, Onions, Peanuts and Sesame Seeds, Tossed with a Chinese Mustard Dressing, Garnished with Crisp Won Ton Skins and Fresh Cilantro.</i><br />
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My desire for comfort food was strong. <i>Spaghetti "Bolognese"; Long Paste Tossed with Italian Meat Tomato Sauce, Sprinkled with Freshly Grated Grana Padano Parmesan Cheese.</i><br />
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Sitting behind Barbie during lunch...<br />
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Mister Steve Forbes. At the moment, the USA is going crazy with talks of the 1%. To see Steve Forbes during lunch made us laugh. We have seen people with <i>Forbes </i>badges on board. At the time we did not know if this was a corporate retreat or what, but it turns out people paid extra to ride this cruise and attend lectures from Forbes magazine on managing your wealth. Steve Forbes' daughter is running it, and I suppose what they paid for this cruise got them a speech a billionaire.<br />
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Nothing against Mister Forbes, but if paid to hear a billionaire speak I would want him to have not inherited it.<br />
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A lovely place to have lunch.<br />
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After lunch we hit the screening of <i>Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides</i>.<br />
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I took this picture early in the movie. We liked it, but it is hard to not like a free afternoon movie on the cruise ship.<br />
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A nice shot of Mykonos taken while walking around the ship.<br />
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Not a bad sky. Once again cold and mildly unpleasant weather looks nice in a photograph.<br />
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Time for dinner.<br />
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Today everyone, including Barbie, was at our table for dinner. After a few nights dining alone, I had to take a twisted panorama of our group, regardless of my earlier promise to not take their picture.<br />
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Tonight's dinner has a theme, <i>French Dinner</i>. Most of them do, but I rarely notice. I only know it is <i>French Dinner</i> night because I am looking at the menu two months later. I will be treating all of you menu obsessed folks to a copy of every dinner menu of the cruise. That will be on the last day, of course.<br />
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Barbie started with the <i>Escargots Bourguignonnes; Burgundy Snails in Garlic Herb Butter.</i><br />
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I started with <i>French Onion Soup with Guyere Cheese Crouton.</i><br />
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Barbie had the <i>Fusilli Boscaiola; with Pancetta, Mushrooms, Onions, Tomatoes and Cream, Drizzled with White Truffle Oil.</i><br />
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I had the <i>Veal "a la Cordon Bleu"; Veal Escalopes Filled with Swiss Cheese and Country Ham, Breaded and Golden Friend, Served with Parisienne Potatoes, Vichy Carrots, and Natural Gravy.</i><br />
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His dessert, <i>Something Chocolatey.</i><br />
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Her dessert, <i>Something Soberty.</i><br />
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We are exhausted but I think the sickness is finally receding.<br />
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Until tomorrow.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015320491290016603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1782095014939855458.post-2227777973497920912011-10-31T15:11:00.000-07:002012-01-21T17:48:49.884-08:00Byzantine Tour 2011 Day Thirteen: Crete<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This morning we woke up off the coast of Crete. Crete is Greece's largest island and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean. It is another one of this cruise's stops that I have been eager to experience, because Crete is a place that you learned about in school but rarely visitaa.<br />
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And for the record, the demonym in English for someone who lives in Crete is Cretan, not Cretin. Big difference. A cretin is a stupid idiot, while a Cretan is someone or something from Crete.<br />
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Standard shot of the port as we wake. Note that the ferry that shuffles people and cars from mainland Greece to Crete is <i>Minoan Lines</i>. Minoan civilization will be the point of interest for the day.<br />
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Breaking the fast.<br />
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Good weather is preferred. If it is cloudy and chilly, then one hope for beauty in the clouds.<br />
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After breakfast we shuffled off to our excursion bus and began our Cretan adventure. We selected the <i>Knossos Palace & Village of Arolithos</i> excursion. It looked like the most archeological of the tours, skipping pointless knick-knack shopping and wine tastings.<br />
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Wowza! On our way to the Palace of Knossos we passed a bowling alley.<br />
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See! A bowling alley on a Greek island in the Mediterranean. I should have been more tempted to roll some rocks, I know, but my main concern was the history of this island. <br />
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First stop, the Palace of Knossos. Knossos was the capital and cultural center of the Minoan civilization. Does <i>Minoan </i>ring a bell? The Minoan civilization flourished for 1200 years, from the 27th century BC to the 15th century BC, when they were toppled by the Mycenaeans who were based near Athens. But a 12 century reign is not to be sneezed at, and we are about to take a look around the royal palace of this Bronze Age civilization.<br />
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This is a rendering of what the Palace of Knossos would have looked like in its prime. To give a better perspective on this era, the Minoans were building their civilization around the same time the first Egyptian Pharaos rose to create the <i>Old Kingdom</i>, as historians name the first of Egypt's three main kingdoms. Meanwhile, China was still in the Stone Age and Babylon was a small, growing city.<br />
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It is fair to say that the Minoan Civilization gave birth to Europe. And guess what? In Greek mythology -- and let me make this clear, the Minoan civilization was <i>older</i> than Greek mythology -- Zeus and Europa had a hook-up on Crete and conceived the Kings of the Minoan civilization. <i>Tradition states</i> that Europa was a Phoenician girl from the land of Canaan where modern day Israel, Jordan, and Lebanon sit. The point is that the mythical figure Europa gave birth to the line of Minoan kings, who gave birth to European civilization, and today all of Europe is named after her.<br />
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The Palace of Knossos today. And <i>today</i> is a loaded word here, because a Cretan discovered this site in 1878 and in 1900 a British archeologist named Sir Arthur Evans purchased the entire site. He was a very rich man who fancied archeology. Now... Evans did not mean to be a complete imbecile. In fact, there might be people who do not think that he was a complete imbecile. He thought he was doing the right thing, which was to excavate <i>and</i> restore the site. And <i>restore</i> means that he poured concrete all over the site to recreate what he was pretty sure the place would have looked like in its prime.<br />
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In other words, a visitor today has to look around Knossos and think, "Original, recreation. Original, recreation." And every recreation has to be taken with a grain of salt, because it was done in the early part of the 1900's by a wealthy British guy who thought his world was filled with cutting edge technology.<br />
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Barbie sitting upon the remains of Knossos. They call this a palace, because it was a home for the most powerful and influential European monarch of the time, but it was not one huge building. It was a series of buildings with courtyards and interlocking rooms. Imagine a stone-built home to a king that was added to for over two thousand years, and that is Knossos.<br />
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The stones beneath the concrete is original, the concrete stairs above was brought to us by Evans.<br />
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All of the flooring here was made of alabaster, which resembles marble. This picture shows alabaster that was protected from the elements.<br />
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Here is alabaster that has been exposed to the elements.<br />
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Barbie presents the Palace of Knossos. Earthquakes have ravaged this place over the centuries. Crete sits where the African and Eurasian tectonic plates meet, which means lots of earthquakes.<br />
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Walking around these ruins is simply amazing. If I didn't feel sick and if it was not very cold, I would have loved to spend hours here. I can honestly say that a visit to Knossos in the summer would be an excellent half-day experience.<br />
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Self portrait, theater of Knossos. The sun was shining directly into my eye and I could barely see the image on the iPhone's screen, but I knew if I got it right this would be a great shot. And I got it right.<br />
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This is the theater behind me in the previous shot. If you are a smarty-pants and want to know why this more impressive background was not used in the previous picture, the answer is the sun's position would have made me silhouette.<br />
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I cannot tell you what a remarkable site Knossos is. And because stones on the ground are not photogenic, I cannot even really show you how impressive a place this is. It has to be seen with your own eyes.<br />
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After Knossos I was excited for our next stop, which was supposed to be some sort of cultural village. It turned out to be the standard tourist trap of pointless stores, a restaurant, and a show of local dancing.<br />
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We were taken to a lousy buffet that would barely count as a snack.<br />
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Buffet quad picture. If I did not know that a ton of food choices awaited me when I returned to the ship, I would have been unhappy. Instead I was just sick and hungry, and eager to go back to the ship.<br />
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Yes, Barbie and I both still feel terrible. But when you are sick and traveling, you do not rest. But every morning Barbie has to decide if this is the day she ditches the excursion and stays in bed or if she soldiers on. So far she soldiers on every day.<br />
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When the local band and dancers came out, the crowd went <i>wild</i>.<br />
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How could you not go wild for a few people slowly turning with their hands in the air? And the bored looks on their faces? And the clothes that they hate wearing and only put on for the gig and then switch back to normal stuff? <br />
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Our tour ended, and we headed back to the ship.<br />
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The countryside of Crete. As a fairly mountainous island, I should also point out that there would be no way the Minoans could have considered building anything like the Egyptian pyramids. For a project like that you need a vast amount of flat land.<br />
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The good people of Crystal Cruises did not let us forget that today is Halloween. <br />
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Lunchtime!<br />
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Barbie started with <i>Avocado Boat Filled with Marinated Baby Shrimp; Served with Sauce Marie Louise.</i><br />
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I started with <i>Quiche Lorraine; French caramelized Onion, Bacon and Cheese Tart, Served with Tosed Lettuce.</i><br />
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And then we shared the <i>Sandwich of the Day: The French Dip. Thickly-Sliced Roast Beef Strip Loin on a Toasted Bun, Accompanied by Natural Dipping Jus, Tossed Mixed Greens and French Fried Potatoes.</i><br />
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For those in the know, sharing a french dip is what we do frequently at Houston's restaurant in Los Angeles. This lunch made us feel right at home.<br />
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After lunch we rested and watched movies on DVD and basically kept up the effort to get healthier. It has been working, which is key. We definitely want to be well again for the end of our trip in Istanbul. And, for the record, the crew of the ship have been nothing but courteous about the poisonous perfume bombs of carpet freshener around the ship. One hopes that our letting them know about it will lead to someone with the authority to do so maybe changing this, so that we can cruise with Crystal again. At this point, we really cannot.<br />
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In the late afternoon we went to the <i>Crystal Afternoon Tea </i>which is located in the ship's Palm Court, wich is at the top front surrounded by glass with a panoramic view.<br />
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We ordered our tea while servers brought around delightful little treats.<br />
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As you can see, I ordered the <i>Verbena Mint Organic tea. </i><br />
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Sophistication, no?<br />
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After tea time we rested in the room with more work and movies and such. Soon enough, it was dinner time. But Barbie is whooped. She can fight through the sinus infection during the day but at night she just needs to sleep.<br />
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I arrived in the dining room to learn that all the Brits are dining elsewhere tonight. Table for one again.<br />
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I started with the <i>Braised Oxtail Spring Roll, with Peach Chutney and Lamb's Lettuce.</i><br />
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My second course was <i>Tomato Soup, with Ginger and Ricotta-Basil Dumpling.</i><br />
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For my main I had <i>Traditional American Meatloaf, Oven-Baked with Onion Gravy, Served with Mashed Potatoes, ans Slow-Roasted Vegetables.</i><br />
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I really do not mind dining alone. It is better that Barbie get her rest. Plus it is almost amusing how much attention I get from the waiters who again pity me for sitting by myself.<br />
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For dessert I added a cooked banana to the <i>Chocolate Ooze Cake.</i> I think that was a good decision.<br />
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After dinner I walked by the string quartet, then headed back to the room.<br />
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Until tomorrow...</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015320491290016603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1782095014939855458.post-64308275383855356572011-10-30T23:01:00.000-07:002012-01-13T18:08:37.459-08:00Byzantine Tour 2011 Day Twelve: Mediterranean Sea<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Ah. <br />
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Ahhhh.<br />
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That is the sound of a day at sea.<br />
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When it comes to a room with a view, it is hard to do better than the sea.<br />
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We are moving from Cyprus to Crete. From the third largest island in the Mediterranean to the fifth largest.<br />
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Of course we could get from A to B faster, but I believe the cruise line knows how much people adore a day at sea to truly unwind.<br />
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Today, at the suggestion of a fellow passenger, I took a bold step. Do you see the breakfast item that is normally not there?<br />
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Eggs are normal. Fruit is normal. You got it, pancakes!<br />
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But not just pancakes. I asked them to put some banana and chocolate chips in my pancakes. Yes. <i>Banana-chocolate-chip Pancakes.</i><br />
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Seriously. Does it get better than this?<br />
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Also note: no noxious carpet cleaner perfume when you sit on your stateroom's verandah.<br />
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We attended a lecture about metabolism, at the end of which the ship's personal trainer suggested that we come for a metabolism test. We scheduled one for after lunch.<br />
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Then came time for another Bridge lesson, which again went photograph free.<br />
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Then came time for lunch. The Crystal dining room got a little Asian today.<br />
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I started with the <i>Spring Vegetable Roll with Ponzu Sauce.</i><br />
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Barbie started with<i>... cannot find it on the menu but looks like beets and proscuitto?</i><br />
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I had the <i>Spice Thai Chicken and Shrimp Soup, Flavored with Galangal and Lemongrass.</i><br />
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Then I had the <i>Spicy Orange Chicken, Crispy Fried Chicken in a Spicy Orange Sauce, Served with Steamed Broccoli and Sticky White Rice.</i><br />
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Barbie had the <i>Ocean Garden Basket, Crabmeat Salad, Jumbo Prawns and Scallops in a Giant Lettuce basket, Served with Thousand Island Dressing.</i><br />
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For dessert, Barbie had the <i>Refreshing Kiwi Sherbet.</i><br />
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Since we ate in the dining room, I thought I would share a shot that included our window view.<br />
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Remember that <i>metabolism test </i>that I mentioned earlier?<br />
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It consisted of attaching electrodes to the wrist and feet, and measuring electric current going through our bodies on what looked like a 1970's calculator. But the results told us both that we were fairly healthy; maybe it was not complete bunk.<br />
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But the results did tell us one thing.<br />
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In order to correct the pH levels in our blood we need to purchase these expensive supplements! (We did not.)<br />
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Barbie took a nap and worked; I rested and read. We still feel sick. We watched the <i>Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle</i> DVD from the library. Barbie liked it, which lifts my hopes that we will soon see the second and third movies.<br />
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Barbie forced her sick body out of bed for dinner at the on-board Japanese restaurant.<br />
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Remember how I said the ship is half full? When we cruised on Crystal last year, it was hard to get into Silk Road.<br />
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Not so hard to get in here this cruise. And thankfully the room did not smell of perfumed carpet freshener.<br />
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<i>Miso Soup.</i> This made our sick bodies feel better.<br />
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<i>Eel rolls</i>.<br />
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<i>Rock Shrimp, Served on Tossed Lettuce with Spicy Creamy Sauce.</i><br />
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<i>Nobu-Style Black Cod with Miso, Saikyo Miso Marinated and Broiled Black Cod with Mountain Peach and Young Ginger.</i><br />
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<i>Yellowtail Sushi.</i><br />
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<i>Salad. (Correct. I have no idea what salad Barbie ordered.)</i><br />
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<i>Nobu Box, A sampler of Nobu's Most Popular Signature Dishes; Gilled Wagyu Beef Rib Eye Steak, Black Cod with Miso, and Rock Shrimp.</i></div>
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After dinner we dragged ourselves back to the room, took a bunch of cold medicine, and slept.<br />
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Until tomorrow...</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015320491290016603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1782095014939855458.post-63677112857728642362011-10-29T12:48:00.000-07:002012-01-11T19:33:09.440-08:00Byzantine Tour 2011 Day Eleven: Cyprus<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We woke up this morning off the coast of Cyprus. This is an exciting one for Barbie, because when her father traveled the world as an agricultural chemist this was one of his frequent stops. It was seeing the slideshows of her father's pictures from around the world that lead Barbie into a Bachelor's Degree and career in travel. Connect those dots and there would not be a Waste without her Dad's pictures.<br />
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Today has to start like every day.<br />
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A breakfast with a lot of fruit.<br />
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This represents our first look at Cyprus.<br />
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Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean, and has been its own country since 1960. Sitting off the coast of Europe, Asia and Africa, Cyrpus represented a major strategic position throughout history. Guess what that means? It has almost been held by as many great powers as Jerusalem. I tell you, being centrally located is not always a good thing. Ask Poland.<br />
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Cyprus has been occupied by the Hittites, Assyrians, Egyptians, Persians, Rashidun and Umayyad Arab caliphates, Lusignans, Venetians, a long periods of Greek rule under the Ptolemaic Egyptians, the Byzantines, and then centuries under the Ottomans. The last three represent a problem, because they left Cyprus filled with two communities, Greek and Turkish. When you speak different languages and practice different religions, you have a good shot at being good neighbors. You also have a shot at war. More after another pic.<br />
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It is not a fancy airport welcome sign, but it will do.<br />
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At the end of the Russo-Turkish War, one of the many wars in which the musicians of Europe were tuning up their instruments for the World War symphony that was to come, the British ended up in control of Cyprus. How? The war was between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire over control of the Balkan states. (Russia wanted them "free" from the Ottomans, which would of course would make them Russian puppet states needing protection.) In order to bring about peace, the British got involved, sending a fleet of battleships to prevent Russian troops from advancing on Constantinople during the truce. It worked, and they signed a treaty giving independence to Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, and Bulgaria. <br />
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In order to <i>stabilize</i> the region and be near enough to protect the Suez Canal which connected them to their essential colony in India, the British set up a naval base on Cyprus. Does this sound familiar? As I type this, there are congressmen and senators in the USA arguing that we should be establishing permanent bases in Iraq and Afghanistan.<br />
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You sick of history? How about some sights? We can hit more history later.<br />
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Time for the Sanctuary of Apollo Hylates.<br />
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Dating back to approximately 800 BC, this temple was a central focus of worship on the island of Cyprus for centuries. It is called the Sanctuary of Apollo Hylates because here Apollo was worshipped as Hylates, God of the woodland and protector of the Kingdom. <br />
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A very pretty tourists gets a picture of my taking a picture.<br />
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These remains of the temple have been matched and rebuilt in the exact fashion as when it was first built.<br />
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An earthquake destroyed this temple and complex around 300 AD. Christianity stepped onto the scene and the ruins were left as ruins until the last fifty years, when an independent Cyprus saw the tourist value of restoration.<br />
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I like this shot. Call it a rule of thirds shot.<br />
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I never pointed my camera in the sun when working with film. With this digital stuff, I do it all the time.<br />
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We left the Sanctuary of Apollo Hylates and headed to... ah... Our guide, he wanted to take us to a wine tasting while everyone on our tour had singed up for a series of archeological sites. It got a little silly/ugly when the guide, a cocky Greek man, said, "I thought I had a bus of nice people but maybe I was wrong." Wrong? We are not nice because we do not be taken to something we did not pay for? Oh, he was a jerk. And it was obvious to us all that he was getting paid by the head to bring us to some wine tasting. The member of the ship's crew who was with us as chaperone went to work, showing the guide the description of the tour we had paid for, and he agreed to follow that itinerary. But it was a struggle, and the insulting thirty people at once was a nice touch.<br />
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Our next stop? Kourion. Kourion is an ancient Cypriot ruin dating from the Greek and Roman eras, but archeological evidence has found a human presence here dating back as far as 4500 BC. All that remains, of course, is the Hellenistic Greek and Roman structures.</div>
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This mosaic lined the bottom of a public bath.<br />
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The Kourion Theater, built around 200 BC and modified for at least 400 years can accommodate up to 3,500 people. In fact, they still hold cultural events here today. Also note Barbie's ability to travel in space and time.<br />
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Kourion is a vast and fascinating ruin. I suspect that you could spend half a day here. We spent a short time and then moved along. We lost a little chunk of time to our debate with the guide.<br />
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In Kourion I met a cat that, yes, looks a tiny bit like Hitler.<br />
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I believe that I left the history of Cyprus at the end of the Russo-Turkish War, with Britain setting up a base on Cyprus.<br />
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Along came World War I and the Ottomans logically lined up with the Central Powers, opposite the Russians who were with the Allied Powers, looking to regain territory they had recently lost in the Balkans.<br />
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Cyprus remained a British mandated island with mostly Greeks and a large Turkish minority through both wars, during which the Greek Cypriots fought alongside the British hoping that their reward would be <i>enosis</i>, or union with Greece. This did not make the Turkish Cypriots very happy. Between the World Wars the new Republic of Turkey that rose from the ashes of the Ottoman empire relinquished all claims to Cyprus. It was a wise political move at the time.<br />
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After the Second World War the British maintained control, and there were referendums proposed in the following decades for independence as well as unifying with Greece. In 1960 they brokered a deal creating the independent state <i>The Republic of Cyprus</i>. And... it took 3 years for violence between Greek and Turkish communities to break out, and of course both motherlands provided support. The UN sent in forces to attempt to enforce peace.<br />
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Time to break away from the history for some pictures. Along the Southern coastline of Cyprus one fints the Petra Tou Romiou, ir Rock of the Greek, or Aphrodite's Rock,<br />
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Aphrodite's Rock is THERE.<br />
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Aphrodite's Rock is THERE.<br />
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Why is this called Aphrodite's Rock? Myth states that Gaia (the Earth) asked one of her sons, Cronus, to mutilate his father, Uranus (the Sky). Cronus cut off Uranus' genitals and threw them into the sea. A white foam appeared from which a maiden arose, the waves first taking her to Kythera and then bringing her to Cyprus. The maiden, named Aphrodite, went to the assembly of gods from Cyprus.<br />
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The ancient Greeks looked at that rock formation THERE and saw Uranus' dismembered genitals, which marked this as the spot of Aphrodite's birth.<br />
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I really do not see that rock formation as the genitals of an immortal.<br />
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But I handed Barbie the iPhone and did my best to help her line up a shot of Uranus' remains matching mine.</div>
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Before we get to the next and last stop, shall we finish up Cyprus' recent history?<br />
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When we left off, the Greek and Turkish Cypriots factions were battling son after independence. In 1964 Turkey was about to directly intervene in the fight but a telegram from US President Lyndon Johnson caused them to pause, as the telegram basically stated that if Turkey invaded Cyprus then the USA and their allies would not be able to stand beside Turkey were the USSR to invade. These were real threats.<br />
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In 1974, the Greek military (Greece was run as a military dictatorship from 1967 to 1974) carried out a coup d'état in Cyprus, removing the constitutionally backed and democratically elected President and replacing him with their own President who would join their goal to unite the island with Greece. Five days later, the Turkish army invaded to protect Turkish Cypriots and to restore the President and the constitution of the Republic of Cyprus. By the time a cease-fire was negotiated, the land of Cyprus was divided 2/3 Greek and 1/3 Turkish with forced migrations of Greeks out of the North and Turks out of the South. Cyprus had become an island divided. <br />
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In 1983, the Turkish Cypriots proclaimed the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, a nation recognized by only one nation on Earth, Turkey. The capital of Cyprus, Nicosia, is divided in half between the Turkish North and Greek South. The city even had a Berlin-style wall dividing it in half, but after 32 years the wall was taken down on April 3, 2008, but the possibility of real unification may be years or decades away.<br />
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And, that, my friends is a Cypriot nutshell. I do love that the adjective for Cyprus is Cypriot.<br />
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After taking pictures of Aphrodite's Rock, I noticed this funny sign on the steps re-entering our bus. Apparently to Cypriots ice cream does fall into the <i>food</i> category.<br />
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Cyprus is an arid island with a subtropical climate. Not too green.<br />
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Our last stop is...<br />
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Kolossi Castle. Kolossi? Kolossal? <br />
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Kolossi Castle was built around 1210 AD by Germanic crusaders, and then used by Hospitaller Knights as well as Knights Templar during the Crusades.<br />
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Imagine this room filled with smelly Crusader knights eager to take back territory from the Ottomans for their kings and their church, not realizing that both would stab them in the back when they were no longer needed.<br />
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A panorama from atop the castle.<br />
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I had just been standing THERE.<br />
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Time to go home.<br />
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Home.<br />
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Burger lunch by the pool.<br />
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Cypriot sunset.<br />
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Time for dinner. Barbie is feeling sicker than ever. We walk into parts of the Crystal Serenity and the perfumed carpet cleaner smell is so strong that, if we cannot move quickly enough, she covers her face with a scarf. That is one of the nice things about the Waste and is that the pictures and words almost wipe from memory how sick and miserable we both are. But I am just well enough with a pseudoephedrine and Dayquil cocktail to go eat dinner.<br />
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Therefore I dine alone. Our lovely British table partners are all off doing their own thing, and the waiters look at me with great pity.<br />
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First course, <i>Oven-Baked Lobster Strudel, in Crisp Filo with Crayfish Sauce.</i><br />
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Second course, <i>Green Split Pea Soup, with Champagne and Whole Wheat Croutons. </i><br />
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My main <i>Slow-Roasted Rack of Kurobuta Pork, with Apricot Jus, Served on a Crispy Baklava of Pistachios, SPinach, Honey and Caramelized Shallots.</i><br />
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For dessert <i>Duo of Pumpkin</i>, <i>Pumpkin Cheesecake with Butter Pecan Sauce; Pumpkin Mousse with Caramel Sauce. </i><br />
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Not a bad way to finish the day. To sum up Cyprus, I would say it is an interesting visit but not a must visit. Perhaps with a better guide and tour, perhaps going solo in a rental car, you would love this island divided into two states.<br />
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And I believe that we learned that Cyprus was a late addition to this cruise. The people on board with us had purchased this cruise around the Eastern Mediterranean with a stop at Alexandria, Egypt. With the turmoil in Egypt, they switched away from there and added the first ever Crystal stop at Cyprus. Another time, Alexandria. That is one city I long to visit.<br />
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Until tomorrow.<br />
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<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015320491290016603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1782095014939855458.post-240001808289591792011-10-28T19:33:00.000-07:002012-01-09T15:12:27.939-08:00Byzantine Tour 2011 Day Ten: Masada & The Dead Sea<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today is our second day waking up on the Mediterranean coast of Israel. And our last day here. We spent Day One walking the Old City of Jerusalem, and in the interest of variety Day Two will be spent on an excursion to Masada and the Dead Sea. Nice balance, no? One day in the city, another day in the country.<br />
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I thought it was about time that I showed you the delights of the buffet itself, and not just the results once they are on the table.<br />
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Like so. See that big plate of fruit? I was thinking that starting every day with a ton of fruit would make my entire body feel better. You know what? Not really.<br />
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We loaded onto a bus and headed straight to Masada.<br />
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That would be the view we saw from our bus for the first part of our ride. Now the bad news. Barbie feels truly sick. And it smells like someone on this bus, perhaps the cruise ship employee sitting in front of me, has on that perfume which makes Barbie sicker.<br />
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Around halfway to Masada we stopped at a gas station cafe for restrooms and beverages. I ordered a mint tea.<br />
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This is an Israeli mint tea. Hot water thick with mint leaves. It was actually quite good, and made me feel better because I too am feeling sick from all the perfume floating up from the ships carpets and now filling the bus air.<br />
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See those trees? Those really are the actual <i>trees in Israel </i>that were bought by parents in the USA for their kids, as a sort of gift to the kid that he would never see and not really appreciate. But the hope was, of course, to instill a feeling of connection to the newly re-established Jewish homeland.<br />
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It took me many tries, but I got a sign that indicates where we are headed.<br />
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The drive through the mountains toward the Dead Sea and Masada looks not unlike the drive from Los Angeles to Las Vegas.<br />
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Does this not look like the desert mountains on the way to Vegas?</div>
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Wait... you do not see signs like that on the way to Vegas. Are you like me and wondering what the odds are of seeing a camel?</div>
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Camels! Apparently wild camels cruising along the mountain ridges is common.<br />
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Cropped. Can you believe that the above picture was taking with an iPhone from a great distance on a moving bus through that bus's window? I cropped this while sitting on the bus and I honestly cannot believe it.<br />
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There it is, the Dead Sea. In Israel they call it the Salt Sea, but everywhere it is spelled in English they call it Dead. I am sure that everyone knows this is Earth's lowest point of elevation on land at 1,338 feet below sea level. At over 1,200 feet deep it is also the deepest hypersaline lake in the world, and has a salinity of 33.7%. (There are other lakes with a higher concentration of salt, but most are in Antarctica where you are not likely to visit.) The math says that the bottom of the Dead Sea is 2,500 feet below sea level, almost a half-mile. Madness.<br />
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Cruising along the banks of the Dead Sea.<br />
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I did my best to get you a Masada sign, but it did not work out as well as I would have hoped. And check out the bus stop. Can you imagine sitting there? This is one hot desert to sit at a bus stop in the middle of nowhere.<br />
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Looking at Masada, which means <i>fortress</i>, you can see why King Herod chose this place to turn into his fortified refuge. King Herod was born in 74 BC in Jericho and he was well-connected and savvy enough to manipulate his way into a throne as the client king for Rome. In other words, this thing the West has done where we invade a country and install a puppet dictator is nothing new.<br />
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Herod was brutal and cruel and corrupt, and he knew a fortified refuge outside Jerusalem would be a good idea for a guy like him. A fortress with royal palace was built atop this mountain between 37 and 31 BC, and sure enough the war that Herod predicted came to be 70 years after he passed away. At the opening of the First Jewish-Roman War in 66 AD, sometimes called The Great Revolt, the Jewish rebels overran the Roman garrison of Judea and the Romans had to retreat and regroup, bringing in troops from surrounding areas. <br />
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During this early period of Jewish success, a group of extremist Jews from Jerusalem known as the Sicarii took Masada in 66, overcoming the Roman garrison stationed there. Unfortunately, when you win a battle against Rome, you are very likely to lose that war. More on the Sciarri next.<br />
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A look at Masada taking the cable car up. <br />
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The Sicarii were Jewish zealots named after the Latin word for <i>dagger-men</i>, because they were known to hide small daggers (or <i>sicae)</i> under their clothes. The Sicarii would go to large public gatherings and sneak up behind Roman soldiers and wealthy Jews and stab them, and then blend back into the crowd. The Sicarii are reported by the historian Josephus to have staged destructive acts to force the Jewish people toward war, including destroying food supplies so that the Judeans would be attack in reprisals. They were true zealots. And, yes, I find it chilling to think how easily a small minority can bring about full-scale war with these tactics. It happens today and it happened two thousand years ago. More to come.<br />
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I was not the only one taking pictures on the ride up. In fact, the earlier picture was taken with me holding my arms at full-length above my head for a clear shot above all the outstretched cameras.<br />
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Back to the story. The Sicarii took Masada early in the conflict. The Romans gathered troops from surrounding territories and re-invaded Judea in the year 70 AD. Negotiations occurred, with the Roman-Jewish historian Josephus mediating, but peace could not be negotiated. Shockingly there are differing accounts of who sabotaged the peace process. <br />
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The Roman army destroyed the Second Temple and this defeat sent the remaining Sicarii to Masada to join their compatriots. At this point the Jewish people were essentially massacred and banished from Jerusalem, only allowed to enter the city once per year on Tisha B'Av to commemorate the destruction of the two Temples. The Jewish people at this point became stateless and scattered throughout the Roman empire, mainly as slaves. From the first century AD on, more Jews have lived outside Judea than inside, even today. This is what people mean when they refer to the <i>diaspora</i>. It means exile.<br />
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Now comes the part of the Masada story I am sure most of us know.<br />
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The walking path up Masada is not what you would call an easy stroll.<br />
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Jordan is THERE. <br />
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Jordan the country, not a guy I met on the bus. As someone who lives in the USA, I always find it novel to look across a body of water and see another nation.<br />
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This is the view of the top of Masada. You would have to imagine it quite differently when people lived here, with wooden structures and even gardens. Back to the history.<br />
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By the year 72 the Romans had taken back control of all Judea except Masada. When it came to taking Masada, they were not exactly in a hurry. They knew how well fortified Masada was, and they wanted to do it right. And it is not like the Sicarii could run raids from Masada or have any influence on the area, since the remaining Jewish people were all enslaved or fled into hiding.<br />
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The Romans set up camps, took their time, and built a ramp up to the top. It made the most sense to do this, so that they would have a true advantage when battle began.<br />
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Members of our group looking down at the ramp that the romans built, stone by stone, to reach the top of Masada.<br />
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A panorama that shows the Roman ramp to the left and our group to the right.</div>
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See it? This 1,939 year old earthen ramp is still recognizable today. This is what the Romans built to capture the last of the Jewish rebels. If you look in the upper right hand corner, you can even see the remains of the Roman camp.<br />
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See the square? That is what remains of the camp of Roman soldiers who came here to finish off the Jewish rebellion.<br />
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This model recreates what Masada looked like at the time it was built, with Herod's palace running down the hill. It was as luxurious as any Roman palace, with hot and cold baths, servants quarters and anything else a king would need.<br />
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The man near the doorway was our guide for the day. As he told the story, he said that when the ramp was completed and the Jews of Masada knew that they were finished, they had a, "genius idea." That idea was choosing suicide over slavery and rape.<br />
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I have a problem with this. I understand this desire to have this heroic imagery that their suicide represented the ultimate rebellion against Rome. But I have to think about it this way. Had every Jew in Roman occupied Judea chosen suicide over imprisonment, slavery, rape, and banishment, would there even be 15 million Jews today? No. The only reason the Jewish people are not forgotten to all but historians, the reason that they exist, is because people chose to survive no matter how difficult or degrading their life was going to be. The only reason this mass suicide can be romanticized is because the contemporaries of the Jews of Masada chose a more difficult path.<br />
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And my criticism of the Sicarii goes further. The people of Judea who chose the arduous route of survival endured centuries of diaspora, forced migrations, inquisitions and a Holocaust, but somehow manage to claim back this land over which they fought three rebellions against the Roman Empire at the Roman Empire's peak of power. From the year 63 AD until 1948 AD, this land was controlled by others and through a series of both awful and amazing events, the Jewish people claimed back this land.<br />
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So... screw this guide calling their mass suicide genius. He should call it what it was, cowardice.<br />
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One more opinion to make some people angry. The Jewish zealots who fought against Roman occupation? Had they accepted Roman occupation and simply waited for Rome to weaken and fall from the inside, what would have happened? They would have lived under the Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and a British Mandate... until they ended up with their own nation again. In this alternate history there is also quite likely no Christianity with its followers pointing the finger at the Jews for killing their savior. In this alternate universe there are also no Arab Israeli wars, because the Jewish people would have never left Judea would have been the majority there for the last two thousand years. The Jewish/Palestinian problem that makes Jerusalem a nasty little piece of humanity would not exist. <br />
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Look at the history of people who lived under Rome and ask yourself what would have been better for Judea and its people? Fighting Rome or waiting it out?<br />
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Okay. Time to leave Masada and head to the Dead Sea. <br />
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That sea is dead, my friends.<br />
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Another Leonardo Hotel lunch buffet in Israel that is edible. Actually, the best dish was the spaghetti and meat sauce.<br />
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We did not come to a hotel on the shore of the Dead Sea to eat. I am proud to say that out of a hundred people or so, several busloads in fact, Barbie and I were the first to head to the locker rooms. The locker rooms felt dirty like a junior high school, but I suppose you do not put much into locker rooms when their sole purpose is to get people near massive amount of salty water.<br />
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There it is, the Dead Sea up close.<br />
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There I am, floating. It was pretty cool. Based on pictures I saw as a kid, I expected to be higher above the surface level. Ah, expectations. It was still pretty cool. The niftiest effect was to jump up and then feel myself get pushed back up much higher and faster than normal, but there is no way to share that in a picture.<br />
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Barbie and one of the ship's crew enjoying the buoyancy.</div>
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A close-up! The good news is that this very nice woman from the ship identified for us today that the Israeli tour buses have air fresheners that blow a horrible perfume into the air. Other passengers were covering their noses with their shirts. We asked to have it turned off and the driver complied. Barbie still feels very sick and I am taking massive amounts of Dayquil to appear close to healthy, but at least we are no longer being assaulted by perfumed air on the bus like we are on the cruise ship.<br />
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On the shore you see salt crystals everywhere.<br />
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Hopefully this picture demonstrates buoyancy. Hands and feet in the air, but head still above water. Try that at home.<br />
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Soon enough we were back on the bus and headed to the port of Ashdod.<br />
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Not a bad sunset.<br />
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The bus ride home was very long, and Barbie and I both sat and listened to music. And then the following song came up in my iPhone's shuffle.<br />
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Yes! The song <i>Israel</i> was played for me, and I got to look over the Israeli countryside while listening to Ween repeat, "Israel, Isreal, is real."<br />
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Then it got interesting.<br />
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The bus took us by large walls with barbed wire and security towers. It was very dark outside, but I tried to get you a picture of it. After all, not many people see this side of Israel. I had hoped to see the wall that Israel has put up between their territory and the West Bank, and I used to iPhone's GPS to learn more.<br />
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According to Google maps I was adjacent to the Shuafat refugee camp. I now regret not being smart enough to make the iPhone snap a picture of the map screen. Boy, a Palestinian refugee camp. That introduces a whole new topic that requires an even more focused two thousand year history lesson to clear up the last century of confusion and bias. I did get pretty involved earlier in the whole <i>the Jewish people got this land back</i> deal. Perhaps I should anger all my Jewish friends by discussing <i>the people who watched an unprecedented influx of immigration into their land and the soon lost their home</i> deal. Nah. I think that one statement was enough for me to kick up the blood pressure of some friends.<br />
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We returned home to our floating hotel, parked at Ashdod. Guess what? The map of Israel that they gave us on the bus shows me that Ashdod is just 8 miles from the Gaza Strip border. Another ugly topic to avoid!<br />
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Barbie feels very sick but joins me atop the ship to dine by the pool.<br />
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Barbie got the escargot starter.<br />
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I started with a soup of some sort.<br />
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Barbie got the lamb chops.<br />
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I got a salmon of some sort.<br />
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See. Food descriptions are much better when I take a picture of the menu.<br />
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Barbie is sick. I am sick, but at least we are finished with Israel before we get even sicker.</div>
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Until tomorrow.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015320491290016603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1782095014939855458.post-22232347601596496742011-10-27T12:46:00.000-07:002012-01-07T19:04:34.658-08:00Byzantine Tour 2011 Day Nine: Jerusalem<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today is very big day. Today marks my first ever vist to Israel. And our second visit this year to Asia. Yes, you read that correctly. Israel is in Asia. You can look it up if you like. Then again, the concept that Europe and Asia are different continents is antiquated in its own right. Look it up. They are really areas of the same land mass. But I am clearly starting too slowly. This morning I woke up off the coast of Israel, a land considered Holy with a capital-H by more than half of the people on this planet.<br />
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After waking up, it is time to look at Israel with my own eyes. <br />
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Hello Israel. As you can see, the port of Ashdod is a commercial port. We are an hour West of Jerusalem, where goods from Europe and even Africa come in container ships to be loaded onto trucks and taken South to Eliat where they can be loaded onto container ships again and taken to East Asia. It amazes me that this saves money, but apparently the fees that they charge container ships to go through the Suez Canal is just high enough to encourage many companies to ship their goods across Israel.<br />
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Breaking the fast. Eggs and fresh fruit. Greatest way in the world to start the day.<br />
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As you can see, there are many busses awaiting the guests of the Crystal Serenity. Actually, on a normal Ashdod visit there would be twice as many. Not sure if I have mentioned it yet but the ship is at half capacity. It often feels like a ghost town, which is good. Anyway... as you can see, when a cruise ship pulls into a container port, every single person has to hop on a bus or into a car. The <i>stroll around the port and into town</i> options are nil.<br />
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We presented our passports and faces to the Israeli border agents who set up shop on the stage where the faux-Vegas shows take place,<br />
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We climbed into our bus for our <i>Jerusalem By Foot </i>excursion<i>. </i>Our first stop was a halfway point between Ashdod port and Jerusalem, where there sits a military museum where they park decommissioned tanks. As you likely know, Israel has been at war for the majority of its existence, and until more recent times it was an actual war of state against state with tanks. Tanks are as important to Israel as horses were to USA's old west.<br />
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This stop is technically a bathroom break. Our young Israeli guide is semi-obsessed with bathroom visits. He announces them as if they are more important than history or sights. I suspect he has had a few elderly tourists literally freak out on him with bathroom desperation.<br />
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There was a long line for the bathroom and I opted to wait. On my way back to the bus, I took pictures of my surroundings.<br />
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My surroundings included this religious Jewish man pissing on a wall. I am truly in the Holy Land. The men in the USA who wear Yarmulkes do not piss in public, because they want to represent a higher standard. In Israel, the religious feel normal and act accordingly.<br />
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Do not worry. I also took pictures of tanks!<br />
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Barbie demonstrates the features on this more recent model tank.<br />
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While yours truly poses with a vintage model tank. (Guest photographer Barbara E. Howard.)<br />
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I know I have some friends who want to see <i>every </i>tank, but you get just two. Back on the bus!<br />
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It took many tries, but I got me a shot that says we are headed to Jerusalem.<br />
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This picture was taken just for my brother. An Israeli Mustang. Enjoy.<br />
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It did not take long to get to the old city of Jerusalem. Soon enough we were winding through the dry, ugly suburbs and then we hit the old city.<br />
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Herod's Gate to the Old City which leads directly into the Muslim Quarter. Now, some of you might be used to my discussing history on the Waste. Fair enough. But Jerusalem... well, its history is ancient, modern, and mythical. And the ancient, modern and mythical all effect each other in every way, on every aspect of Jerusalem's history.<br />
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Allegedly Jerusalem was home to the Jebusite people before 1100 BCE, or 3,100 years ago. According to the Old Testament it was the city of Jebus for a few centuries before the Jews conquered it under King David's leadership. Today I think that we all know that Jerusalem is the most contested city on Earth, with people of varied religions and ethnicities staking a claim to Jerusalem and specifically the Old City.<br />
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Do you want a quick glimpse into why this city is the most contested spot on Earth? Here is the quickest version of the history of who controlled Jerusalem that I can manage. I added some tid-bits now and then if Jerusalem's rulers did anything particularly nasty.<br />
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Pre 1100 BC - Jebusites<br />
1100 BC (approx.) - 600 BC (approx.) - Kingdom of Judea (Jewish)<br />
600 BC (approx.) - 538 BC - Babylonians ("Pagan")<br />
538 BC - 325 BC (approx.) - Persia ("Pagan")<br />
325 BC - 152 BC - Macedonia (Greeks)<br />
152 BC - 63 BC - Hasmonean Kingdom (Jewish) (after the Maccabean victory)<br />
63 BC - 614 AD - Roman & Byzantine Empires (not Christian, then Christian) (Judaism often illegal)<br />
614 AD - 629 AD - Persian Sassanid Empire (Muslim)<br />
629 AD - 638 AD - Byzantine Empire (Christian)<br />
638 AD - 1099 AD - Series of Caliphates (Muslim)<br />
1099 AD - 1187 AD - Crusaders (Christian) (murdered Jews & Muslims)<br />
1187 AD - 1244 AD - Caliphates (Muslim) (allowed Muslims & Jews to return)<br />
1244 AD - 1247 AD - Persian Tartars (Muslim) (murdered Christians & expelled Jews)<br />
1247 AD - 1517 AD - Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt (Muslim)<br />
1517 AD - 1920 AD - Ottoman Empire (Muslim) (much of the Old City was rebuilt)<br />
1920 AD - 1948 AD - United Kingdom (the British, after the Ottoman defeat in WW I)<br />
1948 AD - 1967 AD - international / joint custody between Israel (Jewish) and Jordan (Muslim)<br />
1967 AD to today - Israel (Jewish) (after Israel's big win in the Six-Day War)<br />
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This is not a history paper, and most of the dates can be debated, but that is a basic list of who has controlled the city of Jerusalem. Please join me in assuming that Jerusalem has been under the control of more powers than any other city in history. That list would be <i>longer</i> if I broke up empires and dynasties of similar origins. Sheesh! Is it even a surprise that Jerusalem's Old City is home to four quarters divided among different ethnicities and religions?<br />
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Jerusalem's BYU campus is right THERE. I toss this in for my in-laws.<br />
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The Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, East of the Old City.<br />
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The building with arches to the left is the <i>Basilica of the Agony</i>, or the <i>Church of All Nations</i>. Built on the remains of a Crusades era chapel, it is called the <i>Church of All Nations</i> because any Christian denomination can use the altar in its garden. Yes, <i>All Nations</i> means <i>All Christians</i>. Here. In Jerusalem.<br />
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The gold domed spire you see just above the center of this picture is the Russian Orthodox <i>Church of Maria Magdalene</i>.<br />
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<i>Mary's Tomb</i> is hidden in the trees.<br />
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Turning back to the old city, there sits the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount. To be clear about the politics here, <i>Temple Mount</i> refers to where the Jewish temples of the Kingdom of Judea once sat. You know, were Jesus got mad about the money changers and such. The Muslim claim to this spot is that they believe Muhammad was transported from the Sacred Mosque in Mecca to Al-Aqsa while on his deathbed. Before dying, he was transported during the Night Journey and then he ascended to heaven.<br />
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I have interpretations of all of this, but I am staying pretty quiet here and trying to be factual. This is what people believe.<br />
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The City of David, just South of the Temple Mount, which archeologists have agreed is likely to be where King David established his capital and palace. The Old City of Jerusalem was the area West of the Temple Mount which sat unwalled until Hezekiah, the 14th King of Judah, extended walls around the Old City (again, then it was not the Old City, it was just a suburb) around 700 BC. <br />
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In other words, if you want to imagine what Jerusalem looked like during King David's reign, imagine a temple on the Temple Mount with no permanent structures around it until you came to the walled city a short distance South.<br />
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Accidental self-portrait along the walls of the Old City. <br />
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The Zion Gate to the Old City of Jerusalem. We are going to go South first, to visit some other sites. Ottoman Emperor Suleiman the Magnificent built this gate in 1540. I know that I am being redundant, but I have been around too many people who believed that they were gazing upon ancient Jewish Jerusalem. What you see today is most accurately called a walled Ottoman city. <br />
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Just South of the Zion Gate on Mount Zion you find the Hagia Maria Sion Abbey, formerly called the Abbey of the Dormition. This Protestant Church was built on land that tradition says is the site where the the Virgin Mary died. This land was purchased by German Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1898 so that a Protestant church could be built. In 1899, when the architects were surveying the site and preparing for construction, they discovered the remains of the Byzantine church <i>Hagia Sion</i>. <br />
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In other words, when they were preparing to build this 110 year old church they discovered a 1500 to 1800 year old church beneath the dirt and connected the two.<br />
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The main chapel of the Protestant church.<br />
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The Zodiac signs were on the floor, even though I think we all know that these signs are pre-Christian. That is, of course, <i>my sign</i>.<br />
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You then get to walk down a narrow circular stair to the underground portion of the church.<br />
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In this Byzantine chapel they have erected an altar of sorts for the Virgin Mary.<br />
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A belfry of the Hagia Maria Sion Abbey, shot just the way that I like it.<br />
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We then headed over to the Cenacle, but first...<br />
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A stature of King David. Look closely and you will see his nose has been broken off. This act of vandalism was actually performed by Orthodox Jews who believe that a representation of King David is a graven image and people could be tempted to worship at it. If you break off his nose then apparently nobody would every be tempted to pray to it. But this is the kind of thinking you get around here.<br />
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This room is the <i>Cenacle</i>, the "upper room" where Christian tradition dictates the Last Supper took place. It is built upon the site that 12th century Crusaders identified as the Tomb of King David. Two things. One, it is wisely understood that King David was buried in the City of David we saw earlier, not here. Two, this building was torn down and rebuilt several times, and even if the Last Supper did occur here or near here, this actual building dates from after 1000 AD.<br />
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There is also a Muslim tradition to this site which I do not remember.<br />
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You can be sure of one thing; when a sentence begins with, "tradition dictates," you know that what you are about to hear is false. If it were a true statement, you would not have to begin with, "tradition dictates."<br />
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For example...<br />
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Tradition dictates that both King David of Judea and Jesus of Nazareth played the electric guitar right THERE.<br />
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Time to stroll into the Old City.<br />
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In front of the Zion Gate is a Bar Mitzvah. In Israel Thursday is Bar Mitzvah day, a fact which might have blown some American Jewish minds.<br />
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A bullet hole in the Cold City wall, next to the Zion Gate.<br />
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Dig below street level in the Old City and you find Roman ruins.<br />
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We were strolling through the Jewish Quarter when I saw this woman pulling an olive from this tree. After taking a picture of this stranger, I walked around her to catch up with the group. And it was Didi. I KNEW HER! Barbie and I traveled in a group with Didi through South Africa in 2006. Do you get that? We spent two weeks with nine other people in South Africa five years ago, and today <i>in Jerusalem</i> I take a picture of a random woman reaching up into a tree and it is one of those people! Amazing! What did I do? I shouted, "Barbie! Barbie!" She turned as if something was very wrong, but as soon as she saw Didi she smiled.<br />
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Barbie and Didi reunited.<br />
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I snapped this picture as we walked out of the Jewish Quarter and into the Armenian Quarter. I thought that <i>Guns & Moses</i> was clever enough to include here.<br />
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We exited through the Jaffa Gate on the West side of the Old City, and headed to the bus for lunch. I also took an opportunity to snap a candid of a pretty local.<br />
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Lunch was a buffet at a local Leonardo Hotel. It was not great, but what can you do? One does not hit Jerusalem for the hotel lunch buffets.<br />
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So... you do see a lot of unmitigated hate in Jerusalem. Signs, graffiti and such. The sign above to the left struck me as particularly funny, as it expresses both unmitigated hate and a complete misunderstanding of US history. It features what we might refer to as an insultingly drawn cartoon Native American with the slogan, "Ask ME about land for peace." Ah, Jerusalem. There is no pretending here.<br />
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After lunch we are first headed to the Mount of Olives for a look at the Temple Mount from above.<br />
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Barbie and Herod's Gate, which opens into the Muslim Quarter. .<br />
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Muslim girls on their way home after school.<br />
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There it is. The Temple Mount. One great shot, no? (This was shot with HDR.) In the foreground are Jewish cemeteries. The Jews like to be buried here and pay dearly for it because they believe that the Messiah will come from the Mount of Olives from the East toward the Temple Mount to the West, and that by being buried here they will be among the first to be resurrected. <br />
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The Messiah is also expected to enter the Old City through the Golden Gate, which is the city gate that you cannot see in the center of this picture because the Muslim Ottomans chose to seal it shut early in their 400 year reign here, in 1541. They then placed a Muslim cemetery directly in front of the gate, on that narrow patch you see between those two walls, under the believe that Elijah, who comes before the Messiah, would not be able to pass over the Muslim cemetery and through the Golden Gate. This happens to not follow Jewish law, as they misunderstood that, yes, a Jewish priest such as Elijah is not permitted in a Jewish cemetery, but he would be able to enter a non-Jewish cemetery.<br />
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We live in a world where a great world power has sealed up gates that did not exist when the Old Testament was written and planted a cemetery solely in an effort to prevent another faith's savior from entering a city which, oddly, laid in ruins until they, the Ottomans, rebuilt it.<br />
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I do like the idea that a Messiah, anointed by God, would arrive in Jerusalem and say, "Rats, I cannot go in. Turns out they closed the gate and I cannot use one of the seven open gates. Shucks. It would have been nice to bring about an era of peace, happiness and joy for all humankind, but, hey, the gate is closed."<br />
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Sitting upon the Temple Mount, the Dome of the Rock is probably the most controversial building on the planet. Why? Because around 2.1 billion Christians believe that it has to be torn down and a temple built in its place for Jesus to return, while 1.6 billion Muslims believe that it marks the holy spot where Muhammad ascended to heaven. I do not believe that all 3.6 billion people, more than half the Earth's population, are ready to fight it out over this building or are even that aware of it. But when you have more than half of the world theoretically at odds over one building, things can get dicey. </div>
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Oh! I left out the Jews, right? There are less than 15 million Jews on Earth, but they are pretty unhappy about this building, too. And they happen to have the Israeli army in the neighborhood, which makes it all the more interesting.</div>
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We could literally talk about the Dome of the Rock for hours. Like many things in Jerusalem, there is a lot of emotion around it and very little historical perspective. I just deleted three paragraphs about it, because I decided there is just too much to go into for. Suffice to say that what I was taught growing as a kid ranged from badly biased to patently false, but, hey, in the 1970's the Jews were literally adjusting to the idea of Jewish control of Jerusalem for the first time in nearly 2,000 years. Which is why the idea of partitioning this city is, shall we say, controversial. </div>
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I suppose I will say a little more about this later.</div>
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Atop the Mount of Olives you can pay for a picture atop a camel. The thing about camels is that they <i>always</i> have a look on their face that says, "Seriously? You're serious? You can't be serious?"<br />
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There was also a gift shop atop the Mount of Olives. I kind of wanted to buy the color-shifting clear plastic crucifix. <br />
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This is the Southwest corner of the Temple Mount., with the dome of the al-Aqsa Mosque behind it.<br />
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This area was the Moroccan Quarter until after the Six Day War in 1967, when the Israeli government gave everyone living there a few hours to leave and then demolished it to allow easier access to the Western Wall. But that is what happened in 1967. In 1948, when Jordan took Jerusalem in the Arab Israeli War, they banned Jews from the Western Wall. The 1967 victory and demolishing of the Moroccan neighborhood was a reaction to being banned from the Western Wall for 19 years. Like everything in Jerusalem, you can trace every action and reaction back five hundred years or longer.<br />
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Something to note about the Temple Mount is that it was originally a small peak near Jerusalem, and over millennia it has been added to and added to, wall placed around wall, manmade structure built upon manmade structure. All the significant and powerful monarchs from nearly every kingdom and empire added to The Temple Mount's foundation, so that building atop it could be expanded. These walls represent the foundation on which the Jewish Temples once stood. The First Temple was built by King Solomon in 957 BC and destroyed by the Babylonians 371 years later in 586 BC. The Second Temple was actually built by Zerubbabel, governor of the Persian Province of Judah, in 516 BC and destroyed by the Romans in 586 years later in 70 AD.<br />
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I have to be honest. In all my years being force-fed Jewish history <i>not once</i> was I ever taught that the Second Temple was built under the control of and with cooperation from the Persian Empire. Interesting.<br />
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But I want to add this. <i>Wow</i>. I never thought about it before, but if the whole Jesus thing had caught on earlier, then the Romans would have never destroyed the Second Temple. Far from it. They might have even turned it into a Catholic basilica like they did with the Pantheon of Rome, keeping it in perfect condition to this day. <i>But</i> <i>no. </i>The teachings of Jesus did not catch on until he had been dead for around 300 years, and around 40 years after his death the Romans destroyed the Second Temple. This history stays interesting, because the Romans destroyed the Second Temple to teach a lesson to the Jews like Jesus of Nazareth who wanted to bring an end to the Roman occupation of Judea, and a few hundred years later they were praying to Jesus with great fervor.<br />
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Oh. And in the pic above, <i>way above</i>, you can see the Western and Southern foundation walls of the Temple Mount. Ring a bell? The Western Wall. The Wailing Wall. But that is not that part used for prayer.<br />
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This is the part of the Western Wall used for prayer. Note that this is not a wall of the First or Second Temple, it is the wall of the foundation of the Temple Mount upon which those two temples were built.</div>
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It was very chilly in Jerusalem the moment the sun went down, and Barbie borrowed this teddy bear blanket from our bus driver.<br />
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Israeli Defense Forces. Among the cooler things about the IDF is that, besides being Co-Ed, they have allowed homosexuals to serve openly since 1983. When your army is really needed, you do not care who fights for you. In the USA, where our Army is treated like a political pawn, it is not the same.<br />
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The Western Wall is the most photographed foundation wall in the world.<br />
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Western Wall panorama.<br />
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We walked away from the Western Wall and through corridors into the Muslim Quarter. Why? Time for Via Dolorossa. We chose a walking tour of the Old City that would be a mix of different religions ond cultures. Which means that we now get to walk the path that <i>tradition states</i> was the route taken by Jesus while he carried his cross to his crucifixion. We did not hit every Station of the Cross. <br />
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This is the Fourth Station of the Cross, where <i>tradition states</i> that Jesus encountered his mother.<br />
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Next to station four is a t-shirt vendor who has shirts that promote both peace and hate. Business requires objectivity. The most clever hate shirt is the Google one, that shows the word, "Israel," typed into the Google search field with the result, "Did you mean <b>Palestine?</b>"<br />
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Here is the Fifth Station of the cross, where <i>tradition states</i> that Simon of Cyrene carried the cross for Jesus. <br />
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<i>Tradition states</i> that Jesus rested his hand on that wall and touching it will bring some kind of wonderful, magical outcome.<br />
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Time to skip to Station Nine, the entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. A sepulchre is a tomb or burial chamber. This is where my cynicism grows even greater, because this church was not built until three hundred years after Jesus's death.<br />
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To give you an idea of how uncomfortable the Old City can be, I was tempted but unwilling to pick up that cross there for a picture. Even though I am sure that it sits there for just that purpose, I somehow became sensitive to the 2.6 billion Christians on Earth, even if they are all certain that I am condemned to hell.<br />
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The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which <i>tradition states </i>is built upon Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified. I have been lax on my explanations. Allow me to explain why Via Dolorossa and this church often get a <i>tradition states </i>before them. When the Roman Emperor Constantine I converted to Christianity, he did so as a political move based on the growing popularity of the religion. In 326, he gave his mother Helena, later Saint Helen, unlimited access to the imperial treasury to go on an expedition to the Holy Land in search of Christian relics.<br />
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In other words, the Emperor's mother came to Roman controlled Judea three hundred years after Jesus had lived to create a bunch of myths. Yes, myths. People need myths. Not only had Jesus died three hundred years earlier, but his followers had fled North to modern-day Turkey and Christianity sprang from there. Now, after years of Christians being banished and hunted, the Emperor of the most powerful empire on Earth sent a woman of faith in her late 60's to walk around Jerusalem and its outlying areas and decide where all the stories in the New Testament took place. Because the myths needed a home.<br />
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Today archeologists and researchers argue with these traditions, giving their well-studied explanations for where all of these things more likely took place. But the lost the battle before they even started. Everything is this city is based on <i>tradition</i>, not fact, and is therefore completely unaffected by the presentation of anything contradictory.<br />
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Nun Candid in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.<br />
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The Altar of the Crucifixion inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This might be one of the most meaningful rooms on planet Earth, considering that <i>tradition states</i> that this marks the point where the Son of God died for the sins of mankind.<br />
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<i>Tradition states </i>that this is the Stone of Anointing, where Jesus was laid and prepared for burial. I honestly cannot imagine what the people who come here feel. Not only am I not Christian, but I am filled with the knowledge that Constantine I's mother came here three hundred years after the time of Jesus and established these traditions without facts or research. But if I believed that the Son of God, the Messiah, had come to Earth and been murdered by men and then laid on this stone? My reaction rhymes with Foley Duckling Spit.</div>
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A mosaic on the wall behind the Rock of Cavalry, depicting the events. </div>
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This is where I cannot maintain my respect for tradition. <i>Tradition states</i> that the site where Jesus was crucified was directly above where the Adam's skull was buried. Adam, from the Old Testament.</div>
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Let me be clear. Yes, it is nonsense. But it demonstrates how every tradition does its best to identify itself with and merge with previous traditions. The early Christians wanted to associate Jesus not just with God or King David, but with the man that the Old Testament identified as the first human being ever created by God. </div>
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This is why Jerusalem is what it is today. The followers of Christ had a natural and logical need to have their tradition be built upon the Jewish traditions that existed before. And the followers of Muhammad had a similar need to build theirs upon Jewish and Christian traditions, and that is why all three monotheisms kick and scratch at each other today over this city. </div>
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It was very dark in here, but this is the Rotunda, where in the center you see The Edicule which contains the Holy Sepulchre, or tomb of Jesus where his body was placed and then later discovered empty. <br />
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Looks like a debate, no?<br />
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Exiting the Church of the Holy Sepulchre into twilight.<br />
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Ah, Jerusalem. I finally found some scratched graffiti that captures your essence.<br />
<br />Time to head out of the Old City and toward the bus.<br />
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Some more t-shirts and posters on our way out.<br />
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As always, some funny, some hateful, some both.<br />
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We exited the Jaffa Gate and I snapped a shot in twilight of this citadel.<br />
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Those Ottomans built walls to last, no?<br />
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A shot of Barbie boarding our bus. <br />
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So... Jerusalem. I cannot say that it is a place I <i>enjoyed</i>, but it was an <i>important</i> place to visit. In fact, Jerusalem might be the most unpleasant place I have ever been. I do not doubt that seeing with my own eyes the degree of discord, conflict, and fundamentalism that exists there has some value.<br />
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And, honestly, you have no idea the self-restraint I imposed upon myself typing up this Waste. My thoughts about what we did and saw in Jerusalem could fill a book.<br />
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After a very long day, we returned home.<br />
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And Barbie felt very sick. From the perfumed carpet cleaner on the ship to the perfume on the bus, she has a headache and sinus trouble and things are not looking good.<br />
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She goes to sleep, I go to dinner. And since I will be dining alone...<br />
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I decided to have dinner on the top deck by the Neptune Pool.<br />
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Black bean soup.<br />
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Fillet mignon with mushroom sauce and a baked potato.<br />
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Until tomorrow...</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015320491290016603noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1782095014939855458.post-78052408077447948912011-10-26T19:07:00.000-07:002012-01-03T19:10:49.484-08:00Byzantine Tour 2011 Day Eight: Mediterranean Sea<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today is a <i>Day At Sea</i>. We left Santorini at sundown yesterday and today the ship sails towards Israel, as far East as this Mediterranean will take us, and today truly feels like a day to relax. It is actually a wonderful thing. Imagine travelling around and then, for one day, having a rule that you cannot leave the hotel. No sightseeing, no rushing around, no <i>tasks</i>. A wonderful thing.<br />
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As you might recall we went to bed incredibly early last night, which means that we woke up incredibly early this morning. Which means another...<br />
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Sunrise.<br />
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Barbie gazing at the rising sun.<br />
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Breakfast is a wonderful thing on the Crystal Serenity. <br />
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A very wonderful thing.<br />
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Colossal failure. After breakfast we took the <i>Beginner's Bridge</i> class and I did not take a single picture. I am not sure why. It might have been to respect the privacy of others, but I really should have just done it and made them uncomfortable.<br />
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By the way, we both liked our introduction to bridge and perhaps when we get home we will become serious bridge players. A second lesson comes during our next day at sea.<br />
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Time for lunch! (In my head I actually say the following to remind me of a nephew, "Time for lunchy!"<br />
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I started with the <i>Paste e Fagioli - Italian Bean Soup with Pasta.</i><br />
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Barbie got the <i>Mixed Grill Salad - Assorted Field Greens Tossed in Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette, with Green Beans, Eggplants, and Pomelo, Topped with Grilled Herb-Marinated Chicken Breast, Lamb Chop, Filet Mignon and Shrimp. </i><br />
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I just had to have it. Beef hamburger with blue cheese.<br />
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After lunch we relaxed, Barbie worked, and we might have even watched a DVD. And then... dinner!<br />
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Tonight we dine on the shipboard Ristorante Italiano, Prego.</div>
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To begin, how about dipping some bread into crushed garlic paste?<br />
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Barbie started with <i>King Crabmeat Salad with Avocado and Sicilian Orange.</i><br />
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I started with <i>Prego's Signature Cream Soup of Selected Italian Mushrooms, Served in an Oregano Bread Cup.</i><br />
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Barbie followed with <i>Risotto di "Asparagi." White and Green Asparagus Risotto Served with Fresh Chives.</i><br />
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My main was the <i>Lasagna alla Casalinga. Layers of Fresh Pasta with Ground Meat, Porcini Mushrooms, Tomato, Béchamel and Mozzarella Cheese.</i><br />
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Barbie's main was the <i>Pan Fried Fillet of Branzino. Sauteed Spinach, Eggplant Puree, Melted Baby Heirloom Tomato.</i><br />
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Now, the bad news. See that lovely red carpet? It had just been cleaned and the room smelled of a strong cleanser/perfume combination. It drove Barbie's allergies insane, and she had to leave before dessert. My allergies were starting to kick in as well. Barbie went up to the room, and I ordered dessert to take up to the room.<br />
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Strawberry sorbet in the stateroom.<br />
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Until tomorrow.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015320491290016603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1782095014939855458.post-383134682546224932011-10-25T10:28:00.000-07:002012-01-03T18:36:00.143-08:00Byzantine Tour 2011 Day Seven: Santorini, Greece<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It is day seven of this trip, but it is the first day that we awoke on the sea. This means that while we dined and slept, the Crystal Serenity has brought us to the shore of the Greek island of Santorini. A funny thing about <i>cruising</i> is that when you select the cruise you look at the itinerary and you think, "Want to go there, really want to go there, not sure about there." <br />
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Santorini is one of the <i>really want to go theres.</i> We have always heard great things about it, and today we get to see what the fuss is about. <br />
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And now one of the great things about cruising. The breakfast buffet.<br />
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I like nothing more than waking up and seeing sliced mangos and bacon and a fine young man from the Philippines asking me how I would like my eggs.<br />
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Yours truly enjoying his breakfast. Note the pashmina scarf which Barbie purchased in India earlier this year. It has officially become my favorite piece of clothing during this trip for its softness, versatility, and color.<br />
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Welcome to Santorini, Southernmost of the Greek Cyclades archipelago. I am tempted to mention the plate tectonics and vulcanism that leads to archipelagos like the Hawaiian islands, but you either find that interesting and already know how these things come to be or you do not know and do not care. Suffice to say that this crescent shaped island is the caldera of a dormant volcano that barely rises above sea level. What makes Santorini a little cooler than most is that you absolutely see the shape of the volcano's caldera looking down on it from above.<br />
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This is what it looks like when you build a town on the ridge of a dormant volcano that rises just above sea level.<br />
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A look back at our floating hotel in the morning sun while we take the tender to shore.<br />
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We rode a bus up the ridge to there people actually live, on our way to Oia, the northernmost town on Santorini. Here is something that I did not know. Santorini has a desert climate. Driving across this island is like driving to Vegas, view wise. Except for when you can see the Aegean Sea. Surprisingly not pretty.<br />
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We hopped off the bus and walked through Oia.<br />
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The view from the ridge of Oia. Sure, these people live on a little desert rock with a pretty ugly landscape, but look at the seascape. Not-a-so-bad.<br />
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Barbie and I taking a self-portrait in the Santorini town of Oia.<br />
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Yours truly posing with Oia's church.<br />
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Little Greek bears who did not make the cut and did not get to come home with us. <br />
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Another look at the view. I took <i>a lot</i> of pictures of the view, and they all look pretty much like this.<br />
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Picturesque. The thing about this shot is that the town is beautiful. Stunning almost, right? This is how it looks. But... that is what it looks like when you get this view of it. When you are walking through it, the effect is not the same.<br />
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Full disclosure. We had around an hour to walk around Oia and look at shops and such. There was nothing to see, and after a short stroll and some pictures, we sat down and drank iced tea in the chilly air, looking at the not-so-pretty scenery.<br />
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See, I was not joking. Santorini is literally, technically, actually a desert.<br />
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We finished the tour in the main town of Thira, which is... kind of ugly and crowded. Time for complete honesty. We did not like Santorini and we cannot figure out why some people do. I figure that if you stay at a five star resort here you enjoy the following feeling, "We are on an island between Greece & Turkey and Europe & Africa and we are totally isolated with nothing to do but unwind and relax." If you are like me and want some history and culture and such, this might be a place to avoid.<br />
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Though perhaps I am being too harsh. We are visiting during the Autumn, and Santorini is chilly. Perhaps in the summer it feels like Hawaii, and I certainly appreciate the joy of having nothing to do in Hawaii. But then I am forced to consider that Hawaii is lush and beautiful, while Santorini is a dry, ugly desert.<br />
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The shopping streets of Thira. They sell that junk that tourist towns sell to tourists who want to remember their tour.<br />
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To return to the ship, we needed to walk through Thira to the cable car that will take us from the ridge to the seaside. Along the way, I snapped this picture of our ship through this closed restaurant.<br />
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Honestly, I cannot remember if we had been looking for this little boutique hotel or if we just liked the name, but it is a shot of Barbie doing a <i>colossal point</i> and how could I leave that out?<br />
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We have arrived on the cable car that will take us down to the shore.<br />
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Cable car action shot!<br />
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I took this shot to show you how some people go up the ridge via burrow instead of cable car. And now I see that the woman walking in front of the burrow looks <i>a lot like Barbie.</i><br />
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Right? I know it is the sunglasses, hair and clothes. Maybe she looks nothing like Barbie in person. But if you told me that this picture was Barbie, I would believe you <i>even though</i> Barbie was sitting next to me on a cable car as I took this picture.<br />
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It seemed like a good time to take a self-facing-camera-pic with our ship behind us.<br />
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We stil absolutely <i>love</i> the ironic English-nonsense t-shirts that Asian tourists seem to frequently wear. This one reads, "Tonytony Chopper is a caribou who became a doctor according to ... Hililuk's ... wish." I googled it and it turns out that this makes perfect sense, as these are Anime characters. And if you want to judge Anime (Japanese animation with intricate plots, odd characters and entire mythologies) then I recommend you look at the characters and connections in the beloved Disney cartoons and explain Mickey and Donald and the person dog and the dog dog and so on.</div>
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Confession. For much of our time on Santorini, I was thinking about the poolside burgers that were going to be lunch. Blame Santorini. Had Santorini been more interesting, I would have not been thinking about the food. </div>
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Shipboard lunch! Note that the lower-left burger is my turkey burger with bacon and bleu cheese. If you knew me well, you would know that access to this burger pleases me significantly more than it should.<br />
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We chilled in the room and watched a DVD from the ship's library, and soon enough... another meal. <br />
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My starter, <i>Cream of Cauliflower, with Fried Garbanzo Beans and Rosemary Oil.</i><br />
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Barbie's starter, <i>Palm Hearts, Tomato, Avocado and Endive Cocktail, with Yogurt-Lime Sauce.</i><br />
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My main, <i>Farfalle Paste "al Salsiccia e Ricotta," with Tomato-Basil Sauce, Italian Sausage and Ricotta Cheese. </i><br />
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Barbie had a starter as her main, <i>Steamed Fresh Black Mussels, in Pernod-Flavored Vegetable Beurre Blanc, Served with Toasted Garlic Bread.</i><br />
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Then came a dessert extravaganza. Do not ask us why. Only observe. I cannot name it all, but the top-right is <i>Refreshing Cranberry Sherbet</i> (hers) and the bottom-left is <i>Freshly Frozen Nonfat Cappuccino Yogurt </i>(his).<br />
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After the eats, and some time working and looking around, we spotted a sunset and went as far to the front and top of the ship that we could find.<br />
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To bring you this <i>Sunset On The Aegean</i>.<br />
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We crashed. Hard. Went to sleep. Early.<br />
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Until tomorrow.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015320491290016603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1782095014939855458.post-8340539071428768352011-10-24T09:36:00.000-07:002011-12-29T18:02:19.892-08:00Byzantine Tour 2011 Day Six: Athens to Sea<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today is a day of true transition for this Byzantine Tour, because today we shift from land to sea. Every year I have been more and more enthusiastic about the shipboard portions of our travels, leading up to this trip when I literally could not wait to get on the ship. I think it comes down to the miracle of traveling from city to city in your sleep without moving a single suitcase. It is the hotel that moves.<br />
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And you foodies should be looking forward to seeing the food at sea, because we are cruising on Crystal again and their food is fantastic. I know you love their menus oh so much.<br />
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Our last breakfast on land for nearly two weeks.<br />
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Again, you can do a lot worse than seeing the Parthenon atop the Acropolis while you eat eggs and fruit.</div>
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Next door to the King George Palace Hotel one finds the Grande Bretagne Hotel, which is a Westin. Barbie has arranged a site inspection for us.</div>
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Entering the Grande Bretagne Hotel.<br />
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This is kind of funny. We are staying at the King George Palace Hotel next door, which looks very unimpressive when you enter. Meanwhile, the Grande Bretagne Hotel next door looks like a palace.<br />
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We saw many incredible rooms and suites, but I will not bore you with those pics. We finished up a nice inspection of the hotel, and then we headed back next door to our hotel for a business lunch.<br />
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I started with the <i>Soup of the day.</i> I am pretty sure it was butternut squash. Not sure. (Hey, I take a picture of the menu and then copy the info for you, but when it is a special I got no data to share.)<br />
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Barbie started with the <i>Iceberg salad with smoked salmon and shrimps.</i> (You have to love <i>shrimps</i>.)<br />
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I had the <i>Lamb chops with winter vegetables.</i> (I made that up. It was another special which means, again, no data.)<br />
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Barbie had the <i>Vegetable risotto with parmesan leaves</i> again. (Hey, if you love something, order it again. And she was also being smart and ordering an appetizer for her meal, but then they brought a larger portion which defeated that purpose.)<br />
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I failed the men at this lunch. We were sitting with two lovely young women from an Athens based tour company as well as a lovely lady from the hotel, and I did not take a shot of everyone at the table. You should be angry with me. I need to always do a table panorama. I need to do this. I do not.<br />
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We got our bags and headed to the ship.<br />
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On our way to the car, I grabbed this shot of the smashed marble steps of the King George Palace Hotel. This is all that was harmed during the demonstrations. No idea why the marble was smashed, or if it is being blamed on "paid thugs" or not.<br />
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A quick drive to the port and...<br />
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The Crystal Serenity, our floating hotel for the next twelve days.<br />
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The grand plaza of the Crystal Serenity. You might recall that last year we cruised on Serenity's sister ship, the Crystal Symphony. Therefore we have the odd feeling of having been here before even though we have not been here before. There are slight difference with this sister ship, but not many.<br />
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Our stateroom room. I am strange, I know, because I enter a room like this and think, "We could live in a space this size forever." It is perfectly designed to make the most of all the space, and offers everything that one needs in a home.<br />
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I really, really, really like this shot of Barbie in the stateroom mirror. As you can see, we are all moved into our teeny casa on the sea.<br />
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They made us put on life vests and sit in the theater while they told us that this cruise ship may in fact be a death trap. As you can see, Barbie is more calm about our inevitable watery graves than I am.<br />
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And soon enough, dinner! We were seated at a table with four Brits. A charming married couple and two lovely women who were travelling together. Our lovely dining companions for this cruise have expressed a desire to not be photographed, which means you will never get to see these four lovely grandparents.<br />
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Barbie started with the <i>Baby Spinach Salad; with Creamy Mustard Dressing, Bacon Bits and Boiled Egg.</i><br />
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I started with the <i>Northern Crab Soup; with Brie Cheese</i>.<br />
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For dinner we both had the <i>Roasted Wisconsin Veal Chop; With Rosemary Gravy, Angel Hair Pasta, Wild Mushrooms, and Broccoli.</i><br />
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And for the Bon Voyage dessert...<br />
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I had the <i>Chocolate Ooze Cake a la mode.</i><br />
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Barbie had the <i>Refreshing Orange Sherbet.</i><br />
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Before you knew it, we were asleep.<br />
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Until tomorrow...</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015320491290016603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1782095014939855458.post-2156234035067308702011-10-23T18:15:00.000-07:002011-12-29T09:22:29.482-08:00Byzantine Tour 2011 Day Five: Amalfi to Athens<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We had to wake up <i>crazy early</i> today. How early? In order to get to Napoli in time for our flight to Athens, we had to wake up at six in the morning. <br />
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Remember last night's view? The Mediterranean sunrise is spectacular, and the three masted sailboat still has its lights on.<br />
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The restaurant of the Hotel Santa Caterina is not even open for breakfast yet, but like any respectable five-star they let us know that the person behind the front desk would take care of us.<br />
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The guy behind the front desk disappeared and reappeared with the above tray. Considering the restaurant was closed, I would say he did magnificently for us.<br />
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We loaded into a car for the drive to the Napoli airport. Yes, I am going to stick to calling it Napoli, not Naples. I mean, we just spent two nights in Amalfi, not Amafles.<br />
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We went through many tunnels as we moved between the coastal Italian hills. Whenever driving around Europe and seeing the infrastructure, I am reminded of the grim state of politics back home and the state of our roads, tunnels and bridges. Not a fun thought.<br />
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Do you know how hard it is to get shots like this from a moving car? It is almost an obsession. I sit in that car and I think, "<i>They</i> have to see these signs, too. <i>They</i> have to know what this ride is like." I am certain the drivers consider me a bumpkin at best.<br />
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If I had a list of <i>Surprisingly Good Photos Snapped With One Hand From Moving Cars</i> this would be on it.<br />
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Napoli Airport. Modern and efficient.<br />
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Napoli Airport breakfast snack. Proscuitto and cheese in there. It was quite delicious.<br />
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This Napoli Airport panorama shows all the fascinating modern design elements that they put into play here. Especially those lamps. It is like they want it to feel like a living room, not an airport.<br />
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There sits our itty bitty ride to Athens. <br />
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Greece.<br />
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We landed in Athens. Athina? Αθήνα?<br />
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I quite enjoyed this Athens men's room sign. It is not just a man, it is a man in position to <i>pee</i>.<br />
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Welcome to Athens. Note that crazy Greek alphabet.<br />
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No matter where you go, you will see an Ikea.<br />
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Athina. What is most interesting to me about English speakers calling Athina "Athens" is that we can say the word Athina, or Athena, without difficulty. We say it all the time when discussing Greek mythology. So why did the British mispronounce this city's name? No clue.<br />
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We arrived at our hotel, the King George Palace Hotel. And before you start making assumptions, allow me to clarify two things. <br />
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One, the name of the hotel refers to King George of Greece, not England. He was King of Greece from 1863 to 1913. You know how the Greeks love to brag that they brought the world democracy? Well, they might have tried democracy first, but it is not liked they stuck to it. Feudalism and monarchy ruled this land for centuries like the rest of Europe.<br />
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King George of Greece, with epic moustache.<br />
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Two, the front and lobby of the King George Palace hotel are not <i>palatial</i>. Therefore, no palatial pictures of the lobby of the King George Palace. However, the first thing that we did was go to the rooftop for lunch.<br />
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This is not a bad view for lunch. Above the ugly 70's era buildings with zero style or taste you see one of the most significant structures on this planet. On par with the Pyramids and the Great Wall, the Parthenon of Athens.<br />
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I started playing with this shot on my iPhone while we waited for our order and Barbie sent emails.<br />
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Red-ish.<br />
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Blue-ish.<br />
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Black & white.<br />
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We plan to head up to the Acropolis for the second time in our lives, and there will be more pictures of it then. But think about this. Human beings looked up at that sight two thousand four hundred forty-nine years ago. In case numbers communicate better than words, people looked upon that temple to Athena 2,449 years ago. And for a few years before that they watched it being built.<i> </i>I will never tire of this thought.<br />
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Barbie enjoying her lunch with the Parthenon atop the Acropolis behind her.<br />
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By the way, two days earlier there was a huge crowd demonstrating in that square. The demonstration filled the entire Syntagma Square (that you cannot see) to the right. There is controversy surrounding this demonstration, as a handful of people there became very violent. However, based upon the demonstration's devotion to non-violence, many suspect that the violent protestors were thugs hired by the right wing to tarnish the demonstration. Impossible to say, but I have yet to speak to an Athenian who did not believe that these were hired thugs.<br />
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One thing is for certain, we have nothing to fear. There are well-armed police on a few corners, and besides that, all the Athenians have told us that it truly was peaceful and we would have had nothing to worry about. As a Los Angeleno, I am just glad that they were not demonstrating today as we drove into the city because <i>think of the traffic.</i><br />
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Lunchtime.<br />
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Barbie and I both began with the <i>Risotto with asparagus and parmesan leaves.</i> The words <i>parmesan leaves</i> makes me dream of an actual tree of parmesan. That would be my <i>Giving Tree</i> of choice.<br />
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Barbie had the <i>Grilled salmon with steamed vegetables, wild rice and sauce with avocado, tomato and lemon.</i><br />
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I had the <i>Tagliatelle with chicken in mushroom sauce.</i><br />
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<i>Lemon sorbet.</i><br />
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<i>Raspberry sorbet.</i><br />
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We are meeting a guide later at the Acropolis museum; a guide Barbie has booked for clients before. In the time we have before that meeting, we plan to do a few essentials. <br />
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Step one, Hard Rock Cafe.<br />
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While Barbie purchased her shot glass I admired John Lennon's tie.<br />
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Step two?<br />
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Walk up the Acropolis of Athens.<br />
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The Athenian acropolis is often called The Acropolis, even though it is by no means the only acropolis in Europe or in the world. Acropolis simply means <i>high city</i>, or as we say in English <i>citadel</i>. Back when defending a city was critical to survival, building on high ground was the key. Today a city needs a functioning economy to survive. Perhaps this explains the demonstrations. The survival instinct has shifted from fighting for your life to fighting for your economic life.<br />
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There it is, the Parthenon of Athens. I once heard a college professor describe it as <i>the perfect building</i>. He was referring to the design and dimensions. More pictures to follow.<br />
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The Erechtheum, known for its use of Caryatids for columns. These draped maidens you see are substitutes; the originals are inside the museum today. <br />
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Most of the buildings of the Acropolis were built during the Golden Age of Athens, from 460 BC to 430 BC under Pericles. Between the Peloponnesian and Persian wars, Pericles lead Athens to truly be the educational and cultural center of ancient Greece, and by that, Europe. I refuse to say <i>the world</i>, because in spite of the ethnocentric Euro-American view of the world, there were people living outside of Europe and doing quite well.<br />
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How many pictures can you take of the Parthenon? The answer is clear. You take them until you feel that twinge of embarrassment, then you take a few more, then you stop.<br />
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And you take an HDR shot of the Parthenon.<br />
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A temporarily unfortunate fact about the Parthenon is that due to restoration efforts, less of it is standing today than when we saw it in 2006. They have been slowly taking it apart and then putting it back together, making an effort to accurately place the pieces together as well as replace missing pieces with new pieces that will be clearly marked as replacements. What this means is that the Parthenon will be much, much more beautiful sometime in the future, but today she looks a bit naked and empty. This being Greece, there is no timetable for the restoration. It will take however long it takes.<br />
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Our hotel is right THERE.<br />
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An acropolis panorama.<br />
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Even half empty, you do get a feel for the dimensions and beauty of this building.<br />
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The Propylaea, which simply means <i>entry gate</i>. Every European monumental gate/door owes much to the entry buildings of the Athenian acropolis.<br />
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We strolled down the hill and headed to the Acropolis Museum, which was being built during our last visit. This museum might be the only museum that truly sits in the eye of a geopolitical storm.<br />
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How often is an urban museum also an active archeological dig site?<br />
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The heart on her hoodie is for love. And the stone structures you see date back a few millennia, to the BJ era. (BJ stands for <i>Before Jesus.</i> Trying it out.)<br />
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We have time to kill before meeting our guide, and we spent it in the museum restaurant. Note the view from the restaurant is better than most.<br />
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Since we are in Greece, I got the <i>Greek yogurt with honey and walnuts.</i> Freaking tasty.<br />
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Barbie got a <i>Hamburger and fries.</i><br />
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After we ate we met up with our guide, a cute young man whose name was, I think, Nic.<br />
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We entered the museum and saw many fascinating things. Relics from the Acropolis, restored and beautiful. Examples of the restoration process in progress. But <i>you</i> get to see <i>none</i> of this.<br />
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I suppose the Athenians want you to actually visit Athens in order to see the museum.<br />
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Remember the geopolitical foreshadowing earlier? I really do not want to waste too much on it. It is just a little story about the British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire getting a permit to remove marbles from the Athenian Acropolis and then taking around half of them to London between 1801 and 1812. His name was Thomas Bruce, but his title was Earl of Elgin, and therefore these marbles get called the Elgin Marbles. If half does not sound like a lot, think again. <br />
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Now, this story gets a bit complicated, because the British threw those priceless treasures of antiquity into the British Museum and rightly claimed that they were preserving them better than if the marbles had remained in Athens. True. In fact, many would have likely been destroyed in war or damaged by pollution. (There was a horrible event in 1687 when the Ottomans stored explosives in the Parthenon and the Venetians hit it with a mortar, destroying a large part of the building.) But now that Greece has completed the Acropolis Museum, basically designed to be the ideal home for presenting and preserving the marbles of the Acropolis, the issue has gotten intense. The British do not want to return the marbles, and now the only argument against the return is that someone gave them permission to take them 200 years ago; someone who may not have had the right to grant permission. But if museums get in the habit or returning questionably obtained artifacts every time their country of origin has a good home for them, well, that would start an insane process that would leave many of the world's great museums emptied. And now we get slapped in the fact with the not-so-fun fact that most of the great museums of the world are filled with the spoils of war and theft.<br />
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The geopolitical ramifications of this museum have been addressed. As always with geopolitics, there is no <i>right answer</i> but one. <i>The</i> <i>USA is #1!!!</i><br />
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The Parthenon at night from the front of the Acropolis Museum.<br />
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Barbie and Nic, our highly informative and very enthusiastic guide. I have nothing but respect for those who can walk you through a museum and explain everything that there is to be seen.<br />
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I jumped into this one. It was chilly, if you cannot tell.<br />
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Nic walked us back to our hotel through Plaka, the hip neighborhood of restaurants, bars, and shops. It feels like Los Angeles' Westwood in its prime.<br />
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Graffiti in Plaka. Nic thought it was odd that I took a picture of it. Since most of our time was spent in the museum, he had no idea just how many pictures I tend to take.<br />
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Nearly home, I snapped this picture of Greek parliament. Our hotel is directly to the left. This entire area was filled with protestors just two days ago. I am a little sorry to have missed it. It would have made for a good story. And memorable pictures.<br />
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Until tomorrow.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015320491290016603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1782095014939855458.post-32040582201130040262011-10-22T19:58:00.000-07:002011-12-19T19:51:06.057-08:00Byzantine Tour 2011 Day Four: Amalfi & Positano<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today the agenda is simple. Wake up in Amalfi, ride the boat to Positano for a walk and a hotel inspection, and then return to Amalfi. In other words, a productive day in heaven. Seriously. There is not one bad thing that can be said of living among the small-Italian-fishing-villages-turned-resort-towns-on-the-sea that comprise the Amalfi Coast. <br />
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For centuries, even millennia, people lived and fished in quaint villages nestled in the crevices where hills meet the Mediterranean. Some villages grew in power and size when they began trading with the nearby ports across the sea to Africa, some did not. But their simple geography is what keeps them quaint today. You will soon see exactly what I mean.<br />
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But I referred to this place as heaven, and here is my proof.<br />
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When you wake up, this is what you see. And because we are facing South, for much of the year you can see the sunrise and sunset on the Mediterranean. To once again quote the great Justice Joseph, "Can you do any less?"<br />
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Barbie replies, "No, you cannot do any less."<br />
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Breakfast in the hotel. I was hoping to see the lovely people we met at yesterday's late lunch, and they were there! But I did not take their pictures. I really should have.<br />
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Hotel Santa Caterina plate.<br />
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If we ever have the means, I hope that Barbie and I order custom china with out own logo. O.M.G. Could there someday be <i>Colossal Waste</i> plates and bowls?<br />
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After breakfast we take the hotel's shuttle into town. Amalfi is probably only a ten minute walk, but you saw that narrow, curvy road. Why not wait and take a free ride in a Mercedes minivan? We got off the shuttle in the heart of town and strolled over to buy a ticket to ride on the boat that goes from coastal town to coastal town like a bus.<br />
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Talking about busses, just a few tourist busses visit Amalfi on a Saturday in October.<br />
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Our ride is here. When your "bus" is a "boat" it is going to be a good day. But then I love nothing more than riding on a boat in the sea, as it brings back a childhood spent on my grandparents' boat in Marina del Rey.<br />
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As we pull away from Amalfi, we get a view of that aforementioned geography. How big can this town get? Not any bigger than it is now.<br />
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Our room is right THERE.<br />
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Positano. Not too different from Amalfi. The main difference is that Amalfi is slightly more accessible by road, and has a bit more flat area, which makes Positano more <i>exclusive</i>. Amalfi offers some more <i>affordable</i> options if you know what I mean, while Positano is intentionally <i>less affordable.</i><br />
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But even if Positano is <i>exclusive,</i> it does not mean that you do not get to see a silver haired and shirtless fisherman the moment you walk off the boat and onto Positano's dock.<br />
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Barbie poses with a local statue of a woman holding a seashell to her ear.<br />
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Santa Maria Assunta of Positano. It features a Byzantine icon of a black Madonna inside. Byzantine as in taken from Byzantium.<br />
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This Byzantine Madonna is the perfect moment for me to explain to the few Wasters faithful enough to notice that I switched this trip from <i>Mediterranean Whirlwind </i>to <i>Byzantine Tour. </i>I really did not know what to call this trip, but now that I am Wasting it after being home for a while, I am aware that most everywhere we visited was once part of the Byzantine Empire, which at the time was simply known as the Roman Empire but historians needed to differentiate it from the earlier Roman Empire centered in Rome. Since the Roman Empire that outlasted Rome had its capital in Byzantium, they renamed it the Byzantine Empire. And, of course, Byzantium became Constantinople and then Istanbul, which is where this tour ends. <i>Byzantine Tour 2011 </i>works for me.<br />
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Look closely and you will see a wedding inside Santa Maria Assunta of Positano. That is why I did not walk all the way inside and take pictures. Respect.<br />
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This is my favorite Positano walkway. Positano is all walkways, no cars, until you reach the top.<br />
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Before we could walk around much longer, it was time for our meeting at Positano's most luxe hotel, Il Santo Pietro. Breakfast at Santa Caterina, lunch at Santo Pietro.<br />
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To get to the Hotel Santo Pietro, one must take a taxi. <br />
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This kind of taxi. The words <i>water taxi</i> fill me with joy.<br />
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Just a few minutes from the heart of Positano sits this rock outcropping, and hidden there is one of the world's great hotel. The top arrow is the hotel and the bottom arrow is the dock and pool. Serious.<br />
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Hidden in that dark area is the elevator up to the hotel. Arriving at the Hotel Santo Pietro is an adventure. It makes you feel like a kid.<br />
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The hotel lobby is more like the most lovely, inviting and attractive living room that you have ever walked into.<br />
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And the view from the lobby... I mean come on. <br />
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Look, I have spent an entire life in California, where a view like this is always twenty to thirty minutes away, and still I could not stop taking pictures of this.<br />
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Lunch before work. We shall eat and then we shall have our site inspection.<br />
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This is a twisted panorama of the view from my seat for lunch. There is not much to say.<br />
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The view from my seat taken in a non-twisted non-panoramic manner. Ahead is the lobby.<br />
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This is one of those restaurants where you order and then they immediately bring you a little treat that you did not order, <i>courtesy of the chef</i>. Those are never bad words.</div>
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I began with the <i>Pumpkin soup and "tortelli" stuffed with pears from Angerola. </i>Barbie was not hungry enough for a starter.<br />
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Barbie had for her main, <i>Our hand-made semolina-flour maccheroncelli withblack truffle, salt cod and raw porcini mushrooms shavings.</i><br />
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My main, <i>Caramelized duck breast with white turnips, cinnamon and figs.</i></div>
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Anytime that I eat figs I think of John Gillis, who became a great, professional chef several years <i>after</i> we lived together for a few years. Jerk.</div>
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Barbie finished with <i>Lemon cream with blueberries with crispy Amalfi-lemon pastry and sorbet</i>. Remember, the hills along the Amalfi coast are lined with lemon trees. <br />
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I finished with... that. Somehow I have no picture of the menu for my dessert. Oh well. You will just have to look longingly at that edible hoop and <i>wonder</i>.<br />
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Self portrait. Barely. Check that upper-left silhouette.<br />
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After lunch, we were joined by the hotel's general manager and taken for a site inspection. Normally I only include a picture or two at most, but I am going to assume that most people will never get here, and this hotel is crazy impressive. Therefore, get ready for <i>way too many pictures of a fancy shmancy hotel.</i><br />
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Our first stop was this verandah, where we learned some of the history of <i>Il San Pietro di Positano.</i><br />
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Barbie stands with the hotel manager, while the odd husband never stops walking around taking pictures. He must have thought I was quite mad.<br />
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Leaning over the edge you can see the lounge chairs by the pool, yet you cannot see the seaside pool.<br />
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However, the rooftop pool is easier to photograph.<br />
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To stay in a hotel room such as this... the view is amazing.<br />
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Barbie on the verandah of a Hotel Santo Pietro di Positano suite.<br />
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I have spared you, really. I took around a hundred more pictures of this hotel. Our inspection of the hotel finished with us at the top, where the hotel reaches the road above town. We were given a ride to the top of Positano, from where we will walk down into Positano and hopefully make the next boat back to Amalfi.<br />
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Looking down on Positano from the road above it. This town is technically an enclave in the hills. Enclave is often used inaccurately, but here, well, this is truly an enclave. <br />
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I learned from an internet search that John Steinbeck himself visited this town, and here is his Positano quote. "Positano bites deep. It is a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone."<br />
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For those unfamiliar with novelist-speak, Steinbeck meant, "That place was almost too nice for me, but now I miss it."<br />
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On the ride back to Amalfi, I would like to point out that our room at the Santa Caterina is THERE.<br />
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Back in Amalfi, we took some time to walk through the town. When were here once before, we did not spend more than a few minutes here, opting instead to ride up to the town of Ravello that overlooks Amalfi.<br />
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Amalfi does have a very rich history. Founded in the 6th century, it was a Byzantine vassal until becoming independent in the 7th century. The Amalfi traders made key connections with Islamic ports, and surged ahead of their neighbors on the Italian peninsula when they adopted the rather ingenious concept from the Muslims of using gold coins for trade instead of barter. They wrote a maritime code called the Tavole Amalfitane (Amalfi Tables), a code followed in the Mediterranean for 700 to 800 years. <br />
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In fact, Amalfi was on par with Pisa and Genoa in importance before the rise of Venice as a dominant sea power. Pisa took control of the Amalfi coast in the 1100's, and Amalfi stayed relavent for a few hundred more years until a tsunami destroyed the town in 1343. Six centuries later, in the 1920's, the British aristocracy discovered the beauty of this town and turned it into a holiday destination. <br />
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There. Now you know more than you need to know about Amalfi, Italy.<br />
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Amalfi Cathedral, or Saint Andrew's Cathedral, or Cattedrale di Sant'Andrea, is an eclectic mix of eras and architecture. The facade you are looking at dates from the 1890's, while inside various areas date back as far as the 1200's. We arrived soon before they were about to close, and had to rush by a large group of Japanese tourists. Therefore you do not get to see all the rooms and tombs that we walked through.<br />
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You do get this, the <i>standard from the back of the cathedral</i> shot.<br />
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And, of course, the <i>Barbie lights a candle </i>shot.<br />
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I could not resist reaching over this Asian tourist and taking a picture of her taking a picture.<br />
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Inside the cathedral and outside in the piazza you see representations Saint Andrew. I quite dig his X-shaped crucifix as a change of pace. Yes, I realized that I just said that I <i>dig</i> a crucifix. Listen, you try looking at several hundred ✝-shaped crucifixes and then tell me if it is not refreshing to see an X-shaped crucifix.<br />
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I cannot tell you why this woman sits beneath Saint Andrew, but I can tell you it is likely that she was recently pregnant.<br />
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Can you guess what we did next? Hopped into the minivan back to the hotel, and as Barbie did some work and we began to think about dinner, we went to sleep.<br />
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If you look closely, you can see the three masted sailboat to the right. The owner has lights on all three masts. He <i>wants</i> you to notice them.<br />
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Until tomorrow...</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015320491290016603noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1782095014939855458.post-13411390196641099472011-10-21T08:32:00.000-07:002011-12-09T19:44:56.891-08:00Byzantine Tour 2011 Day Three: Rome to Amalfi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Ah, the elegance of rail travel. The only real item on today's agenda is getting on a train headed to Salerno, where we shall hop into a car and head to Amalfi. But first, breakfast.<br />
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To be honest, getting to breakfast was an ordeal. We tried one, two, three places that were either closed or not serving breakfast. Members of the crew were getting low blood sugar, and the cushion between the time we had to eat and the time we had to leave to the train station was narrowing.<br />
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We ended up walking to the end of Via Venetto, where we have stayed many times and know of a place that serves breakfast. They were closed. As we walked away, praise the praiseworthy, a neighboring restaurant had a sign that said, "Breakfast."<br />
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When you go through kind of an ordeal just to get breakfast, and then the word <i>OK</i> arrives atop your cappuccino, it makes you wonder. <br />
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We made it back to the hotel and soon enough we were headed to the train station.<br />
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A panorama of Roma's Termini train station.<br />
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Remember the ordeal with breakfast? We stood in the station watching our train on the board, waiting for it to be assigned a platform so that we could walk in the correct direction. Soon enough, it was five minutes after the train was meant to leave and still no platform. Ten minutes. Then our train literally disappeared off the board. <br />
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We had to go get in line at customer service, where we learned our train had been cancelled due to a strike. A very nice and helpful young woman used a little PDA and found us a train to Salerno that involved no switching, and she wrote with a ball point pen on our ticket that our train was cancelled and our ticket was now good for this new train.<br />
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And now we have twenty minutes to kill before train number two gets assigned a platform, and we really, really want to sit down.<br />
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Sometimes your order food as chair rental.<br />
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After sitting and enjoying more cappuccinos and croissants, our train's platform was assigned and we headed over to it. Soon enough, we were seated and ready to go.<br />
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Seriously. Am I crazy for referring to <i>the elegance of rail travel</i>? I think not. Rail travel is elegant and relaxing. Look at Barbie. She had nothing but annoyances in her way all morning, yet sitting on a train she is a portrait of elegance.<br />
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Our train car was divided into little rooms, not unlike the European trains you see in movies. (I know that you Americans do not take trains and only see them in movies.) A young man with dark skin came into our little room and sat next to me. It was the three of us with six seats, and we spread out a little. I did my best to smile at him, and he smiled back. When we tried to communicate, he threw out some Spanish, we threw out Italian, and English was a no-go. Finally we understood when he pointed at himself and said, "Tunisian." At this point I became most disappointed in our lack of common language, because there are few countries with a more critical recent history in world events than Tunisia. If we had had any way to communicate, Barbie and I could have learned first hand what a native Tunisian thought of the Arab Spring which was launched from his homeland. What he thinks of dictatorships and the future and yesterday's capture of his neighbor Ghaddafi.<br />
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But we could not speak to each other. At all.<br />
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The young man from Tunisia. He communicated one final way, which was to buy a box of cookies and hold them out to us. Offering to share food is a universal way to show kindness. And that is about as far as we got with the young Tunisian man.<br />
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The train arrived in Salerno, and soon we were tossed into the back of a car for the windy road to Amalfi.<br />
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Look closely. Do not be fooled. This is a narrow, winding road and that is a full-sized tourist bus moving full speed towards us. Just a few feet on either side, my friends. <i>And that is why you do not rent a car and drive yourself</i>.<br />
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The Hotel Santa Caterina, in Amalfi, Italy.<br />
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We were quite hungry, and sat down for lunch soon after arrival. This shot is meant for you to see that my menu has prices while the lady's menu does not. The Hotel Santa Caterina is classy like that.<br />
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Barbie got this amazing <i>Home made Ravioli filled with zucchini and fresh buffalo ricotta cheese in lemon cream sauce. </i>And that crisp up there? Almost solid parmesan.<br />
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For me the <i>Lasagna Napoletana Tradizionale</i>. <br />
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I wanted to show you our simple gorgeous room, with Mediterranean facing balcony.<br />
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The view from our balcony, looking South towards the town of Amalfi.<br />
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The view from our balcony, looking North.<br />
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It was time to be productive, and also time for a distorted panorama or our working in bed. You would not believe this, but our plan to do a thing or two and then have dinner was actually thwarted by sleep. We crashed. Crashed hard. We fell asleep around six o'clock, no joke. Six. That was that. No dinner. Just sleep.<br />
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We woke up around 2 AM, watched some television via Slinbox, and then... back to sleep. Sleep is good.<br />
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See you tomorrow.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015320491290016603noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1782095014939855458.post-35444461962060596642011-10-20T11:51:00.000-07:002011-12-09T19:44:31.536-08:00Byzantine Tour 2011 Day Two: Rome<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The plan was to sleep for as much of the flight to Rome as possible. Sadly, I woke up around half-way there and could not go back to sleep. Not so sadly, the screen in front of me offered around fifty movie titles to choose from, including almost all of the Harry Potter movies. Well... you might know this but I have never read one page of a Harry Potter book nor seen one minute of a Harry Potter movie. My niece learned this fact over the summer and informed that my <i>cool</i> status was revoked until I had seen every Harry Potter movie.<br />
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I watched the first hour, fell back to sleep, then watched the rest when I woke up again. Sure, it was fun to watch. But the most fun part of watching it was knowing that I was going to get to tell the Pottermaniac niece that her uncle had taken her advice to heart.<br />
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Do you remember the hoodie rule? A hoodie must be worn on all flights. It not only keeps you warm, but that hood can be pulled over the eyes to help you sleep. A hoodie is a wonderful thing.<br />
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Another sunrise! This one over France. Two sunrises in two days on two flights. Holy rigatoni.<br />
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Roma, she is greeting us with a rain.<br />
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Welcome to Rome. Welcome? We basically feel that we never left.<br />
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A few dozen people in matching Brazilian flag safari hats. Poetry does exist in the real world if you look for it.<br />
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I confess. I took around a dozen pictures from the car, trying to catch a <i>Roma</i> sign. I never pretend that all the pictures I take are good, but I take enough of them that I am able to present you, the loyal waster, with some quality shots.<br />
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I wanted you to see the rain drenched streets of Rome, and I like this picture best because it shows a few intrepid tourists who care more about sightseeing than staying warm and dry.<br />
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Rome, she is not so prepared for the rain. It was coming down in buckets and there was flooding and terrible traffic. The ride from the airport to the city felt like Los Angeles's 405 at 5:48 PM on a Thursday. And if you live in Los Angeles, you know that is a terrible, terrible thing.<br />
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We arrived at our hotel, the Hotel d'Inghilterra. Yes, that translates to <i>Hotel of England</i>. <br />
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It is always a little annoying to arrive in a city in the morning, knowing full well that the hotel is likely to not have your room ready. I sat at the end of the hall while Barbie did the heavy lifting with the hotel staff.<br />
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Just around the corner from our hotel...<br />
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The Spanish Steps. Now... time for a photographic nerd-out. Look at the above picture. One fact about rainy days is that regular photography loses all detail in the sky, because exposure adjust to the main subjects in your photo and the moisture in the air scatters the light.<br />
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To correct for this problem, and let you see what I see, I chose to use HDR photography. You know, High Dynamic Range imaging that takes the same photo twice at different exposure levels an then merges the two.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span">Voila! How do you like that? Beautiful, no? I take no credit for the magic. All I did was download an app to my iPhone, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=c2Zw994rvo8&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fitunes.apple.com%252Fus%252Fapp%252Fpro-hdr%252Fid347104281%253Fmt%253D8%2526uo%253D4%2526partnerId%253D30" style="color: #829725; text-decoration: none;" target="itunes_store">Pro HDR</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span"> and use it.</span><br />
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I figured I would go deeper on the photonerd scale and show you the two exposures that combined to create the shot above. Yeah. I think this is about the coolest thing, ever.<br />
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Since we had time to kill, and we were hungry, and there sits a McDonald's right next to the Spanish steps...<br />
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How is this for innovation? Have you ever seen this in the USA? I have not. How could our country, the land the birthed super-sizing, not have fast food joints with carts to handle multiple trays and drinks? I may not be able to sleep at night knowing that McDonalds is simply more innovative in Europe.<br />
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MFTW. That means McNuggets For The Win, for those of you too old to dig the acronym.<br />
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A picture of people takings pictures of the Spanish Steps. I am who I am.<br />
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Our room at the Hotel d'Inghilterra. We planned to do a thing or two in Rome today, for tomorrow we hop on a train and head South to Amalfi. Guess what? We laid on that bed in the early afternoon and that was all she wrote. No dinner. Just a few minutes of CNN International's coverage of Ghaddafi's capture and killing (yay) and we slept straight through the evening to the morning.<br />
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See you tomorrow.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015320491290016603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1782095014939855458.post-58110267340019294012011-10-19T09:05:00.000-07:002011-12-09T19:44:39.221-08:00Byzantine Tour 2011 Day One<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Not much to share today. Crystal Cruise line made it so that we <i>just had to</i> bounce around the Mediterranean Sea again. In fact, we have spent enough time on the Mediterranean during the last three years that I believe Barbie and I have earned the right to refer to it as the Romans did, <i> Mare Nostrum; </i>the egotistical moniker for this body of water which meant, literally, <i>Our Sea</i>. The lands encircling the Mediterranean might have featured Egypt and Carthage and Judea and Greece and a host of other cultures, but to the Romans the sea was <i>Ours</i>. Well... millions may live along it but I am sorry to tell them that they are out of luck. The Mediterranean official belongs to us. It is ours now. Mare Nostrum.<br />
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To get to the Mediterranean, of course, we need to fly. Which involved a Six AM flight. Which involves a combination of sleep deprivation followed by long bouts of uncomfortable in-flight sleep. <br />
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And you know what? The airport was crowded at 4:30 AM. Very crowded. But I failed to take a picture of the hundreds of yawning travelers. No, I was a bit to focused on the man at the ticket counter to my right. He had a large, long and thin metal case. I thought, "I wonder what instrument he plays." Then after it had been weighed he set it on the floor and opened it, revealing a very large rifle. I was shocked, and had to whisper to Barbie about it. She asked the ticket agent and apparently you can check a firearm with the TSA and have them load it in the plane's cargo hold. Makes sense. Maybe he is a professional shooter of sorts? A target hitting ace popping ballons with ease like some women of Bangkok?<br />
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Soon enough we were standing in a machine while government agents gazed in awe at our flawless naked bodies, and then to the Delta lounge and then to the plane.<br />
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After take-off, I opened the window shade and caught the sun rising over the Mojave Dessert. A sunrise is never a bad thing. Remember those stories about Stone Age humans not being sure that the sun would rise again the next day? Thinking about that as an adult, I find it impossible to believe. Our species surely came to expect the sun without worry long before we developed tools or even language. Silly, the stories told to kids.<br />
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We landed in Atlanta, where we would be switching to a plane that would launch us to the center of Mare Nostrum, the city of Rome.<br />
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Atlanta is one of those airports where inevitably you have to take the subway from one terminal to another because your connecting flights can <i>never </i>be in the same terminal.<br />
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No joke. I said to Barbie, when we discussed switching planes in Atlanta, "They have Arby's in that airport." Yes, this means that yours truly had Arby's between planes. It was a beautiful thing.<br />
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The intrepid travelers prepare for yet another trip across the Atlantic. <br />
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This will be my living space for nine hours. The plan is to sleep the entire time. When I wake up, it will be tomorrow on another continent.<br />
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Good night!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015320491290016603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1782095014939855458.post-10191154519642938242011-08-19T09:32:00.000-07:002011-09-03T14:50:54.158-07:00Around The World 2011 Day 52: Valencia, SpainToday is a big day. Tomorrow is officially the <i>last day</i> of the Around The World 2011 Tour, but it will be spent at the docks and at the airports and in the taxis that will take us home. Which means that even though tomorrow is technically the last day of the trip, it represents the journey home more than the trip itself. Which makes today feel like the last day, as I said around fifty words ago. <br />
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And it will be spent in... Valencia, Spain.<br />
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And in case you were wondering about our state of mind, the state is positive. Barbie and I have both enjoyed the heck out the last fifty days, but we are also looking forward to things like our home, friends, and family. It is a nice balance, actually. We are looking forward to getting home while also enjoying the last day of the trip, and perhaps even enjoying it more because the comforts of home feel near.<br />
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A Mediterranean sunrise off the coast of Valencia, Spain. You cannot do much better.<br />
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In order to see as much as we can of Valencia, we have signed up for the official excursion <i>The Best of Valencia </i>which involves our waking up as early as we have woken up all summer. And now you know why I was able to take a picture of an actual sunrise.<br />
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The sunrise, his and her breakfast plates, and coffee. I know it is going to be a long day, and I ingested what I felt was an appropriate amount of caffeine.<br />
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Behind that pillar awaits the shuttle bus that will show us the <i>Best of Valencia.</i><br />
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Told ya so. Signs do not lie.<br />
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Time for Valencia trivia; the name <i>Valencia </i>comes from the Latin <i>valentia, </i>meaning strength and valour. In English, the Latin <i>valentia </i>became <i>valiant.</i> The Romans founded Valentia in 137 BC, naming the town after the valiant Roman soldiers who had fought the local Iberians.<br />
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As we drove into town from the docks, I spotted what I thought was a football stadium.<br />
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I took this shot from the shuttle, thinking it would be added to the football stadium photo collection that I shoot for various soccer playing nephews. I soon learned I could have not been less correct.<br />
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I had unwittingly taken a picture of our first stop. You should be able to translate that yourself. Fine. I will be nice to those who cannot remember <i>any</i> High School Spanish. This development is Valencia's City of Arts & Sciences. <br />
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This is an amazing complex of buildings, all designed by local hero architect Santiago Calatrava. From left to right you have an Opera House, the world's largest IMAX theater, the science museum and library, and to the far right an empty multipurpose building that can be used for nearly anything from conventions to celebrity weddings.<br />
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There is currently a dinosaur exhibit, and as you can see this little guy is leaning in to get his kiss from Barbie. We later learned that the dinosaurs around are animatronic. This picture would have been impossible had he been moving around.<br />
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The Music Palace looks like a Star Wars helmet, but as it was designed by an architect who is also an engineer, we were told that it has among the best acoustics in the world. Our guide told us that some world-renowned classical musician (name forgotten) was asked about this building and her referred to it as a Stradivarius.<br />
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Of course, I have learned to take everything guides say with a grain of salt. Or a whole salt shaker. Especially in these secondary cities, where all they do is keep repeating how Madrid and Barcelona have nothing on their hometown. Local pride can interfere with the facts.<br />
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Want to know how inventive this complex was designed? This reflection pool can be emptied and so that this space can turn into...<br />
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...an outdoor concert hall for tens of thousands. (The above is a picture I took of a poster showing an MTV concert festival from February 2010. If you told me that crowd numbered over 100,000, I would believe you. Right-Click it into a new window if you do not believe me.</div>
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This new part of Valencia is simply incredible, and clearly Valencia is either incredibly rich to have built all of this or they are severely in debt for having done so. A few people in our group asked about how it was financed, and the answer from the guide was, "This we cannot say for sure." Uh huh. But I will say this; Valencia's port, where we were docked, reminded me of Hong Kong with its miles of containers. It turns out that Valencia is Spain's most trafficked container port, and handles a great number if Spain's imports and exports. There is a lof money to be made importing the goods that the land-locked capital Madrid requires. And as a manufacturing city, perhaps the Valencianos are not as in debt as we arrogant Americans believed.</div>
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There can be no doubt that the USA is beloved here. There is no way that Burger King did not run focus groups that yielded a positive reaction to the ad campaign, "Gracias America."<br />
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They love us for our fast food. How could they not?<br />
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Soon enough we were in the old part of town.<br />
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The heart of Valencia features marble sidewalks, fountains, and beautiful architecture. I suspect it would be lovely to casually stroll around and sight-see. One of the drawbacks of a shuttle bus tour is that it gives you no time to take in the place.<br />
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We got out of the shuttle bus to visit the Valencia's central market, and I took a picture of this building. I have no idea what it is, but I very much like the architecture. With Muslim, Gothic, and Baroque influences, the architecture of Valencia is noticeably different from the rest of Europe. (Update: By pure coincidence I came across this building online to learn it is Sant Joan del Mercat, built above a Mosque in 1240 and rebuilt in 1592 after a fire.)<br />
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Our guide is taking us to the market to show us both Valencia's huge indoor market and give us a taste test of three levels of Iberian ham, the world-renowned Jamón ibérico.<br />
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This is the largest indoor market I have ever seen. In the center of this picture you might notice the beginnings of a dome. They so adore their market that it has a dome like a cathedral.<br />
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Barbie poses with the Iberian ham of which our guide is quite proud. I will be honest. I tasted all three levels of ham, and my conclusion is that Parma ham is superior. Had I shared this opinion with our guide, he would have either been insulted or lectured me on why Parma ham is inferior. Trust me. And someday go to Parma for at least one day of feasting.<br />
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Valenciano restroom graffiti. <br />
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For the record, Valencia's Mercado Central is one of the largest and oldest indoor market of Europe.<br />
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Time to walk across the street. Why?<br />
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Across the street sits the first mercantile exchange the world ever saw. The Llotja de la Seda (Silk Exchange) began in 1482 and is the first place on Earth where merchants met not to exchange goods in person but instead to write contracts for exchanges too large or complex to be handled by hand. The transition from physical exchanges of goods to contracted exchanges is one of those things that is very easy to take for granted, but should not be. Modern society could not have come to be without it.<br />
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The Llotja de la Seda is also one of Europe's best preserved examples of late Gothic architecture. As you know, I would take Gothic over Baroque any day. It does not try to hard to impress you. It lets the clean lines and beauty of design do the work without throwing a ton of decoration at you in an effort to impress. <br />
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And now... a different topic. Young women. I rarely let you in on this, but there are occasions when we are in foreign cities and attractive young women happen to pass by and on some of these occasions, perhaps many, I take a candid picture.<br />
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Dog Walking Candid, Valencia, Spain, August 2011.<br />
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Now... the reason I shared that is because one of the older men on our tour basically put me to shame. Maybe thirty seconds after I took the above picture, he noticed her and walked right up to her.<br />
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At first she tried to get away, a little put off by his outright asking her to pose for him.<br />
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Then he said something nice to her and she smiled, and posed.<br />
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And this is the picture he took. Frank Greene, you have surpassed me. You, sir, are a master.<br />
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Ahead we see Valencia Cathedral, known formally as the Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady of Valencia. That long name reminds me how in college I referred to my roommate John as <i>Juan Felipe Medrano Capistrano Madrid.</i> If there is one thing people in the USA need to embrace, it is long names that identify previous generations. It is the only way to keep track of who we are in a melting pot.<br />
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There is something quite unique about the Valencia Cathedral. The main sanctuary features two distinct forms of architecture, Gothic and Baroque. Why? It was built in the 1200's in Gothic style, but over the centuries it was constantly added to and remodeled. During the Spanish Civil War, which began in 1936 with a coup by a group of conservative generals that removed the democratically elected government and inserted dictator Francisco Franco in 1939, the cathedral was severely damaged. (Should I mention how two years ago Picasso's <i>Guernica</i> brought up how ruthless this war had been and that the Nazi regime tested their blitzkrieg strategy on behalf of the fascists? Oops. Off track.) In 1972 it was decided that the Valencia Cathedral would be restored, but it had undergone so many decorative changes over the centuries there was a debate about which era to restore it to. They compromised and decided to restore the main hall to its original Gothic state, while restoring everything outside the main hall to their Baroque state.<br />
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The super-decorated front chapel, filled with golden Baroque and Neoclassical elements.<br />
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The main hall, with its unadorned Gothic columns and vaulted ceilings.<br />
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The next thing that makes Valencia Cathedral unique is one of its relics. It is in possession of the Holy Chalice, which <i>might be</i> the actual cup that Jesus drank out of at The Last Supper. <br />
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I promise to not make fun of religion here. Instead, I am making fun of our Valenciano guide. Why? He pointed to this painting from 1570, and its depiction of The Last Supper with a chalice <i>exactly</i> like the one in the adjacent chapel, as factual support for the theory that the golden chalice in the next room was used by Jesus ro enjoy some wine with his friends. Apparently painters whose subjects lived 15 centuries before their time can be relied upon for historical accuracy.<br />
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Let me say this. If everything in the New Testament happened, and happened as described within it, I still have a hard time accepting that the Son of God, who preached beautifully about poverty and salvation, would have been drinking out of a golden cup so big that it had to be lifted with two hands. There. I said my piece.<br />
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The Holy Chalice is THERE.<br />
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This young Valenciano sleeps against the wall during a religious service in the chapel that holds the Holy Chalice. I longed to do a panorama that went from him to the Holy Chalice, but I did not want to be overly rude to the worshippers.<br />
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I should confess to one last piece of bias. Our guide, during his Holy Chalice spiel, referred to the authenticity of the chalice and stated that archeologists had studied it and verified that the chalice is the type used by, "Palestinians at the time of Jesus." This really did floor me. I said nothing, as he had just showed me his cards, but to refer to the people at the Eastern edge of the Mediterranean as Palestinian and not Judean is ridiculous. Jesus lived in Roman occupied Judea and nobody would ever disagree with this fact. This guide might have just made the most ignorant-slash-politically-charged statement I have ever heard. Yep. He lost me right there. I do not need a grain of salt to listen to this man; I need a bag of salt.<br />
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We exited the cathedral and walked around behind it to Our Lady Square, where Barbie spotted a huge Star of David in the Valencia Cathedral's window. She asked the guide about it, and he went on a long explanation of the Old Testament and New Testament and early Christianity, during which she had to interrupt him now and again when he was wrong or made no sense, until finally the guide told her that the Jewish community of Valencia helped to build the cathedral and the Star of David was placed there out of respect. Things were very different for Valencia's Jewish community before the Inquisition.<br />
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I should just be happy that he did not refer to the Star of David as Palestinian.<br />
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Our Lady Square features this fountain which our guide said uses the Roman water system that dates back 2,200 or so. Note that I present these tidbits as <i>our guide said </i>and not as <i>facts</i>.</div>
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Valencia Pedestrian Candid. August 2011. One of the great candid scores of my career. A nun and a pretty Valenciana in a single shot!</div>
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The next and last stop of our tour will be...<br />
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...the Oceanographic Park. This is the largest marine park in Europe. It is part of the new collection of buildings with which our tour began, which is why that architecture should look familiar to you. The complex is almost entirely underground, and the attractive modern buildings such as the entrance before you function simply to bring you to the lower levels where the exhibits can be seen.<br />
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He did not speak English, but his shirt does.<br />
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They have these very large displays of fish made from garbage pulled from the sea. The above fish is made of discarded sandals.<br />
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This fish is made of discarded cans.<br />
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Fascist anti-pollution propaganda displaying how long it takes certain types of garbage to decompose. As if the marine life do not enjoy having water bottles and sandals to playfully swim around for 1,000 years.<br />
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Now, this 1,100,000 square foot complex -- yes, 1.1 million -- takes a full day to see. And the planners of our tour have given us one hour that included getting in and out. It was unanimous. We would go to the sharks, take pictures of the sharks, and then leave.<br />
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There is an amazing effect to these underwater walkways that cannot be captured by a camera. There is an optical illusion above you that make the fish appear to be in the air above your head, as if you could reach up and touch them. </div>
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On the way to see the sharkees I stopped and grabbed some jellyfish shots. I cannot help but call the sharks <i>sharkees</i> because in Hawaii my nephew got a plastic shark and named it <i>Sharky</i> and ever since may brain assigns all sharks that extra vowel sound.<br />
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To get to the sharkees we had to go above ground and then back under. While above, we passed what has to be the world's coolest spherical bird cage.<br />
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These two do not need cages. When I took this, I did not know that some other tourist was pointing at the pelican like that in the upper left corner. This marks the first ever <i>accidental colossal point</i>. The pelicans are THERE.<br />
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Sharkee time.<br />
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Sharkees!<br />
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I honestly put a <i>lot</i> of effort into trying to get a good four-shot animation of a sharkee passing for YOU. I kept adjusting the timer between shots and such. For this one, I apparently turned on a green spotlight effect. Still, it is one of the better sharkee passings that I got.<br />
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People gazing with amazement at sharkees.</div>
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Not as good an animation, but I have it and see no reason to deny you the pleasure of watching these two sharkees swim.<br />
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The last sharkee shot of the day. The truth is that I left off the "ee" several times and had to go back and add them to be loyal to my nephew.<br />
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This shot will mean nothing to people unfamiliar with the Busway in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley, but I found it very interesting that Valencia too has chosen to turn a former train track into a busway. </div>
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You do not know it, but a whole diatribe about mass transit sits in my mind but you have been spared this time around.</div>
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And with that, we returned to the ship for <i>the last time!</i> The next time that we step off of the SeaDream is the last time this visit.</div>
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The last SeaDream lunch; her Pumpkin soup, her Monte Cristo sandwich, his Chicken Satay, and their extra french fries.<br />
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There was some social time by the pool, but everyone on-board had to pack as well. Soon enough came dinnertime, and there was the usual prom-like complexity of who sits where. At our table, which was undoubtedly the <i>cool table</i>, we sat with two of the very coolest couples aboard SeaDream; Jerry & Joan and Ira & Robin.<br />
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From left to right; Jerry, Joan, Ira, and Robin. One of my goals when I am home will be to put some meals on here and keep doing these table panoramas.<br />
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Now... for the final dinner the SeaDream chef has provided a <i>Menu Dégustation. </i>Yes, a fixed menu with but two entrée choices<i>. </i>Daring<i>.</i><br />
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I will just say it in advance; every dish was superb. Absolutely superb. If a restaurant in any city in the world served this meal the place would be booked for weeks if not months.<br />
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First course, L'Oeuf Poule au Caviar Surprise.<br />
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Second course, Steamed Lobster on Marinated King Crab tartar with Orange Dressing and Herb Phyllo Crisp.<br />
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Third course, Cappuccino of Pumpkin Soup with Fresh tarragon and Roasted Pumpkin Seeds.<br />
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Fourth course, Raspberry and Champagne Sorbet. (I am not sure if something this flavorful can truly cleanse the pallet, and am counting it as a course.)<br />
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Barbie's Main course, Pan fried Sea Bass fillet with Grilled Baby Zucchini, Wild Mushroom Risotto and Truffle-Olive Oil Jus.<br />
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My Main course, Chateaubriand of Beef with Gaufrette Napoleon Potato, Green Asparagus and Sauce Pays d'Auge.<br />
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Sixth course, Warmed Morbier Cheese with Carmelised Mix Nuts.<br />
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Dessert course, Earl Grey Tea infused Soufflé with Crème Fraîche Ice Cream.<br />
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There. A seven course meal, each one wonderful.<br />
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I handed the waiter the iPhone for a last table shot that even includes me, but the lighting is just terrible. Still, it is proof that I was not hiding in our cabin.<br />
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A final shot of the moon over the Mediterranean. Tomorrow morning we will wake up in Barcelona and be the first people off the ship, headed to New York and then Los Angeles during one of those 33 hour days that includes 14 hours in the air.<br />
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Until tomorrow...<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015320491290016603noreply@blogger.com0Valencia, Spain39.4702393 -0.376804939.2741203 -0.6926619 39.666358300000006 -0.0609479