Did You Hear The One About the Turks?

When we were in Istanbul a week ago, we told Janset, our wonderful guide, that we would be back in Turkey in a week.  She asked where and when we told her Trabzon, she scoffed and said, "There is nothing there!  Why go there?  In fact, when we Turks in Istanbul talk about the Turks along the north shore of Turkey, we talk of them like you do about Poles in the states. You know,  how many north shore Turks does it take..."  So we promptly cancelled our planned tour of Trabzon!

As an aside, when it come to Turkey, the southern part is along the Aegean Sea and is jammed with resorts.  A couple who were traveling all over Turkey told us about a hotel called the Palace, newly opened, that was so over the top they were breathless, and it was built by a Russian oligarch.  When it was opened, lots of movie stars flew there to enjoy the opulence and over the top taste!  The west is the most cultured and cosmopolitan; the southwest is where all the Roman antiquities are located and where all the olive orchards and fruit orchards are located, and the south eastern area is where the Kurds are located.

Back to Trabzon.  there were two tours offered here.  One was to a monastery carved into the side of a hill on the top of a mountain.  It included 1400 steps up.  That's right. 1,400!  And no handrails, very narrow, and they admitted, dangerous.  No thanks.  I was a bit intimidated as some of the 70 and 80 year olds opted to climb up the hill!  Good for them!

Trabzon was founded i the 7th century b.c. and was taken over by the Ottomans in 1461.  It was noted for being an important trade port.  Suleyman the Magnificent (the one whose wife killed off her rival wives' sons!) was born here.  And Ataturk summered here also.  That's about it for Trabzon.

So now we are off to sail through the Dardanelles, also called the Hellespont in ancient literature, and back into the Aegean Sea, where we explore some of the Greek Islands before landing in Athens!

I am all prepared to get some Greek dirt for Joanie as well as her brother, so they can celebrate their heritage!  And now I'm excited because we just engaged a private guide and driver for Egypt.  We don't need to go 12 hours to Cairo -- we go there, spend a night at the Four Seasons, tour another day and they will bring us back to the ship!!  We figure we will never get an opportunity to see Egypt again, so do it right this time!!