Blogs from Izmir, Aegean, Turkey, Middle East

We only sailed 69 nautical miles last night, at an average speed of seven knots, to reach Izmir in Turkey. This is the port offering a day trip to Ephesus for those passengers wanting to see the wonderful Roman ruins at Ephesus. Since we have already visited Ephesus not just once, but twice, we were happy to have a relaxing day just mooching around Izmir. After breakfast we disembarked and walked all the way along the waterfront into the historic centre of Izmir. It was quite a hike as the cruise ships share the cargo terminal that is a long way out of town. It is a lovely and flat 'green' walk along the waterfront with well-maintained lawn and gardens the whole way. And when I say well-maintained I mean it - we saw a guy ... read more

An amazing gondola ride to Pergamum...similar to getting to the top of Aspen Mountain! It must have been a tortuous walk or cart ride. A bit of haze makes it impossible to see the Aegean but we know it's there. Asclepieum was serene and afforded a lovely view of the acropolis. Izmir seems huge and the hotel, very hi-tech. And...in modern Turkey, Pergamum is now Bergama so I've included a photo of rugs from that region, the home of Galen!... read more

On the bus to Fethiye September 3, 2014 There is no doubt that Ephesus is absolutely stunning. The Turks with support from an Institute in Vienna and US money have been able to reconstruct some spectacular 2000 year old buildings. We could get there via a pleasant 30 minute back country walk from our hostel. With the help an audio guide and guidebook we spent a happy four and half hours touring the ruins. It was an interesting comparison to Teos, a much smaller city with much less excavation and reconstruction. At one point we saw ourselves about to be engulf by a tidal wave of cruise ship groups (nearby Kusadesi is the fourth most popular stop for cruise ships in the Mediterranean). We did just what you do in the sea: we ducked down in ... read more

The old Turk reeled in a flailing, silver-gray fish from the clear-blue Aegean water. Three cats waited behind him patiently. The rising sun tracing feline heads in wispy golden-hued halos. Unfortunately for kitty this fisherman had other plans. He stowed his fresh-caught lunch in a Styrofoam cooler strapped to his bike. No worries. There were dozens of women fanning out along the sea-side promenade, filling water bowls and distributing food amongst Izmir's furry denizens. We pulled out of Canakkale on an early morning. The night before we had shared a last meal with Hatice and Neuraz on the waterfront. We will miss them greatly. They showed us every kindness they could, assuring that our time in Turkey was as pleasant as possible. It worked, as Canakkale is now permanently etched into our 'Gotta Go Back There' ... read more

Welcome back to the chronicles of Eric, the Turkish Traveler! This little story is about our new home that we recently purchased in sunny Izmir. Come fly with me as I take you on a digital tour of our new bird’s nest, perched atop what the locals here call, “The Twin Towers of Izmir.” A Change of Scenery Well, it’s been just a little over one year now that we've been living in Izmir (can you believe it?) and we were definitely ready to move out of our old place and find a fresh change of scenery. Our old apartment building was exactly that – old! It felt and looked like it was built during the Ottoman Empire. The building was wedged in the middle of four other buildings of equal height – one on each ... read more