Jerusalem is down a third of country from the top.
As we look out to the pier from the ship we can see an armed Israeli soldier. This is a reminder that this is country more or less under siege.

As we head south we pass beaches and settlements to our left and right. Minarets are our first clue, mostly on our left, that those are Palestinian towns. The cities themselves are quite mishmashy….not laid out in any sort of order.

Along the way we see “big gun” monuments or left overs from previous battles.

Lots of big infrastructure being built on the outskirts of Jerusalem. We pass by a extremely large Mormon tabernacle (they are absolutely not allowed to preach or recruit), the Gethsemane Basilica at the foot of the Mount of Olives and the golden onion shaped domes (not sure or can’t remember the name of it) of some other religious house. In the distance we see the Dome of the Rock. Humongous!

We entered Jerusalem at the Dung Gate. It is the lowest. First we walked to the Wailing Wall. People are sticking notes in the cracks in the wall and praying.  The day before some of the gals had said that people were wailing (of course it was the Sabbath.  That may explain the difference).  As we walk along the Via Dolorosa (too fast to buy anything from the vendors. We were annoyed that we couldn’t support the local economy), we pass the 7(?) stations, one place where Jesus is said to have leaned against the wall (it is indented from so many people over the centuries leaning against it as well). From there to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It is built over top of the rock where Jesus’ cross was installed (it’s encased in glass), the slab on which his body was placed, etc. then it was time to go for a beautiful buffet lunch at the Olive Tree Hotel, the crappy souvenir shop and head in back to the ship. Too short of a time to take it all in. We barely scratched the surface. We had gone through the Christian, Jewish and Muslim sections but did not go in any of the other religious places of worship.

Ottoman Empire clear cut everything so trees to speak of except the eucalyptus.  
1882-87… The Zionist started farming first with grapes then made wineries.

There used to be swamps along coast but now there are lots of citrus grown in  what were previously swamps.  They had been drained to the sea. 

7 crops for millennium: grapes, olives, citrus, wheat, 

5% is solar power. Also use recycled waste water… 15% gas 

White chalk then limestone from inland is used for construction. 

8,000,000 population total; 3.5 million in Tel Aviv metropolitan area; 1 mill. In Jerusalem area…although it is the largest city

There are 1.6 million non Jewish in Israel.

65% of water comes from aquifer springs

Chicken farm beside road where we stopped for a bathroom break. Omg was it stinky! It uses solar power & recycled water. Most farming use recycled water. That’s conservation for you!

Walled cities on east of route 6 are Palestinian. The wall (the green line) was built in 1949 when the British gave up their control of the area to Israel. In 1967 Israel took the West Bank from Jordan in a battle that was started by Jordan. In the West Bank there are different areas of control. On the map of Israel the brown colour indicates that it is under full Palestinian ( Arab) control and that you need permission to enter. The wall and fence indicates is under full Palestinian control. The yellow areas on the map is under shared control and the white are Jewish settlements behind the green line.

Palestinians lost jobs in Israel when Palestinian authority took over. They were replaced by foreign workers. Their loss, their choice. The area that the “Palestinians” lived in was previous Jordanian territory but were generally nomads. The name Palestinian is a new invention. It is not a race of people or nationality. The “Palestinians” never had a country.  They are all just Arabs.  Anything to cause trouble (did I say that out loud).

Occupied territories of Jordan became occupied Palestinian territory in ’67. The border with Jordan is 700 km long.

LPR (licence plate recognition) 

  cameras on overpasses ……$6 for private car or $25 for a bus the entire 100 miles. It was built privately for profit. That is one way to get roads and such built.

 In 1982 Jerusalem was united. The Jewish side previously was the west, Muslim was east.

The Dead Sea is 1500′ below sea level and rises to 2000′ above at Jerusalem a …..climb total of 3500 feet in 6 miles. A pretty long and steep hill.

This Is the first time we have had to use show our passports in any if the ports we have been to or will be going to. To get a visitors permit the Israeli border guards want to see you face to face before stamping a card to enter the country. Security is pretty steep. No walking from the ship into town.
Here are some of the notes I took:
One can drive from one end of Israel to other in 6.5 hrs

Egypt signed a peace agreement in 1979. Jordan also signed peace agreement because they wanted access to Mediterranean for shipping.

Haifa with Mt. Carmel in back…green …300,000 people

Oil refinery not nuclear even if it looks like it.

When Iraq was sending scud missiles toward Israel…Haifa actually, all of them ended up in the Mediterranean except one. It landed in the middle of a shopping mall in the middle of the night when no one was around and…..it didn’t explode. It other places, surface to air missiles took down many others throughout the country. It’s hard to imagine being shot at from across the river and further.

Past Menache Mt. Park

30% dessert in Israel is irrigated. They have the most advanced irrigation systems in world. Desalination plants.  Water is very expensive.

10% reduction income tax, mortgage, yadda, yadda to encourage Israelis to move inland.

They are self sufficient in natural gas.

Tel Megiddo, an archaeological site from 7000 yrs to 3000 yrs ago in the fields of Armageddon…a place where 30 cities had been built one on top of each other.

Lots of Eucalyptus trees were planted to suck up swamps. They were brought from Australia. They did not work because their roots go laterally. But….Quinine is made from eucalyptus trees and used in the battle with malaria which was a problem because of the swamps and Mosquitos.

All signage and documents are in Hebrew, Arabic ( both are official language) …..and English

Saul was the first king…he lost battle to Philistines then David rescued the Jews. Sorry missed the rest of the info.

Huge kibbutz!

Fish pools..lots of springs. Very hot…105 f. In shade in July and August

Everything grows here and multiple crops per year. It doesn’t look like it where there is no irrigation. It is just barren.

Mt. Gilboah no trees on the other side of Jordan River 

In ’67 Jordan lost the West Bank, the only fertile section in Jordan….where the Palestinians claiming as their own now.

After 90/97peace agreement, Jordan started to cultivate and learned from Israel.. Narrow strip on other side of river Jordan now feeds all of Jordan.

Qumran….. Dead sea scrolls found in hillside caves…pictures. The story goes that a shepherd boy was missing one of his flock and went looking for it. In one of the caves in the barren and I mean totally barren hills, he found the scrolls.

Half billion gallons of water from Sea of Galilee for yrs and yrs have been taken out, … the lack of rain runoff and snow means less water in Jordan river which in turn means less to the Dead Sea.  They have a problem.

Jericho is under Palestinian control ….oasis in dessert..mountain of temptation antennae

Tamarisk of the desert survive in salt and no water 

We drove by the En Gedi research facility nature reserve where the endangered Ibex roam freely. There was quite a large herd there. They are quite small antelope with curly horns.

 In 25 yrs the Dead Sea has receded from road we were driving on to an incredibly low level. The level drops 1 metre per year. Because the water is receding so much, there are a huge number of sink holes developing every year along its shores. They are hoping that where they have built the hotels for the tourists and where we went in swimming (yes you really do float. You can sit in it like you are in a recliner) that another sink hole doesn’t show up and swallow up the hotels.

Water in Dead Sea is 15 times saltier than waters in oceans

It is 429 metres below sea level

It was 36 C when we left Dead Sea 

Masada is 450 m. above sea level so it’s 879 metres from Masada to the Dead Sea ……..a long way down!!!

The story of Masada is really something. There were 970 jews in Masada. 10,000 romans hammered away at them for several months but it was after the Romans filled in the gully on the back side with the use of their own men and their  

 Jewish captives totalling 15,000, that they could get a battering ram up higher and breached the walls. When the Romans entered Masada they found plenty of food and water (the Jews had devised a method of getting plenty of water so they weren’t dying of hunger and thirst) and that all had committed suicide to avoid being held prisoners and slaves to the Romans.

Tristan name of black bird with yellow on wing

I am home but have not completed my stories.  The wifi on the ship and in Rome was not ideal never mind the fact that we were always so busy that I didn’t have the time to do it all.

Gythion, Greece ……..on the Peloponnese…….a word/place I hadn’t heard of since high school.  It is the original port for Sparta….remember your high school history?.. This was another day that we had to catch a tender to shore.  No tour planned here.  It’s a smallish town about 5000 people.  Not sure when it was first inhabited but most building are from the last 2 centuries.  There is a derelict theatre built in the 1st century.  One thing that is so pretty is seeing all the fish boats lined up around the harbour with the buildings going up the side of the hill.  First thing we noticed when walking along the dock was that they had octopus’ hanging up…..to dry I guess.  We walked along the shore and onto a little peninsula to reach the lighthouse.  Along the way someone pointed out that the fire hydrant had numerous large snails climbing up it…..in search of water???  The word is that Gythion is known for its many beautiful beaches but none were apparent to us.  We found one (not a very good one that was somewhat rocky) and took our first swim in the Mediterranean.  It is so amazing the crystal clearness of the water (not what you would expect) and ……smooth as glass, until we were swimming for a while.  Then for some strange reason, the waves started to pound in???  Was it the result of an earthquake?  This whole area is an earthquake zone.  The town has numerous cafes along the harbour so stopped for a bite on our way back too the ship.  A funny thing someone pointed out…..there was a Greek man working……painting.  

Valetta,Malta.
Oh my God what a beautiful entrance to the harbour. I heard this is an absolutely breathtaking city with its steep, very high walls but until you see it, that means nothing.  The harbour itself has about 5 or 6 finger that extend out from the main part plus it is entirely within the outline of the island.

What a start to my day i’ve had. On returning to the cabin first thing this morning i spilled cappuccino all over the carpet. After breaky, i did it again in almost the same area. I’m getting nervous. Then…….i couldn’t find the room key to get off the boat. Finally i found it and so 3 incident came and went without any serious harm.

Built in 16th century. Immediately it was built as a fortified city.

A former British colony, it got its independence in 1964. The brutish retained a military base i think until it became a republic in ’74.  

Oh oh….they drive on the left. Roads are very narrow and definitely not made for buses. Many times a car coming the other way would have to back up to let us by. Or they would have to alternate pulling off to the side.

Around 5000BC it first became inhabited 

420,000 pop…highest density of population in Europe. There are 1200/square kilometre. 1/3 pop involved with tourism to some degree. Micro chip, tech industries, maintenance for Lufthansa are some of the other means of income in Malta.

Med, prescriptions, hospitalization and university with stipend to residents are all free to the Maltese but they have a 35% tax rate.

Sirocco wind blows in summer.

We also stop by to see the Dingli Cliffs.  True they are steep……straight down but we werent as close to them as i would have liked.

There are 360 churches

Mosta church is the 3rd largest unsupported dome in Europe, built in 1866. It is 60 metres high inside.

All buildings are made from limestone ……a sort of honey colour.

The knights of order of St. John.

Maltese language is a combination of Semitic, English, French and Italian. English is the other official language besides Maltese.

Separation of property by rock wall as in Wales also to prevent erosion in high rains.

Bitra is name of prickly pear liqueur 

Mdina means fortified city, was the former capital… Now it is the cityiof the nobel. Only has 300 residents. They are the only ones that can drive in it. Good thing because there is no place to part and the roads are almost too narrow for even one car to pass by. We entered through Greek’s gate. In the middle ages, all building were only one story. As shown in picture, one was built 1300s then 2nd story added for wedding reception later….i think in the 1700’s.

Hospitality comes from the word hospital… To care for people…..but for men only!

1700 st. Paul’s the most important cathedral of whole island. Patron saint of Malta.

Aleppo pine trees survive the salt spray and with no water.

Rabat…..

60% own homes.

Hopsbizet ..bread, olive oil, tomatoes and capers and or olives…common snack.

4 desalination plants, some springs

Good scuba diving. 

“Attard”…..posh neighbourhood where embassies and the like are. 

From this area we stopped onto a glass blowing factory and shop as well as a filigree shop. Then it was back to the ship for lunch. Food again.

Now i am up on the consierge deck enjoying the sun and pool even if it is blowing like the devil.

I have to saw again, what an awesome, mouth-gaping place this is.  If you ever have the chance…….

I have not been having much success posting pictures but i will try again.

Kephalonia is the name of this Greek island.  It is in the Ionian Sea.  It is gets a lot earthquakes.  Argostoli is capital.  Previous to the 1953 earthquake, the population went from 130,000 to 38,000 population.  I guess the residents decided then that it was a good time to leave.

There are a lot of fish farms where they grow sea bass and sea bream.

British in here in 1809 came. They built a bridge across lagoon at Argostoli that if you an identifying symbol of the city.

Myrtos beach is the most photographed in Europe according to our guide. I have pictures.

When the Venicians were here, lot of the cyprus trees were cut down and used for pier poles in Venice partly i guess, because they don’t rot but mostly because they are perfectly straight.  

Scorpios-Onassis’ island Maria callas lover before Jackie Kennedy

Ithaca 5 largest Ionian island seen off coast.  It was the home of Odysseus

Loggerhead turtles are endangered. The females are 15 yrs old before they reproduce. Of the 50-70 eggs produced, only 1 in 100 survive. While the females nest, the males forage. Apparently 48 males were counted in harbour last year so they are increasing in numbers. Here is the only place males will be found in groups. Usually they go solo.

Monk seal are endangered as well.

Melizzani Lake, one of the reason for this tour, is 40 x 160 metres and 40 feet deep. The water from this lake actually enters from the ocean through “swallow” holes near Argostoli and goes underground till it enters what was a totally underground lake (before the top fell in). It enters as 100% salt water but returns 50% fresh water at Sami, the 3rd largest town on Kefalonia .

The island is made up almost entirely from limestone so it soaks up winter rains into caves. The water returns as springs. Consequently the island is quite green.

 Summer is from May for 5/6 months : 20-22-24C. In May to 28 in June, 30s in July, high 30s in August. Sept into 20s, October about 15 degrees and Jan/February 1-8 deg. They do get some snow. Mt. Enos 11,000′. The lower slopes of the mountain is covered with the Kephalonia fir tree…black Xmas tree.  

Cafenion is the name for local coffee shops where local men gather to talk about politics and whatever.

St. Gerasamus is the patron saint. He became a saint because every time they had to move his grave, his body never decomposed.

The price of gas here is 1.59E / l……a bit higher than ours was when we left. About $2.22 CAD. Yikes!

They grow48 different varieties of grapes

Ravolo is the name of medium/dry white wine.  

The lighthouse on the entrance of Chania harbour was built in 1500s. There quite a lot of ruins all around the old part of the city. It is quite lovely with again, sidewalk cafes around the harbour. It looks much like Venice. Crete, I’ve been told, was heavily bombed by the Germans during the 2nd World War. It is really a pity since this is where much of civilization began and so there is great lose to the ancient buildings. I dont know in which time period they were built but they are ancient. The old city area (we did not go very far afield) is really a shoppers haven. None of us went on any organized tours. I actually spent on a few special fashion pieces. Others bought silver jewelry. After shopping we stopped at one if those lovely harbour-side restaurants, for lunch. Then together 6 of us walked to the nearest beach. It was sandy, had a gradually slope and there was no garbage floating in the water. It was so nice just to cool down for a while in the sea. Actually the weather has not been too hot..,.around 23/24 C …… So not bad. It was a very enjoyable day off the ship. Tomorrow is a sea day and tonight we get to sleep an extra hour. That means we will be back on Rome time… 9 hours ahead of home. 

As I had posted previously, I am off again on another journey….again with the Women’s Travel Meetup.  This time we are traveling to Rome and going on another cruise but this time it is in the Mediterranean…..for 15 days.  Again we are traveling with Oceania but on a larger ship, the Riviera.  She is much larger but still very mush smaller than a lot of the other cruise ships on the seas.  I’ll elaborate on that in a bit. 

Our first leg of the journey was just to Vancouver…..uneventful really.  We had enough time to enjoy a very nice lunch in Milestones.  I started out by being somewhat “good” by having a salad, but oh my what an awesome salad.  We’ll see how long that lasts.  

Next leg was a nine plus hour. Flight with Air France.  A first time flying with them.  It was quite nice.  Food and drinks were included.  It’s rarely that that happens anymore.  Pamela and I sat in the bulkhead seats…..middle seats of middle section (3+4+3 across), so that she had leg room for her 6′ plus frame.  You should see the two of us together.  Mutt and Jeff.  It was again a first for me with no seat in front of us to support the tray.  The tray came out of the arm which cuts down on the width of the seat.  Any narrower and I could not get my wide self into it.  Not for me, the most comfortable arrangement ….especially for a nine plus hour flight.  I have decided, although there is not much chance of getting around if I want to travel to far away lands, that I don’t like those long flights. It’s not that I don’t like flying.  It’s just that it takes to darned long.  This flight, cuz we were flying into time, called for us to sleep.  Just as I finally drifted off, a couple women not far away from us, started talking in very loud voices.  Woke us up for the remainder of the flight to Paris.  Inconsiderate for sure.  Grrrrr!  We arrived in Paris with very little time to change planes.  You know the routine I am sure where you have to hike for miles and miles only to have to go through “border patrol” that has line ups that are a mile and half long and our other flight is already boarding.  Some people are stressing out when there really isn’t a thing you can do about it.  We made it…..probably cuz there was a delay leaving Charles DeGaulle Airport.  Wow, what an ultra modern facility!  Beautiful…….and huge!  The next leg was to Rome airport.  Only 2 hours this time but a long time since getting up in the early morning hours of the day before.  After picking up our luggage, we went walking and walking trying to get to the Best Western shuttle bus.  And then it was waiting for forever for that bus to come and get us.   Incidentally DO Not assume that because it is a “hotel” shuttle that it is free.  Not!  10 Euros times 8 for literally a 5 minute drive. Again some people are getting excited for something that is just a fact of traveling.  Don’t assume anything.  Ask first.  I think by the time we got checked in it was 2 o’clock in the afternoon of the 31st, Sunday.  We are all exhausted but decide we cannot wait for the hotel restaurant to open for dinner at 7 so we all trek into the smallish town area.  There is now the 11 of us.  Shirley and Jim arriving in from Nova Scotia and Jeanette (my roommate) from New York.  They were at the hotel when we arrived.  Our 12 th is still in hospital in Vancouver.  We are sorry that she is there and not here for her and for Pamela (cuz she is having a room all to herself).  At least she doesn’t have to be all alone.  All she has to do is go out the door for the rest of us and her Mom and Jim.  Anyway, we walked into this town that is along side a canal that has lots of fish boats and sailboats tied up.  There was all kinds of nets and all the rest of the gear that is necessary for fishing, all along a sort of malecon.  The street had a whole string of outside, sidewalk cafes.  Not exactly the kind I would envision is like in Paris but nice just the same.  We started out with Prosecco (3 Euros for a small bottle) and food predominately made with fish.  Most everyone enjoyed theirs except me, but then I am not particularly fond of fish.  A few of us bought large bottles of Prosecco to take on board the next day.  Incidentally, Oceania does not mind you bringing on liquor to drink in your stateroom.  Not so for other cruise lines.  This cruise may cost a little more but others nickel and dime you to death for everything especially liquor…..well not exactly nickel and dime. We then headed back to the hotel walking along the canal.  That was nice.  It is not too hot….just nice.  We get back about 6 pm that is like 9am Victoria time but OMG we are all so tired since we basically had not slept for over 24 hours.  I think I crawled into bed at 6:30 and was out like a light.  We had not even bothered to go into Rome at all……just too bagged.

It is now Monday, June 1st….the day we start our cruise.  We get our breakfast included ( good but cold) and mega number of cups of coffee.   Good!  Had to put 2 shots to make a cup but great.  Then it was taking the shuttle ( this we had prepaid so was not a surprise) to Civitevecchia, the port city for Rome.  It was probably at least an hour and a half drive to get there.  We just sailed on through check-in…….not like Rio.  Of course we sort of queue jumped because we had all upgraded to concierge so you then are allowed to do that. 

This ship is very lovely.  The reception/concierge/destinations area and grand staircase is really exquisite and so much larger than the Regatta.  The staterooms are really a whole lot larger as well.  Can you believe 100 square feet larger plus the balcony is bonus.  Marion and Joyce have the room next to Jeanette and myself so we had the room steward open the door that separates the two on the balcony.  We even have a full bathroom with soaker tub and separate shower, granite floors and walls.  Gorgeous!  Because we all upgraded to concierge, we have access to the private deck at the rear of the ship with a thalassotherapy pool, sauna and steam room.  The weight room is huge but I believe it is open to all, upgrade or not.  All this quite posh but maybe not as glamorous as in Vegas style as some of the other ship but then we don’t have to contend with huge populations.  This ship has a maximum passenger quota of 1250…..twice the size of Regatta.

Milazzo on Sicily was our first port of call.  We were tendered in.  The almost entire group of eleven minus one, went on the same excursion.  We head out driving along the coast towards Taomina.  The very mountainous countryside is lovely with masses amounts of bouganvilla and oleander everywhere, mountain top villages (built for protection because they are so high up and of course the vantage point) and beaches in little strips along the coast.  As i said, these villages were built on the top of mountains.  The bus drove a fair way up the hill but then when we got out, we had to take an elevator up I believe 7 floors and then had to walk some more.  This village is absoltely gorgeous beong used as a resort town since the 19th century.  It is so well preserved with outside cafe and bars and lots of shops.  I guess i must have been sleepin when we were told that there was an ancient theatre at this site as well.  I didnt realize until it was too late.  I only got to the gates.  Apparently is it was originally built by the Greeks but then the Romans built atop it.  From there, we went to see a lava river.  We are quite close to Mt. Etna.  Etna is not just one sole peak but many.  If i remember correctly, every time it erupted it made another peak.  When we got to Taomina, we actually could see the top of it but later when we were leaving, it was shrouded in clouds.  Next stop was to a winery.  Needless to say we all purchased.  I would come back here to Sicily.  Leaving later, we sailed through the Messina Straits.  We were in the dining room at the time so didn’t get to see it but from the sounds and jerking of the ship, I would say it was extremely turbulent.  I could see through the windows that it was quite narrow with land close on both sides.  
Kefalonia is the name of our first stop in Greece.  It is an island in the Ionian Sea.  Argostoli is capital.  Previous to 1953 earthquake the population went from 130,000 to 38,000 after.  I guess the residents decided it was a good time to get the heck out of Dodge.  That earthquake devistated most of the islands buildings.  Consequently most all buildings are post 1953.   One thing that they noticed after was that in the case of the churches, what the earthquake did not destroy, the bells in the bell towers did.  As a result when rebuilding, the bell towers are separate.  

It seems that they are building fish farms all over the world including here where they breed sea bass and sea bream.  Apparently the fish stocks had been depleated before so  I guess there was no lose to their wild fish.  It is a big source of income here as are bees and thyme flavoured honey.  Not much else is a money maker for this area besides tourism.

This area is very mountainous but really not all that high.  Maximum 1100 metres on Mt. Eons.  The lower sides of the mountain have trees growing that they call Kefalonia Firs.  They are quite dark so they call the mountain the black mountain.  You also see a lot of Cyprus trees.  The Venicians used to strip all the branches and cut them to use as the poles to tie up the gondolas to because they are absolutely straight and probably resistent to decay.

British in 1809 came … Built bridge across lagoon at Argostoli 

Myrtos beach most photographed

Sami town 3th largest 

Scorpios is the name of Onassis’ island.  Maria Callas his previous lover before Jackie Kennedy, lived here.

Ithaca 5 largest Ionian island seen off coast home of Odysseus

Loggerhead turtle 15 yrs before reproducing 50-70 eggs endangered only 1 in 100 survive…males forage. 48 males in harbour last year. Only place males will be in groups

Monk seal endangered as well

40 x 160 metres -Melazzani lake 39 actually

40 feet deep- salt water fed but returns almost totally fresh water

Through the swallow holes near argostoli und3rground to melisma I lake to littl3 lake then to ocean again at Sami from 100% salt water to 50% fresh
Limestone based so soak up winter water in caves so sprout springs

 Summer may to 5/6 months : 20-22-24 to 28 in June 30 in July 30 in August sept into 20s October 15 jan/February 1-8 deg. Some snow 

.kephalonia fir tree…black Xmas tree

Cafenion local coffee shop where locals gather

Mt. Enos 11,000′

St. Gerasamus patron saint—body never decomposes

1.59E / l.
48 different varieties of grapes

Ravolo med. dry white wine

The bulk of Turkey is in Anatolia which is in Asia. The other is Marmara (around Istambul and the Bosporus). That is considered Europe. The population of Alanya today is 200,000 but 30 yrs ago it was only 30,000. Then tourism started.
It really very nice here….some place that a lot of us would like to come back to for an extended stay. The hotels are huge, look quite luxurious as we drove by. We were told they cost $150-200 US dollars per night if you walk in but much cheaper if you get a package with air….through a travel agent. There are 600,000 hotel beds with 11 million visitors per year in Alanya with 100% occupation in high season and 65% capacity in off season. 30 million tourists come to Turkey per year so you can see it is big business here. Part of the reason no doubt is that they get over 300 days of sunshine. Alanya is situated on the south side of Turkey backed by an 1800 metre mountain range…..the Taurus Range and the Mediterranean Sea.  

Because of the abundance of sunshine they get 3 harvest per year.
Turkey is 90% islamic …….most of balance are Christian Orthodox with 2% being Jewish. There are 9 million Kurds out of 78 million population. 2% are nomads. Education is mandatory to all at 6/7 except the nomadics.  The Turks originally were from middle Asia around Afghanistan.
We left Alanya for Side which is pronounced like Sidae. ……means pomegranate.  Side has been in existence since the 7th century BC…..the population of the area is 130,000 now.
Oh my! This is the best ruins i have ever seen. It is a theatre built in the 2nd century AD. It is partly built in the Greek style with Roman part being added later. Stones and seat are all marble, building is sandstone and conglomerate. I will send pictures. It is just amazing! 
From there we went to see the Damlatas Cave where Cleopatra reportedly would slip away down to swim in the sea. The stalactites and stalagmites are really quite something……actually even though covering a smaller area, are much better than the ones that i saw in Barbados earlier this year.  
It was then back to the ship to get some lunch and decide what to do for the rest of the time here is port.   Joyce, Jeanette and myself took a taxi to Kleopatra (yes that is the correct spelling) Beach, went swimming for a bit. The Mediterranean is so absolutely crystal clear and turquoise (although not quite like some of the places in the Caribbean). It, in my mind, is quite surprising how clear it is although there was quite a lot of floating debris. We then returned to the ship for happy hour and sail away.
The fort walls and forts up the hills in Alanya are awe inspiring. Alanya Castle is obviously a landmark of the city, as it is seen basically from every point. The castle walls date back to the 13th century and are built on top of Byzantine fortifications. The walls are 6.5 km long and include 140 towers, including the most famous Red Tower. These castle walls aparently  are 250 metres high. This land was given to Cleopatra by Mark Antony.  The shipyards are from roman period.  The beaches with loungers and umbrellas, party boats in the style of pirate ships plus other pleasure crafts in the bay, are from this period.  All in all …….wow! Myself and a lot of the others, feel that they would love to come back here for a longer more in depth visit. It is amazing to all of us that we had never heard of this place before. Another thing to note is that German is widely spoken here as well as English and of course Turkish. There used to be lots of Russians that would come here up until last year but don’t now because their economy since the Ukraine invasion has made it unaffordable to them.  
Beautiful! I would recommend a visit to Alanya and surrounding area.

Well it seems that my blog has disappeared. I had been entering little bits and pieces as I go along because there doesn’t seem to be enough time to write, complete and send…… even if we have “unlimited wifi”. So sorry. And so i will start again.  I will send as i complete each of the days…even if it is a week late.

The flight to Vancouver was short and uneventful as one would expect.  The next leg was to Paris France on Air France.  This is a first for me.  We were fed….that is unsual in this age of flying and we got free beverages as well.  Whohoo!  Nice service, nice plane!  Because we were flying into time, this was a good time to try to sleep.  Just as i /we were drifting off, two women started a conversation talking very loudly.  Well that was the end of that.  We arrived pretty much on time only i guess two hours is not enough time to walk the mile and a half to clear boarder control, then to get to our connecting flight to Rome.  We were already supposted to be boarding and we hadn’t got through the immigration checkpoint so a few were getting anxious.  But….we did make it.  We arrive into Rome airport only to have to walk again ….to the end of the pick up section.  (As many of you are aware, my knees are not very good these days).  That was where we were to catch a shuttle to our hotel.  Waiting, waiting then finally.  When we arrived at the hotel, my roomate Jeanette was there having arrived from New York, and Shirley and Jim from Nova Scotia.  We were also missing on  of our planned 12.  She ended up in hospital.  We don’t know what got her there except extreme pain.  We were so tired and hungry by the time we get to our rooms (its 3 pm and the restaurant doesnt open until 7) so we just walked into the little village/town near the airport to get some food and drink.  It was quite nice with a canal along the street with a sort of “malecon” and sidewalk cafes….the only places that were open at this hour of the afternoon.  You know they close for the afternoon and don’t reopen until 7 pm.  After arriving back at the hotel, although we had originally planned to go into Rome and do the hop-on hop-off bus, none of us made it.  It was straight to sleep by about 6:30 Rome time.  We had all been up since the early morning hours of the day before.

Next morning it was breakfast included at the hotel and then the shuttle (pre-paid) was to pick us up to take us the 90 minute drive to Civetevecchia port.  Upon checking out we were all quite surprised to find that the shuttle from the airport, was not free even though it was a hotel shuttle.  I guess we should have check that one out before.  Never assume anything.

We boarded the ship with absolute speed……yeah!  Unlike in Rio.  Maybe it was the upgrade that we could queue jump.  That is nice.  The ship Riviera is gorgeous….much bigger and grander than the Regatta although no where near the size of alot of the ships out there.  The staterooms are huge and the balcony is so nice.  We even have a full sized bath tub and seperate shower.  Jeanette and i are right next to Joyce and Marion so we get the steward to open the door between the two balconies.  Pam and Shirley and Jim are doing the same.  Right away we run into Fausto from Honduras who was on the Regatta with us.  It was like running into old friends.

I am going to send this off before i lose it and then go in search of the rest of the gals and Jim. 

   Mediterranean.  Here I am waiting at the airport in Victoria with Pamela, Marion and Joyce.  Gerry, Margrit, Janet and Jean have already on their way to Vancouver.  Pam’s mom and Jim are coming from Nova Scotia, my roommate Jeanette is coming from New York and one of our travel buddies Sherry couldn’t make it.  I am sooooo excited!!!

I will post more later as it happens.