May 6th: Istanbul, Crowne Plaza Old City
Our breakfast buffet at the hotel was rather nice (bad scrambled eggs thru out trip, decent coffee) big, beautiful breakfast room. We also used the pool in the hotel one afternoon and it was excellent, decent locker room, only you do have to walk thru the hotel lobby to get there.
We took the tram from the hotel ( turn Left onto Fethibey, Left onto Divo Yolo, buy token 1.4TL at the bookstore across the street right by the university) We took the tram to the Sultanhamt stop: across the park is the fabulous view of the Blue Mosque. It's like seeing the Cinderella Palace at Disneyworld, it looks so beautiful but unreal. But there, you can go in! I actually choked up.
We did go to the Basilica Cistern first: interesting and make sure to see the Medusa heads in the left corner area. then walked to the Topkapi Palace, as we wouldn't be seeing it with the tour. ABSOLUTELY worth a visit, and make sure to include the Harem, which is extra. We ended up being part of the show, I think, for large groups of schoolkids there that day who wanted to practice their English "Where are you from? Hello! What is your name?" One of the interesting areas of the tour is a type of shrine area with information about Islam, and the Kabaa in Saudi Arabia. Large numbers of women in the full burka, who I was told later by Omar are generally not Turkish, but Arabic.
The Harem costs and extra 15 TL each, about $9 US, but worth it.
Walked down the street past Hagia Sophia to the park in front of the Blue Mosque: I had bought the DK witness book and actually tore out the map page for this area and found it very helpful in navigating. Also Rick Steve's book has a good map and great description of this area, especially the Palace. the best photos of the BM are from that park with the fountain. Remember that the mosques are Camii when you ask for directions, and I wrote out a little 3 x 5 card with basic phrases that I proceeded to butcher. Merhaba: Hello, please = lutfen, yes= evet, and the one I tried alot that I seemed to be the worst at, Thank You= tesekkur or cok tesekkur ederim. but I think people appreciated the effort, most people spoke some english or worked with you on communicating. Everyone was friendly to us. I did notice that people would walk in front of you in line, at first I thought it was a male/female thing (this is definitely a male dominated place) then I noticed women did it too and Omar told us that "Turks don't like to stand in line..." well, I was on vacation, so I just didn't let it bother me. I also learned "Ah-yuhp!" which is what you say if a man makes unwanted passes or inappropriate comments but I didn't really get the situation to use it, darn it all!

We skipped the Hagia Sophia for now as we would see it with the tour. Did go in the Blue Mosque and I'm glad we did as it was quite beautiful. you do remove your shoes, they have bags for them, and I covered my hair as I found it respectful.. but I noticed some tourist females didn't and no one said anything. But they are adamant about the shoes, and I can understand why, the mosques are beautifully carpeted, and men pray on the carpet and touch their head to the floor. We also visited a small building right by the Blue mosque that was the tomb of a Sultan (I think the one who built the mosque and it was very interesting and beautiful tiling, worth stopping by)
You do hear the calls to prayer by the muezzin 5 times a day... especially since the hotel is right across from the tulip mosque. They go by the rotation of the earth, I think, and change times a little each day....Imasak 3:30a
Gunes 5:42a, Ogle 1:12p, Ikindi 5:07p, Aksen 8:21p, and Yales 10p. It was haunting to hear one muezzin start up and others echo the call. I would wake up and think, "That's right, I'm in Istanbul!" My Mom loved it.
May 7th We did Rick Steves's "Old town Back Streets Walk" today. Wandered our way up the street to Mosque of Suleyman the Magnificent which is under renovation, but you can see the grounds and go inside the mosque. It must be beautiful when fully open. the grounds are nice, and we bought a few small bags, charms against the evil eye and postcards at the street shop outside the mosque. The white marble tombstones in the courtyard outside the tompb of Suleyman and Roxanna were closed while we were there but the graveyard was pretty to walk thru.
Wandered thru the "kitchen" selling area downhill (some tough walking) to Rustem Pasa Mosque in the busy market. Saw the mosque before the "Ogla" prayer time, and then sat outside and watched the men wander in for prayer. Very interesting to see.
We were by the spice market looking for a WC for my mom to use in Eminonii Square, and were directed upstairs to a resturant Hamdi: very clean and beautiful restaurant, we stayed and had tea, and soup. they served us water from a big bottle and then at the end of the meal said "take the rest!" great view of Galata bridge and the new mosque right next door. I would recommend it! We had 2 lentil soup, water and tea for about $9.60 US total.
Visited the new mosque but didn't realize the spice market was right there. Walked over to the waterside and got a fish sandwich from the boats selling them and then walked across the Galata bridge to the tram. I had to laugh out loud: I was approached by a man who claimed he was a New Yorker who had been robbed, asking for money. I had read about it on this board so I knew the scam immediately. Plus, I know New York accents and this wasn't it! I just told him to cancel his credit cards and go to the US consulate.I was laughing, and He walked right away.
Hopped on the tram after some confusion on my part of where to buy the token (you go under the street where there is a walkway and buy it there)and what direction to take back to the city. We found the tram very easy to take.
had our meet and great with only 4 of us and Omar Ucar, our guide for Istanbul. He was excellent, easy to ask questions of, and a fountain of knowledge on early Christian history in Turkey as well as Islam history. the man should be teaching in the university.
May 8: 9a departure for city tour. make sure to check out the turkish delight candy by the cereal in the hotel to try it. We did buy baklava and water around the corner from the hotel (Left out front door to the light, left at the light, about 1/2 block down)
Went to Aya Sophia, which means Divine Wisdom, there is no St. Sophia that this is named after. Facinating history as an early Christian church, how the church split between those who followed the Pope in Rome and those who became Greek Orthodox and the rise of the Ottoman empire. I do wish we had had more time here.
Walked thru the Hippodrome area and then to a carpet store for a demo. interesting to see the carpets without pressure and some are stunningly beautiful, espeically the silk on silk. expensive though. The small silk ones were $1700.
On to the Bazaar... we bought plates at one shop and that's really all we had time for. I'm not great at bargaining but I think we did ok after I priced plates later.
we went back to the hotel, and for lunch Mom and I went to a kebob place that Omar recommended: very good, although the kebob was a bit salty. We split a plate.
The included highlight dinner was that night: left at 6:30 to the water front (didn't realize we were so close to the water) excellent dinner: hot and cold appetizers, stuffed grape leaves,salad, beans, calamari, puff pastry with fish. The main entree is fish with the head and tail on: the fish is excellent. A fruit and banana crepe for dessert and apple tea (which is really very good) real tea, nescafe or Turkish coffee.. I guess you tell them how much sugar to put in as they make it. I tried the Turkish coffee and loved it. Mom was developing a taste for the apple tea.
I had asked if we could drive by the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia at night, which Omar did: we got our for photos, really magic to see lit up at night.

May 9th: forgot to mention, our weather had been perfect, needed a sweater in the am or eve, but sunny and warm in the afternoon.
We visited the spice market right by the new Mosque (that we had missed the other day) I also forgot to mention some of the great photos of the city from the galata bridge itself with both the Rustem Pasa and New mosque in the photos. Mom bought some pillow slip covers that on second thought I would have bought more of, they where not expensive and very elegant. Loved them when we got home. We also bought some more intricate ones in Rhodes as gifts that I just love. nice light gifts to carry home.
We took the optional with Omar today of the Bospherus cruise to the Asia side and the Beylerbeyi Palace. Excellent. The ride on the boat gave you a good view of houses, a fortress and other buildings from the water. We went just to the opening to the Black sea, were in the middle of a sailing regatta..
Walked to the pretty area next door to Beylerbeyi Palace to grab lunch and ate at a small sidewalk cafe. Around the block there was a fabulous pastry place we bought some in. Cute area. The Palace is something else. you have to pay a minimal charge (like maybe $4) to take photos.. it is where the sultan had his guests stay and quite impressive, still in fabulous shape. It is also where he lived in house arrest after Turkey became a Republic. Omar did a great tour... but you are shadowed by a man who yelled at my mom on the stairs becasue she hung on the the rail to walk and wasn't on the straw covered area they want you to walk on every step. I know they want to preserve the wood, but they need to remember old people need to hang on to be safe sometimes.He also watched to make sure you didn't take photos if you hadn't bought a ticket: you had to turn in your camera. I had put my camera away ahead and didn't buy a ticket, but a member of our group was on pins and needles to get his camera back the entire time. It reminded me of touring parliment in Budapest where you wanted to remind them that the Soviet years were over.
I guess you need a guide to enter this palace, so don't include it for touring on your own if you aren't with one.
We stopped at Pine Hill on the way home and had a great time people watching. Young girls all covered up with colorful head covers and coats who were Turkish and the ever present black burka that actually covered the mouth of the young women. Many of the women made sure to say hello to us.
In retrospect, We loved Istanbul and it is a photographer's dream. I enjoyed seeing the mosques and learning about the differences in the religion and their history. We found most the turkish people we met nice, friendly, and helpful. We did, however, try to be very respectful of thier places of worship and culture as well. I was a bit put off by the aggressive shop keepers sometimes, but overall did ok.
Will review leaving for the cruise tomorrow.......

We left to board the boat at 12:30... as we neared the docks I was holding my breath as I wasn't exactly positive we were on the Cristal: I was thrilled to see the boat after expecting much worse. We were met on the dock by David Price, our guide on the boat, and we had an "A" room on the 7th deck: much bigger than I expected with a big window, couch, and decent sized bathroom. As I said before, I've been on other cruises and I was very pleased with the Cristal. It is a small ship (and much cheaper than a full size cruise) but our service was always good, the food was good, and I was pleased. the entertainment lacked but to be honest, I've never been impressed by any of the entertainment on a cruise ship. They were very willing to bring you something else if you didn't like what you ordered and there were usually 2 different options of where to eat. We did not get the pre paid drink plan: it was too expensive for how much I drink, and I just paid for a bottle of wine that would last me for two or three dinners. They will recork and reserve your wine that you order.
I was very glad that we had stopped ahead and gotten some big bottles of water at that Istanbul candy store and brought them on board. The bottled water on the boat was expensive: I think 2.50 Euro for a small bottle. They always had it for sale as you left the boat for an island, and we found most the islands had stores that sold it much cheaper. We also had a small fridge in our room as well.
May 11 Mykonos
You had to buy an 8 euro pp shuttle ticket from the boat to take to the town of mykonos but could use it back and forth as much as you want. David got us off the boat early (probably in the first group)which was an advantage to booking this cruise thru Insight. Mykonos is busy during the day with many seaside cafes, cute blue and white trimmed houses. The area with the best view of the water is over by the windmills in Alexandrea but it is also where the prices are highest as well. David did a walking tour around, and recommended a small store near the water as you walk from town to the place you pick up the shuttle to buy water from. It is by the Roman pillars. 1.5L water was .60 euro.. very cheap. I bought some both times we went into town.
Beautiful town to wander around in: a friend of mine recommended jewelery here but I was not really in the market for it. We stopped at a little cafe to mainly use the restroom and I ordered a coffee.. came with a side dish of cherries with a sauce that were excellent with it and a great view of the town and the pelican who seemed happier without tourists taking photos with him! Two women on the bus talked about seeing the "Shirley Valentine Beach' from the movie and I was not familiar with it but will have to see it. After dinner on the boat I went back into town and am so glad I did. It was much less crowded and really magical with the lights and candles at the seaside cafes. I went back alone and had no problems at all. Really pretty and quiet to walk around.
We had seen the first nights show on the boat and it was fine, ok. Mom saw the show tonight (I think it was a Latin theme) and she said it was not as good but it could have been that she was not familiar with the music) I recommend going back on the shuttle (there's a ticket or something you save) into town. It is a quick 5 minute ride and they come back and forth very frequently. For dinner tonight, I had the pork and spatzle and it was excellent.

May 12 Patmos (7a - 10:30)
We skipped the optional this morning as they left early (7am) and my Mom is not a quick mover in the morning. We just walked around town by the water. We talked later to a couple who hiked up to the monastery on their own and said it was worth seeing. I enjoyed seeing all the locals on scooters carrying things that shouldn't be on scooters: flowers, a small ship model, paint, bags of tomatoes. would have made a great little video.
The ship left the area at 10:30am and arrived Ephesus at 1:45pm. We took the Ancient Ephesus optional that was wonderful and really not to be missed. First off, our local tour guide was this cute red haired girl with a diamond on her front teeth.. did a great job. "Tell your friends to come to Turkey!" She talked about the influence of Ataturk making it a secular country in the 1920's that kept Turkey from being similar to Iron or Syria. Interesting to hear her perspective, and probably very accurate.
It was about a 20 minute ride to the site (David came with us) and the site of Ephesus was fabulous. I'm going to have to re read those letters of Paul to the Ephesians... the photo opportunities knock you out, and the history is unbelievable. I especially liked the toilets. The guide was excellent in her talk and the walking wasn't bad. Worth it to see the big amphitheater and the place that Anthony and Cleopatra walked.
David showed us a small bazaar near the boat and you can certainly tell you are back in Turkey. the prices are much better, but the aggressive shop keepers again.David did recommend a few shops where the shopkeepers were less aggressive and easy to deal with. I did buy a lovely pashima scarf and a really lovely leather jacket that I actually bargained on and am very pleased with. I had to laugh, the guy's name I bought it from was Apollo. We probably would have looked more and maybe even bought more but my Mom was getting flustered from the shopkeeper's running you down if you stopped to look. I said to one guy who kept bugging her when she was buying something "Leave her alone, she takes awhile to make up her mind, she is old." He looked at me, but backed off. In Turkey, you get much more for your money than in Greece on the Euro.
We headed back to the ship and dinner tonight was Greek night: I had brought a blue and white top and wore it. Our waiter for our table was excellent, gave good suggestions and was very patient. Mom had the lamb and loved it.

May 13th Rhodes 7a
We would have loved to have done the optional here and I heard it was good, but I had also heard there were alot of steps and a fall for an 81 year old woman is a deadly thing so we decided it wasn't worth the risk. We walked around town and really enjoyed it. We bought a number of silver bracelets for gifts that were lovely and also some quilted pillow covers that are really nice. We walked to the Jewish Synagogue here that has a small museum and I recommend it if you have the time. My understanding was that alot of Jews fled here during the early part of the war, and then Italy pretty much gave Rhodes to the Nazi's who sent all of the 3ooo- 4000 population of Jews to Auschwitz. About 150 survived. The museum is interesting and worth seeing, as is the small synagogue.
We walked up the street of the Knights to the Palace of the Grand Masters and I wish I had had more time to really look around. I bought a ticket and did a quick run thru as Mom waited outside.. I think the incline of the street wore her out and they also had a very steep set of marble steps to enter the Palace with no handrail, so it was a good decision. I have to admit, when she skipped something she said the people watching was fun and not a problem. This was a very pretty town with the wall surrounding it and some nice shops. Fun to walk around.
Both lunch and dinner were excellent here: pan fried fish and custard for lunch, and prawns and beef wellington for dinner. Baked alaska for dessert, which is always fun on a cruise.

May 14th Crete (7a-12n)
David did a walking tour for us of this town and then we just wandered around. Very pretty lakeside area with boats. We stopped in the small Greek Orthodox church (I think we've hit every religion but Buddhist and Hindu on this trip) There was a little old lady all dressed in black (which you see alot of) looking after the church who seemed quite thrilled when I actually paid for and lit a candle and sat down to pray. Very cute. Very ornate churches with icons and mosaics, worth checking out.

Santorini (4p-8p)
I have to say, this was my favorite Island. We tendered in, and took the optional to Oia and Thira. Took a bus up the winding road to the top and the town is stunning. Wish I had gone in some of the hotels to get a brochure for future use. they are built in the hillside and the view over the water is knock your socks off. Mom wore alot of blue and white on this trip and it makes our photos that much more color coordinated! We stayed here about an hour.
Drove down to Thira, where Mom went with David to the cable car and I went with the Australian David to the Donkey ride down. I'm glad I did it, but also glad I had prior riding experience just to know how to sit the donkey securely with my weight in the stirrups and lean back. One woman kept leaning forward and the guy leading us was worried that she would fall off and kept yelling at her that she should have taken the cable car. David and I were cracking up that this woman can brag she was yelled at by the donkey man. Scary and steep ride down but worth the increased heart beat. I would NOT recommend walking this: the steps are steep and the donkeys squeeze you up against the walls as they go by, and there is donkey do do on the steps... could be a treacherous walk.
I would recommend this optional. Oia is lovely and a place I'd like to go to. Pick up a few hotel brochures for me, won't you?
Dinner tonight was our last on the boat and was open seating. Excellent steak and mushrooms and the view leaving Santorini was breathtaking.
Mom and I took a late night walk on the deck and realized that if we had taken the outside door right at the end of the hallway on deck 7, there is almost a private small deck outside there... ideal place to enjoy the ocean before bed in your pj's!
Had to have our luggage (except for hand luggage) out by 12mn for pick up and David gave us a little green ribbon to put on it to id it as Insight.

May 15th
arrival Athens early morning, had breakfast and met David on the dock at 7:15am. the man was incredibly organized. He had our luggage on separate trolleys, grabbed mom's trolley (with her running behind him) and wisked us thru customs holding up the Insight banner as he breezed through.. Had us on a bus headed to the Metropolitan Hotel ASAP. I was very impressed.
David even pointed out near the hotel some nice restarants, and a kiosk to buy water. There, however, the nice organized Insight tour guide we were used to ended. the woman in the Metropolitan who was the Insight host didn't seem to know what to do with us the entire time we were there. Her name was Anna... our luggage was left outside the hotel in the hot sun ... and was still there when we got back from the Athens city tour hours later. She still hadn't gotten our rooms, we had to wait and ask her to get the room keys and I finally came down and grabbed the luggage myself. No reason she couldn't have gotten the luggage in the rooms while we were on the city tour, or at least had the keys ready when we got back after 1p. She never really went over the optionals with us, just handed up a (nice) package of paperwork with suggestions.I was rather underwhelmed with Anna, and more than one person said. "Oh, I miss David!" We sat in a bar area until 9a to wait for the local city tour guide and left our hand luggage in there while we went on the bus. I was a bit worried, but no one seemed to have anything missing later.
Athens was hot. We went to the Parthenon, which was wonderful and interesting and hot and crowded and alot of walking on unstable marble surfaces. Also a prime area for pickpockets. Our guide did tend to drone on and on while people tried to get out of the hot sun. This IS a trip to have a good hat, and plenty of sunscreen. The Parthenon is quite impressive in spite of it all and a must see. We did a quick drive thru Athens, stopped at the old Olympic Stadium and buzzed by the temple of Zeus and Hadian's Arch. We were tired and cranky by the time we got back to the hotel. Did arrange among ourselves to meet at one of the restaurants David had recommended for dinner and Anna wanted to make our reservation which I found very interesting.
I think the restaurant was called Lazerus.. they had a special 4 course dinner that was excellent and it was a beautiful place. Just a block down from the hotel. We had salad that was excellent, cheese balls, kebobs and walnut cake with good ice cream and sweet wine. Very good meal and fun with our group. the Metropolitian is fine, nothing special. Had a pretty courtyard with a fountain but the pool (which we had planned on using) was closed until May 18th. It's on the rooftop.

May 16th Athens (Delphi Optional)
Breakfast at the Metropolitan was a disappointment. The wait staff was rude and slow in clearing tables. When I went to clear a few cups off one that was away from the very loud music in the place a female waiter snapped at me to sit somewhere else. "Too Loud" I said. The food was ok, alot of choices.
We left at 8am for Delphi, an optional with a local company. We had hesitated as it was very expensive (95 Euro each) and all day, but I had been encouraged to see Delphi. I'm very glad we did. Got to see some of the countryside of Greece, it was about a 2 1/2 hour drive there and back, and lunch was included as well as admission to the museum there that was excellent with our guide's narrative.
The site of Delphi itself was much prettier than I expected and worth seeing. Mom didn't want to climb to the top, stopped on the sacred way and she still saw alot. the temple of Apollo was impressive and the guide did a good job although she did tend to go on and on. "She must have a degree in this," I said to David. "And she wants to give us one!" He replied.
The walking on the site did get slippery ( I wouldn't do this in the rain) but the view into the valley is stunning. The included lunch at a nearby hotel was very good and we stopped on the way home in Arachova, a cute town where we bought some really nice rose candles for gifts and walked around. Avoided the carpet shop the guide recommended!
Back at the hotel we walked to the grocery store, something I always like to see in another country and bought some water and fruit.
We decided to go back to the same restaurant for something to eat and got the Greek version of pizza. Another couple had eaten it for lunch and liked it but we weren't impressed. The rest of the meal was good though.

May 17th
Our tour was officially over this morning. Saw a few people to say goodbye to at breakfast. then we got packed up and took a cab to a hotel I booked myself in the Plaka area, the Electra Palace Hotel on Nikkodemous. I was very pleasently surprized by how nice the hotel was in every way: I had booked a standard room but we got an upgrade to a room with a balcony that looked out over the Acropolis. It was unbelievable and I don't think either my mom or I ever will forget the site lit up at night. Stupendous. Nice big room and bathroom and the hotel is gorgeous. Nice outdoor pool with a view of the Acropolis and also the rooftop had chairs and tables where you could sit and see the view.
We walked to Parliament to watch the changing of the guard in their short skirts and shoes with pom poms. As Rick Steves says, only these guys can make pom poms look masculine. I know on Sunday am around 11am they really do the changing of the guard up big but we were transferring hotels and missed it. There is a little train for 6 euro that starts in Syntagma square by the McDonald's and does an hour tour around the town: tacky but a good way to see the area.
Used the pool in the hotel (there is an indoor one downstairs as well that is niece) and mainly hung around at night admiring the view!
Just a random thought on PHONE USE: I bought phone cards at kiosks both in Istanbul and Greece to use at pay phones to call home and they were very cheap and I could talk a long time. The were pay phones by the University area on the main street by the Crown Plaza in Istanbul and one down the street to the right of the Metropolitian. It was very difficult to use them at the docks by the ports as usually the crew of the cruise ship were all calling home.
May 18th
Walked back down to Syntagma Square (which I laughed when I heard a young girl refer to it as Stigmata Square) We were into the Metro Station across from Parliment to see the small museum area in the subway area where they found remains of a Roman bath, graves (there's still one there) and various vases, etc that are all nicely displayed. We thought it would be dark and crowded but it was lovely and well lit and also a nicer way to cross the street to get to Parliament. Checked out the guards again and the walked down Amalie to the Temple of Zeus and Hadian's Arch, certainly worth seeing up close and got some great shots of the Temple with the Acropolis in the background. Not bad walking either. I think our ticket from the Acropolis would have gotten us in, but it was free today anyway.
Did lunch back at our hotel and just relaxed as our flight left at 5am so we had to leave at 3am for the airport.


Really a fabulous trip. Loved the area we saw, Athens reminded me very much of Rome with the traffic, ruins, etc. Most people in Greece (including the Islands) spoke English so I didn't even get to practice my rudimentary Greek. We loved Istanbul and the Cristal.
If any questions, please let me know.

Brooklyn, it has been very enjoyable and interesting to read your tour tale. I never actually thought of taking this tour but if they still have it, I might be interested in it in a few years time combined with a tour of Greece too.
I still have plans to bring Tony on the Treasures of Turkey one day. I love travelling so I don't mind retaking tours. This year we are going on a short trip to Copenhagen and Stockholm independently to meet up with our youngest daughter. We weren't able to find a tour that we wanted to go on that fit in with the date.

I am amazed at your mom still having the energy to keep up on a trip. Say hello to her, I was impressed with her on the Spain and Portugal trip.

Thanks Marie! I read and enjoyed your Treasures of Turkey tour very much. Marian is doing great, the only reason she didn't climb to the top of some is these places is that one of her docs said "Don't over exert yourself"... and, the walking was slippery in some places. I know I mentioned that a number of times, but it is better to be aware. She LOVED Istanbul and seeing something different. I am very blessed.

One thing I thought of as a tip: I took an old pillow with me: need a good pillow to sleep with and took one with a pillowcase that was old: at the end of the tour, just left it. It took up some room in my suitcase which kept me from overpacking,and served it's purpose. I find most hotels don't have enough or think enough pillows for me!

I thoroughly enjoyed your tour tale brooklyn and thanks for taking the time to post it.
Istanbul certainly is a fascinating place and, like you, I loved Santorini.

Did you ride the donkey down? It is certainly an island I'd like to return to.

No donkey ride for us.
We were cutting it a bit fine time wise after staying as late as we could at Oia to try and watch the sunset. In the end we had to leave to rush back to the ship before it sailed.