St John's Basilica

The drive from Bergama to Selcuk was quite easy. Passing through the city of Izmir though was interesting, a small city of 3.5 million people. The road did improve to accommodate the larger amount of traffic.


The funniest reaction we are getting now, more and more, are people who recognize the Canadian flags on the bike and are honking, giving us the thumbs up, and 1 guy yesterday came up on an older BMW GS and said we were his heroes. 

Hey we’re just out for a ride, long one mind you,  but no big deal!

St Johns Basilica

Street entrance to Basilica 

Actual Burial plot. church was constructed around it

After a swim we decided to go to the Basilica of St John the Evangelist. He was one of the 12 apostles and was the youngest and considered the most beloved by Christ. He died when he was 100 in Efes. It was also thought that he wrote his Gospel here as well, and cared for Mary, the mother of Christ.  When Jesus was crucified he asked John to look after his mother Mary. He was known to have cared for Mary after Jesus’ death. He is buried in Efes

Explanation of church

 and if you read the photo explanations it will explain in clear detail how he and Mary came to be here. Apparently after Christ’s crucifixion several other of the Apostles met stoning and beheading deaths and of course St Paul was lucky to get out of Efes with his life.

Baptistry, full immersion at that time

Fresco still preserved original

An original Storage door in Baptistry

 

Architectural Detail 

A spare Sarchophargus

Earthquake Evidence Huge chunks of church

This site was unexpected to be as good as it is. Huge earthquakes have damaged the site in the past and evidence of that lays about all over, but some restoration work, and the quality and size of the site are impressive. If it had been completed as planned it would have become the 7th largest church in the world. The Baptistry was the best for intact pieces, and remember this was not John the Baptist.

Circumcision Party ( Muslim tradition)

There is a Muslim tradition that males between the age of 7 and 10 end up having a circumcision party (coming of age).

I don't think he will ride the horse back

The tradition is that the family will spend as much as it can afford to celebrate this, and record it. So we had seen in Bergama a couple of horse drawn carts with boys dressed up in capes etc. heading off. Much fanfare is made for this.


Well in Selcuk the same was held just down the street with a loud party for 3 hrs before.


Here is the young fella off to get snipped at the local mosque. The ceremony is performed by the Imam. I don't think he will choose to ride back on the horse.


See the women ( mother and aunt) dancing in the street.

Dancing in the Streets

YIKES!

Our 39th Anniversary

39th Anniversary In Turkey

A big deal was our 39th anniversary. People we met in Bergama had stayed at a nice hotel in Selcuk that had a pool and was higher end so I was able to make a reservation last minute with them and we’ve been able to stay there. Pool everyday in the near 40C heat is nice. Being able to tour Europe Africa and Asia with your wife of 39 years is fantastic.


We ended up staying there and having their 4 course dinner as well. It was very good.

Pergamum

Trajan Palace

The Pergamum site is split in 3 pieces, the Museum that will house valuable and delicate artifacts, the Asklepion this one is known as the worlds largest or first spa or hospital, named after the mythology god of Health “Askleplios” and the Acropolis which is another large site similar in size to the one in Athens. The Trajan temple is smaller, but there is a Zeuss altar, theatre which is huge and all the other good stuff. The site is positioned very similar to Apollo’s temple in Delphi, high up a mountain with an incredible view. 

With the bike we climbed a road so steep I had to lean forward to keep the front wheel from coming up.

The Asklepion 

Asklepion Foundation

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/turkey/bergama-asklepion.htm 

A fix for the Sacred Water fountain. Turned out
the sacred waters were radioactive and
that is why they made you feel different.
Honey, you have a certain glow about you now!

This site is the world’s best preserved and it dates back to the 4th century BC with later additions in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD.. You can really see how it was laid out and how intact some of it is to this day. Seems this ‘god’ Asklepion had a doctor Galenos, who had a daughter who assisted him as a nurse. Her name was Hygeia, hence how the word “Hygiene” has entered our vocabulary. 

Covered Walkways were elaborate

Asklepion Connection explanation

After we visited the Acropolis site and it was good but if you’ve seen the Acropolis in Athens you could give this one a pass. It does have some excellent reliefs in place on the facia of the Acropolis itself and the theatre was very interesting but otherwise it is more of the same. We are trying to fine-tune our visits to make sure we see best of or unique, not every one.

View back to Acropolis from Asklepion

Entrance to a Healing Centre

Inside a Healing Centre

Architectural Sketch of Asklepion

Asklepion Theatre 3500 seats

Acropolis Theatre 25000 people

Architectural Detail on Trajan Palace Arch

Larry the Lizard

Welcome to Turkey

On leaving Greece we filled up with gas before crossing the border. If you thought Greece was expensive at between 1.58E to 1.77E  ($2.20 - 2.46 CAN) then try 4.20TL or ($2.48) here. That is per litre my friends (2011). So don’t complain about $1.20 litre in Canada in future.

Turkish Flag in Eceabat

We had a very easy entry into Turkey. Canadians require a VISA to enter and that can be processed at the border. Ours was done in 30 secs. at a cost of 90E for the 2 of us. The motorcycle required a bit more checking out since ICBC documentation is ridiculous in being clear that the registration and insurance document is actually a title document as well. Everything was done very politely and quickly and we just wore our big smiles and they seemed to like that. By comparison a Japanese tour operator was berating a control point police man at the end and it was not very nice. Needless to say they stayed a lot longer at the border than we did. A law student I had as a ride-a-long once said, the one thing he learned when he was with me and my partner was that the more people complain the more police will write tickets. Welcome to the reality folks!


Our Canadian flags have really been noticed here with many people honking and waving at us as we drive by, smiling, or rolling down their windows at the next stop light and saying welcome. Some Sandra says, point to the bike then rub their thumb and middle finger together indicating the bike cost a lot of money and we must be rich. 

Boat traffic on the Bosphorus

We drove down the peninsula to Eceabat and crossed the Bophorus seaway to Cannakale. Strange names for sure. The Bosphorus separates Europe from Asia and links the Aegean sea with the Black Sea. Since many countries depend on this seaway, like the St. Lawrence, to move goods to the Atlantic and beyond it was a strategic point during WWI and WWII. Up to 500,000 lives were lost here during these wars.


Had my first real scare as we drove into the ferry terminal area at Eceabat. It's been so darn hot that I must have left my jacket open a bit, and its an airflow jacket ( mesh with armor), but I ended up getting a wasp/bee that came inside and down my T shirt. 5 Bites later I jump off the bike and it flies away. I immediately took a Chlorotriplon and everything seemed fine. Then last evening 24 hrs after it happened the bites swelled up. Now I can see 5 sting marks and it is really itchy. Oh well I didn't have to use the Epi-pen.

A waterfront scene near Ackay

The Trojan Horse ( a replica ) near Troy

Our drive so far isn’t any different than expected. The roads here are rough, but lots of road work is being done currently. Turkey has the feel of a country on the move. We are now in Bergama, waiting to tour Pergamman, one of the most dramatic sites in Turkey. Originally settled by the Greeks in the 8th century BC. We have seen more motorcyclist tourists here in 1 day than all the time we were in Greece.

Greece Epilogue

Our stay in Greece was 18 days entering in the NW and departing in the SE. The people of Greece are great when it comes to personal interactions. They are a very proud people about their heritage. The younger set though will need to show the new leadership as there is a new reality in the EU . From our discussions with them they enjoy the comfort of some of the best family lifestyle we have seen anywhere, and to be able to spend money, but the jobs aren’tin Greece.  According to some we have talked to, Greeks haven't adapted well when they move to other parts of Europe to work and the work ethic and meeting commitments/contracts is part of it. This is directly from people who have had experience with bringing people in as favours.


For those of us that only speak English there can be some challenges in small villages. Canadians appear to be well liked here but there is an attitude that came through from some Romas I believe that we are full of money and we aren’t spending it on them. Our Italian friend mentioned the same message was conveyed to him as well but not from Romas. If that same message is passed on to Germans, Americans etc. then they will have more problems with their tourism. 


The Greek language and alphabet is very different from ours but road signs appear first in Greek and then a second sign will have the same information in the Roman alphabet, or Greek is in Yellow followed by Roman in white lettering so driving isn’t too difficult. Unfortunately many road signs are defaced with graffiti or in disrepair. I’d love to catch “13” in eastern Greece no artistic ability just plain defacing signage everywhere. When speaking about roads, we were warned up in Kalampaka and just about every place we went that the roads were extremely slippery when dry. What?? That’s right folks, this is not a really friendly place for 2 wheels since the pavement conditions are poor. You will need to adjust your driving. We were warned and experienced giant potholes in roads, and places were the road disintegrated into gravel and back without warning. We lost traction many times on corners in perfectly hot dry conditions. The pavement has been scuffed away leaving only smooth surfaced rocks to be in contact with your tire. And no maintenance to restore the surface. Those austerity measures are showing.


The roadway system in Greece has not kept pace with the times and population. Most of the country has only narrow 1950’s roads to travel on. There are some motorways/autobahns, with tolls, but they change into 2 lane roads and then back again. The maps still show them as 4 lane though. Tolls are reasonable in cost compared to mainstream Europe and basically everything is less expensive here except fuel. I expect that prices will change with the reforms, and I wouldn’t mind that to happen you get good value here paying a bit more would still be good. I’ve been told that Greeks earn on average ½ the wage for the same work as others in Europe. So something we are confused with is the huge nightclubs that exist in places like Glyfada and cafes in Kavala. Obviously there is money as people sit in these places and spend money, so how come it isn’t in the mainstream system?

Any which way will do

A warning about Greek drivers. Those same great people who will do anything for you on the street corner, will kill you when driving. It is an every man/woman, for themselves. Lane splitting by motorcycles is nothing. Cars, trucks, tandems will lane split if they are in a hurry and expect you to notice them and give way. Sandra says based on her reading Greece has one of the highest death rates on highways and I believe it. The rate is 15.28/million and was tops in Europe with Poland close behind. By comparison Canada is 8.4/million and the USA 14.2/ Yikes that can't be right!  On many roads we’ve seen 4 to 5 cars abreast or nearly abreast on a 2 lane road. And in Athens there are squeege kids and beggars at every stop light. Now coming off our experience in Morocco we’d say the 2 countries are competing in a demolition derby. If you notice my parking picture you will see the chaos on a small city side street. The question is why?


As you probably have read over the past while Greece is a country in turmoil, financial, governmental and social systems. The credit crisis has hit the small business person. Many places won't take credit cards now, seems there are no credit lines or operating funds in place unless you operate a BP station or a Shell. Being a student of sociology for many years I am always interested in societies and their conditions. Police work was nothing more than an extension of sociology. And graffiti has always been a barometer of social disruption since it is an expression of the temperature of a society. Greece is a social democracy, very socialist, in a world of centralist financial systems now. The young argue that the government should supply the electricity and water and basically all services. Yet it is the government run services that are failing, and with the power outages that are strike based there is no consequence management. It is the people who are trying to run businesses that are impacted by these strikes. We had to walk out of many places since we couldn't see to purchase anything while their tills, computers etc. were down. Give your head a shake people! It sounds from the complaints we heard from citizens that government leaders are in need of lining up at the spine donor clinics. They claim they are unprepared to take the actions needed to establish control. 


A number of the German motorcycle tourists that we travelled with said that 10 years ago tourism in Greece was at its peak. In Epidaurus small business people said that it has dropped off significantly in the last 7 years or so. In our travels we did not see many out of country plates on vehicles so that seems to validate what they are saying. Its too bad, Greece has some great destinations, good food, beautiful people, a very attractive family oriented lifestyle that just needs to get organized and embrace change. Clearly it is the young that need to embrace the change and lead this austerity program. I recall Alberta during the Klein early 90's and look how far it moved Alberta forward, now with no debt. This could be the tourist destination for all of Europe since it does not have any export industries except olives/olive oil it needs something to improve its GDP. Economic reforms/development and strong effective forward looking leadership will be the only salvation here. For example, We saw lightly used agriculture in eastern Greece in a beautiful farming area. Then when we crossed into Turkey the agriculture got more mechanized and intense. And they can market consulting in family lifestyles, they are masters at it!


And we haven’t mentioned the food yet. I was a little unsure coming into Greece about food. Well all I can say is this is the benchmark to which other countries have to aspire. I started off with souvlaki, then moussaka, then mussels saganaki, then grilled fish I have never heard of, to yogurt in Olympia that you would die for, plain with a little honey and your favourite jam mixed in, and you are in heaven. Their red wine isn’t great but you can get decent whites, and their “Mythos”  beer is really good. And the watermelon is absolute candy after each meal or whenever. Never have I seen so much watermelon and all fantastic, the stuff in Turkey doesn't compare. If you are in the tourist zones then menus will likely be in Greek and English, but in small villages like on the Pelion peninsula you will have to rely on finding an English speaking waiter to interpret the menu with you. But as we have found hand jesters and pantomime get you a long way. 


Another characteristic of Greece that you don’t see other places is the megaphone marketing of their fruits, vegetables and sometimes other things. In each village town or city you will hear a squawky loudspeaker advertising the wares of the hawker who drives down the street in some beat up old truck. Most of the time it is fruit and vegetables, but we have seen kitchen appliances and even lawn chairs. And it is a passion for every Greek within sight or sound of the sea to go for their daily swim in the ocean. The lady in the picture to the right was about 70 and scurrying ahead of us up, then down a set of stairs in Kavala. Then as she descended the stairs all her friends, who were already in the water began waving. It is a ritual not to be messed with.

Heading to the ole swimming hole

You will enjoy your time in Greece for sure. We have been staying at an apartment in Nea Larlitska and talking with a Greek/German family who lives the winter in Hamburg and runs this B&B for 8 mths of the year. He is from Greece, and he is so frustrated for the first 2 weeks when he comes back by the way things are done, then he settles in. Give yourself the time to get into their rhythm. Hopefully the financial, political changes take place but retain the Greek charm and in 20 years we won’t recognize the place. But we will be back our next trip, and I now understand why my dad loved this place so much. We truly love this place, and  admire its family values. And if you have a family look no further than Greece for a family holiday, they just love children. You will be treated like kings.

Athens, Volos and Kavala

Museum entrance

Photo of a Photo you can't get this pic due to scaffolds

Glyfada is part of the “Athens Riveria” meaning an attractive beach area. Glyfada is a yuppy neighborhood/city and is very removed from Athens, with the benefit of being on the same Tram system so getting into and out of Athens from here by Public transit is good. Keep in minds the roadways in Athens are chaotic, crowded and not well developed so you won‘t want to drive those. On leaving Athens it took us nearly 2 hours to get out of the city and that was with the use of a GPS. 60 mins from Glyfada to the Acropolis by tram was good by comparison. Our stay at the BlueSky Hotel was great, room quiet,  good breakfast buffet,  on a quiet side street but just a block walk to most everything. The staff there were very helpful and even gave us their copy of the Lonely Planet guide for Athens to use during our stay. They warned us to stay away from Syntagma square and provided great guidance on using Public transit around it. I would recommend this place to anyone planning to visit. See them on Trip Advisor where they have earned a top rating just like the Pelops in Olympia.


Not so for Athens itself. A friend of ours from our Millarville acreage said Athens was to be used as a transfer point only from airport to ferry and back, not a place to spend time. We reserved judgement until we experienced the city. Our original plan got changed on us so we limited ourselves to the important World Heritage Site of the Acropolis and Museums. We had hoped to get a broader perspective and understanding but that wasn‘t to happen.

Us at Acropolis

After many days/weeks/months of violent strikes and protests the Syntagma square or city centre was to be avoided. We did that and while we did not see any violence or protests we did see a city; and country for that matter, that is in deep turmoil. Graffitti is everywhere to the point of defacing some antiquities and nearly all buildings. We only saw 1 police car in all the time we were in Athens, and 3 in all the time we were in Greece. The same graffiti was seen even in the smaller villages but at first we thought it was only locals doing it. Now we understand the collective disgruntlement of a country that is obviously allowing its population to express itself openly in this manner, since this graffiti isn‘t in out of the way locations but everywhere. So people are seeing it done and not caring to report it. Conversely businesses are not removing the graffiti either reinforcing the behaviour. I will not show photos of the graffiti since that enables the behavior even more.

Throngs of people and some UA's

Apparently the Acropolis area was the site of strikes/closure for a few days leading up to our being there. It was open the day we were there, but the crowds while not overly large were bottle necked walking up and into the Parthenon itself to the point of being quite hazardous on slippery marble. Add 32C heat to the mix and minimal staff that couldn’t care less and you will also form the opinion our neighbour did about Athens, and he was there 3 years ago, so it clearly hasn’t improved. On the contrary the people of Athens were very helpful, as soon as they saw we were looking at a map or looked lost they were ready to help. This just confirmed our great opinion of the Greek people in general.

Alexander the Great

Iliad and Odessey

Church of the Metamorphis

New theatre in old ruins should be fantastic

We overnight-ed in Volos area view from our penthouse room ( Really!)

We have now travelled east in Greece and are close to the Turkey border just outside Kavala. 

We decided to spend the weekend in a small resort village just outside the resort city of Kavala.

Aqueduct in Kavala

A view of our beach just outside Kavala

We had an apartment with full cooking facilities so it was nice to get some of our own cooking back into the mix again. Good break. We also spent a lazy morning checking out Kavala. It's aqueduct system was definitely on par with Segovia except that Segovia's was an engineering marvel since most of it was dry stacked rock not mortared. We are loving it as always. Absolutely great place.

Curved engineering of the day

Kavala Castle