Join us on this amazing 9 day trip to magical Istanbul. Istanbul, once Constantinople and the Capital of the Eastern Roman Empire and Byzantium is a beautiful city where East meets West, Europe meets Asia and Ancient meets Modern. We’ll be staying 7 nights in the super luxurious 5 star Hotel Levni within walking distance to Topkapi Palace, the Hagia Sofia, the Blue Mosque, the Metro and tons of great restaurants. The trip includes the hotel stay and breakfast every day, transfers to and from the hotel, a half day guided tour of the city and  direct roundtrip air to Istanbul for only $1639!!! - including all taxes and fuel surcharges*.

The sights and smells will astound your senses. Visit a hookah lounge for some shisha and tea, get a massage in a Turkish hammam, step inside the Hagia Sophia, completed in 537 AD, and stand under it’s soaring dome… the largest in all of Christendom for over 1000 years! Walk around Topkapi Palace, where the Sultans ruled the Ottoman Empire for 600 years, with its tiled walls, display of jewels and treasures and the inner rooms of the royal residence and Harem.  Get lost in the enormous Grand Bazar,  walk from Europe to Asia across the Galata Bridge and taste some of the most amazing food you’ll ever have the chance to try.

Our trips are very laid back and friendly, perfect for the first time traveler or the seasoned independent minded explorer. You get the security and peace of mind of traveling with a group and knowing that all the details have been taken care of, but you also get the flexibility of going off and doing your own thing. Our hotel becomes a home base for exploring the countryside and a meeting place to catch up and compare notes with your new found traveling friends.

For more information or to reserve your spot email Larry at Porterspub@gmail.com or call 610-390-0502.

*Turkish Airways taxes and fuel surcharges of $307 are included and are subject to change until the time of ticketing.  There is a single room supplement of $285 for solo travelers.

 

Ancient Myceana was really amazing. The Mycenaeans dominated Greece from the 16th to the 12th centuries BC. That's about 3500 years ago and it's incredible that anything remains still standing. The Fortress is the stuff of legends... Perseus, Agammemnon and his golden mask, Achilles of the battle of Troy... it all happened here.
Next stop Epidaurus, home to the largest and best preserved ancient Greek amphitheater. Seats 14,000 and you can hear a coin drop in the dirt at center stage from the highest row... no lie. 

Epidauris is also know as the ce nter of healing of the classic Greek world. A sort of holistic approach to healing in a beautiful setting complete with spas. In some ways more advanced than our modern day hospitals. Epidaurus was the largest and most important of these Askeplions, as they were known. It was the administrativr center for about 200 of them disbursed through the ancient Greek world. ( I saw one earlier on Samos).
Overnighted in the beautiful seaside town of Napflio. Felt more like Italy that Greece. Amazing restaurants (I settled for pizza... low budget tour!) and people out and about and dressed to the nines.
Next stop Sparta, home of Leonidas, the great warrior whose army of 300 stood against the might of the Persian empire at Thermopylae in 480BC. Not much remains of ancient Sparta but I need to rest and recharge for a couple days and modern Sparta is a nice small city with good hotels and restaurants, so I booked 3 nights before heading to Athens. The hughly important Byzatine city of Mystra is about 5km from here up in the mountains... more on that later.

The weather on my last day on Santorini was gorgeous again. Mid 80's, just enough puffy clouds to provide a brief break from the sun, and a nice breeze coming off the sea.... perfect for a 12km hike along the ridge of the caldera from Ia south to Fira. So that's just what Yannick and I did... and we were not disappointed. The walk took about 3 hours and the views were inspiring. I must have snapped about 100 photos.
Had lunch in Fira and looked around a bit. Fira is where all the cruise ship passengers arrive in Santorini so it's a pretty busy place with lots of boutique shops and fancy restaurants. Very pretty. There a 3 options for getting up and down from the waterfront and Fira, which is several hundred meters above perched on the rim of and overlooking the caldera. You can walk... takes about an hour, you can get a donkey ride (no kidding!), or you can take the cable car which wisks you down the side of the cliff face in about a minute. Most people opt for the third choice... hence the hour long waiting line. Glad I was headed back to Ia and not to a cruise ship!
Ia is the northernmost point of the island of Santorinio and it's famous for the sunset. Each evening thousands of people alight on every available westward facing space in Ia, myself included. It's a spectacle in itself. Anyway after the sunset they all have to get back to wherever they're staying... the majority on the overtaxed local bus system. I had to catch the 10:30 pm overnight ferry to Athens so I went to the station to catch the 8:20 to Fira. There had to be about 200 Japanese people waiting on line for the next bus. I'm as polite as the next guy and would normally never cut in line... but suffice it to say I was on that 8:20 bus! It left late(of course) but I made my connection in Fira without incident and made it to the port on time. The ferry ride was unremarkable. Nice boat ... more like a small cruise ship. I found my cabin, climbed in my bunk and went to sleep. Except the guy in the bunk below snored loudly all night so it wasn't a very restful night.

I woke at 7am as we were pulling into port. Caught the Metro to the train station and got a train to Corinth. From the train station I had to get a bus to the city center. Dropped my backpack at the Ephina Hotel (they were very nice and insisted I didn't have to pay for the service even though I may or may not stay there) and caught a bus for ancient Corinth. There are 2 parts to ancient Corith... the Greek ruins near the bus stop and the Byzantine fortress ruins occupying the top of the hill that was once the Corinthian Acropolis. Of course I immediately started hoofing it to the top. It was around noon, very hot, and the walk was about an hour up a long steep hill. Probably not the smartest decision I ever made... but the walk paid off. I had the place almost to myself. The ruins were awesome and the veiws of ancient Corinth and the Mediterranean and surrounding mountains were fantastic. I broke down and took a taxi back down. and then caught the bus back to Corinth.
You would think after a long night and day I would stay put in modern Corinth for the night, but no, I pushed on to Myceanna, Palace, fortress and capital of the mighty Mycenaean civilization.
A local bus (40 minutes late) dropped me at a bus station in the middle of nowhere on the side of the highway where I had to catch another bus to the modern city of Mikynes. The bus station was chaotic filled with hundreds of Greeks trying to get back to where they lived after coming "home" to vote in the national Greek elections. Pure mayhem. I was able to get my bus with the help of Alexandros who was heading south to report for duty in the army. The bus dropped me about 2km from the village, it was a pleasant 20 minute walk through some orange and olive groves. Found a decent hotel, took a shower and went in search of FOOD. Had some delicious home made mousaka prepared and served by a nice old woman who didn't speak a lick of english. Washed it down with a half liter of local read wine and headed for home. By this time it was about 9p m and I was physically and mentally exhausted. I passed out immediately and slept for 12 hours straight.

Nissyros was definitely the hardest place I've had to leave on this trip. It had a great vibe... very laid back with great food and mostly locals... all very friendly. On my last morning there I took a nice 2 hour stroll up towards the rim of the volcano on a really nice well marked trail... although quite steep in places. I was alone the whole time and it felt like I had the whole island to myself. I walked up to a little monastery and church called Evangelistra. When I got there the church was locked but the key was hanging in the door jamg just like the woman at the restaurant said it would be. So I let myself in and took a look around, rested a bit and locked up on the way out! Caught the 3:30 day tripper boat back to the town of Kardhamena on Kos and took the bus to Kos Town. Got on the 8pm ferry and arrived in Santorini about 20 past midnite.
There's nothing at the port of arrival except a bus into town, some car rental places and (luckily) people trying to sell rooms. So I found a room in a hotel for 25 euro but it was on the wrong side of the island from where I wanted to be... at this hour though I didn't much care. The ride from the port was insane. Santorini is a volcanic island and to get from the port to the top of the island where all the towns are is almost straight up! Must have been 20 hairpin switchbacks. The hotel was nice enough with clean sheets and towels and I laid down and fell asleep immediately.
Woke the next day and took a 10 minute walk down to the beach... nice but not really where I wanted to be. After breakfast I caught the next bus to the town of "Ia" perched on a cliff on the northernmost point on the island. Ia is probably the most photographed town on the most photographed island in Greece. Whitewashed buildings, whitewashed churches with bright blue domes and lots of windy little cobblestone streets all overlooking the Mediterranean. Santorini is just one island of several in a ring around a huge ancient underwater caldera. Just beautiful.

The hostel was nice... very clean. Walked down to a little pebble beach on the far side of the island away from the cliff and went for a refreshing swim. Came back and walked out to the point with about a thousand other people who all come to the town of Ia just for the sunset. We weren't dissapointed. Got some great photos.
Next morning Yannick and I walked to the main city of Fira. It was a beautiful 3 hour walk along the cliff overlooking the caldera. The sun was hot but we had a nice breeze and I must have taken about a hundred photos along the way. We passed some gorgeous high end boutique hotels hanging to the cliff with terraces and swimming pools overlooking the sea... very nice. Fira was crazy busy... cruise ship central. Tons of very nice boutique shops and lots of overpriced cafes with a view. There are 3 ways to get to down to the port from Fira. Walk (very steep... about 45 minutes) take a donkey ride (looked like fun) or take a cable car ride down. The cable car was definitely the most popular choice... the line was about an hour long... glad I wasn't heading to that port! Although the cable ride did look like fun.
Bought my ferry ticket to Athens. I leave tonight on the 10:30 pm slow ferry so I'll arrive in Athens about 7am. I upgraded to a cabin with a bunk so I'll be able to get a good night's rest. ( I hope).
Santorini is nice... very highly rated. And for most people stopping for the day on a cruise ship or spending a week in a luxury hotel and shopping every day it's a great choice. But for me Nissyros is the place.

I rented a scooter today... what a blast! Nissyros is a tiny island with a volcano in the center. Very windy roads with lots of hairpins and gorgeous views everywhere you look... perfect for a scooter. Went to the volcano first thing this morning before the tour busses arrive. 3 boats arrive daily from Kos carrying 300 - 500 day trippers to Nissyros. They make a beeline for the volcano and then hit Mandraki, the largest village on the island... then they leave at 3:30. So I basically had the caldera to myself, walking through the craters, seeing and smelling the sulpher vents and boiling mudpots. Sort of reminded me of Yellowstone Park.
After the volcano I cruised over to the (almost) deserted town of Emporia... kind of creepy. It was a good sized village that was all but abandoned. People are starting to move back in and fix up the houses. It's actually quite pretty and perched on the rim of the volcano, so there are magnificent views no matter where you look... the volcano to one side and the sapphire blue Mediterranean to the other. I had a greek salad at the only taverna in town. Perfect day, low 80's and sunny, overlooking the volcano. After Emporia I headed to Nikia, another picturesque village on the rim of the crater... only this one is fully occupied.
Then down to the beach. You head away from town on the coastal road that eventually just ends. Park the bike and start hoofing it. 15 minutes later I'm at this practically deserted beautiful black sand beach. The only other people there a nude couple at one end of the beach. So I walked down to the other end and stripped down... when in Rome... ( I know, TMI for some of you). Had a great swim in the Sea and really enjoyed just doing absolutely nothing on the beach.
Headed back to the hotel for quick shower and some logistics and then out to dinner. Last nite I had rack of goat, slow cooked for 6 hours with chick peas and rosemary. I think it was the first time I had goat... it was very tender but had a pretty strong flavor. I like lamb a lot, but this was much stronger. For an appetizer I had fresh beets in olive oil and garlic "sauce" on the side. It was more like the consistency of mashed potatoes, mixed with almonds and breadcumbs... delicious. Washed it down with some decent local red wine. Tonite I had grilled calamari that was perfect. I tried the white wine tonite... a little sweet but went down just fine.

Tomorrow I'm catching one of the Kos tour boats back to Kos at 3:30. I'll arrive in Kos around 5 and then catch the 8pm ferry to Santorini. I'll arrive in Santorini after midnite so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll be able to find lodging. So far it hasn't been a problem. After that I'm not sure... maybe Ios... maybe not. I'm heading back to Athens for the 10th to meet an old friend, but I'd like to see some of the Pelopennesian Penninsula first. I'll check the ferry schedules in Santorini and see how it goes.

Happy October! See you all in another 16 days!
Larry

Back home from another wonderful Pub Crawl, and what a great crawl it was. The highlight of the trip, and I think I speak for most of the group, was the trip to Chimay, where the Trappist Monks brew their own beer. We arrived at the Scourmont Abbey and Fabrice showed us around the gorgeous grounds. The Monastery was built in 1850 and they've been brewing beer since 1862. After a tour of the grounds we went inside the church and were lucky enough to catch the monks chanting in prayer... the sound of their voices echoed through the church. I stood there with my eyes closed (and camera video on!). It was really something special to hear. Then onto the brewery. We were very fortunate to get inside the brewery as Chimay does not generally giver tours. It was a surprisingly modern facilty with that delicious smell of matled barley and hops wafting through the air. On through the quality control lab and the final and best part of the tour... lunch! We pulled up to their private guest house and restaurant just down the street, but still on abbey grounds, and were treated to quite a spread. The folks at Chimay were too kind. We had 5 different kinds of Chimay cheeses, samples of all the beer, including Tripel on tap, a 3 course luch with dessert, a lemon liquor digestif and finally a cup of esspresso. I was stuffed and very happy. 

The entire city of Brugges where we stayed is a UNESCO world heritage site. Winding cobblestone streets, churches, medeival bell towers, public squares, canals, all enclosed within the remains of the fortified city walls, moat and gates. It's sort of like a grown up Disneyland... great beer, amazing food, the best chocolate in the world, beatiful scenery and great beer.

The weather cooperated nicely... it was mild and a bit cloudy in the beginning of the week but the sun popped out for a few days at the end. Not a drop of rain either. Everyone in the group got along really well and most of us made some locals friends in Brugge. It was really cool to see each other out at the local Pubs with our new friends. Most folks visit Brugge for a day or two so they never really get to meet the locals... too bad for them!

There was tons to do that week in town... the local markets on Wednesdays and Sundays, a chocolate festival, a Dali and Picasso exhibit, serveral great local museums with world class paintings, boat rides and breweries to tour. A few folks went to Amsterdam for the day, some to Lueven, Ghent and Flanders. A bunch of us rode bikes along the canal into the next town and some went all the way to Holland and the North Sea coast! The food was outstanding everywhere you went and the beer choices were at times overwhelming... so much beer, so little time.

Well, sorry if you couldn't join us this time around. But we welcome you to join us on the next trip to Edinburgh, Scotland... the Royal Mile, Edinburgh Castle, Stirling bridge, and all those distilleries....

What a difference a day makes. Nissyros is the antithesis of big, loud, touristy, expensive Kos. It's so beautiful here... exactly what I picure in my mind when I conjure up a Greek island. Mountainous, small, quiet, friendly people, great food, scooters, winding cobblestone streets, gorgeous sunsets, white houses with blue shutters all against a sapphire blue Mediterranean Sea.
I'm staying in a little hotel overlooking the harbor. It used to also be a restaurant but Nick and his wife are getting older and don't want the hassle. When I arrived I checked out one of the rooms and came back downstairs. Nikos was having dinner and I was admiring the food and asked about what kind of fish he was eating... next thing I know I have a plate of fresh fish in front of me with salad, green beans, tomatoes, fresh brown bread and a bowl of steaming hot bean soup... no charge! We got to talking and it turns out that Nick's brother used to own a restaurant next to the Sweet Shop on center square in Easton many years ago! How's that for a small world? Amazing.
Up on the terrace outside our rooms overlooking the harbor I met the very animated Jorgen from Ulm, Germany. Over a bottle of fine red Greek wine Jorgen explained that he has been coming to this same hotel in Nissyros twice a year for the past 20 years. He told me all the places I should go and all the hiking trails and introduced me to another German couple who would be staying with us. Unfortunately Jorgen had already been here 2 weeks and was leaving tomorrow. After dinner, a beer and a bottle of wine we decided to take a walk into town. We took the long way up the hill and around behind the hotel. It was getting late and we had some beautiful views of the sun setting behind the fortress and monastery overlooking the village below. He took me to a couple of his favorite places where we had a couple more beers and a couple Ouzos and a late night gyro on the waterfront. A little drunk and quite stuffed I headed for home and a good night's sleep.

This morning I woke, had some yougurt, nuts and honey for breakfast and walked with Jorgen and Rezza about 20 minutes outside of town to the mineral hot springs. For 3 Euro you get to soak in these marble lined tubs in little private rooms for an hour. Nissyros is a volcanic island and there are hot springs all over. It was very relaxing... people actually come from all over just to soak in these waters for their curative powers. I don't know about any of that but it was nice enough that I think I'll head back again tomorrow!
That's all I have for now,
Larry

Ephesus as in letters from St. Paul to the Ephesians. And St. John (the guy who wrote one of the gospels) is entombed about 200 yards from where Im staying in Selcuk. St Paul and Mary (Jesus mom) lived out the last days of their lives in Ephesus. I never realized how much of the Bible actually took place in Turkey! Who knew?
The ruins are awesome... theres a 2 story library and a 25,000 seat amphitheater. There are also some beatiful roman era townhouses with the original tile floors, bathrooms and wall murals. There was an earthquake around 300AD that burried the homes and they were only discovered and excavated recently ... still pretty much intact. Its a great picture as to what life was like back then... amazingly not that much different than today.
Weathers been great. (I cant find the apostrophe on this keyboard!) Staying in a nice little hostel in Selcuk with lots of Brits and Aussies. Last night 5 American girls studying in Cairo checked in. And I ran into Gary and Ureka again. Theyre a nice couple I met on the bus ride from Konya to Antalya and they wound up coming to Olimpos with me for a couple days.
From Selcuk I said good bye to Turkey and hopped on the ferry to Samos island. Spent the night in a little town called Pythagorio.... for you mathematicians out there this is where Pythagoras was from. Very quaint little town with some cool ruins, a crusader castle from the 13th century and delicious gyros! Took the morning hydrofoil fast ferry to Kos where I am now. It was a lot bumpier of a ride than I imagined it would be. Made it to Kos in 4 hours. Kind of like sitting in a widebody 747 with a lot of turbulence. Kos is a big tourist town complete with cruise ships.... not my kind of place at all! Just killing time here until I can catch a ferry tomorrow to Nissiros.

Thats all for now.

Left the Ilhara valley after breakfast and a nıce chat with Cenzig. We talked about the similarities and differences between life in Turkey and life in America... health care, family life, religion and the Turkish government's recent ban on smoking indoors in Turkey. Wow.
Got to the bus stop about half an hour early for my 10am bus... good thing since the bus came by at 9;30! Every time I think I have this system down I get another curve ball. Anyway made the bus to Aksaray and caught 11:30 bus for the 2 hour trip to Konya.
Konya is one of the most religious cities in Turkey and I was there on the last day of Ramadan....what a zoo! The entire city was getting ready for the coming 4 day celebration after Ramadan ends. The main street was transformed into a huge marketplace stretching for miles.

Gott run.... bus on the way... will finish up later.

Back again....
Konya is the religious center of the Mevlana order of Muslim monks for lack of a better word. They were quite important back in the day and wielded considerable political power. Attaturk banned the order in 1925 but allowed some locations to continue as part of the cultural heritage. The Mevlana order, known as the whirling dervishes for their trancelike spinning dance, was founded by Rumi who is entombed in the Mevlana museum in Konya along with his family and other high ranking dervishes. He preached tolerance and acceptance of all and is very highly regarded in Turkey.

You can see whirling dervish show at various places in Turkey, but they're generally expensive, short and put on just for tourists. The show I saw in Konya was free at the Konya Cultural Heritage Center. I think I was the only (American) tourist in the place. It was quite a ceremony, most of which I didn't really understand since the opening remarks and explanation were in Turkish. They wore white flowing robes and it was quite a sight when they began spinning. There were 5 of them and they spun around, one hand raised to God and the other pointing down to earth, for about 45 minutes while their left foot never left the ground. Pretty amazing feat.
Left Konya and headed to Olimpos down south on the Mediterranean coast. Stayed there a couple days wandering through Lycian and Roman ruins, sea kayaing and swimming in the sea. The hostel I stayed in was $20 per night including breakfast and dinner and the food was great... probably the best I had in Turkey.

From Olimpos I headed west along the coast to Kas and Fethiye where I spent the night and then on to Selcuk where I am now.

I'm really starting to get the hang of travelling by bus. Woke in Göreme, took the shuttle to Nevşehir. From there a bus to Aksaray, which is a pretty large city and transportation hub with a population of 400,000. Crazy place, total chaos and anarchy at first glance, but after taking a ddep breath and getting some help from the locals I found the dolmuş to the Ilhara valley. It was quite an interesting rıde with about 45 people stuffed into a 30 passenger bus. I was lucky enough to snag a seat and Yusef helped me out by grabbing my pack and storing it safely for me in the luggage compartment at the back of the bus.
The long dıstance busses have been great... very clean and modern with assigned seats. Single men are never seated next to a single woman, always 2 single men, 2 single woman, or a family. They also have 'flight attendants' that assist passengers, serve water, tea or nescafe, and pass out little snacks all for free. One annoyance is that most of them have televisions and they are usually played blaringly loud, but my foam earplugs come in handy for that! The rule about same sex seating also applies to the smaller minibusses and dolmuşes as well, even though there are no assinged seats. I've been on minibusses where we've all played musical chairs to accommodate a single woman. The other thing I've noticed is they are very respectful of a single (Muslim) woman and the elderly. I've seen men and young boys give up their seats on many occasions so an elderly woman could sit.

Ilhara Village is hardly a vıllage. I stayed at the Akar Pansion... a sort of modest hotel, but clean and adequate enough. Upon arrival Cenzig cooked me up a delicious local dish for lunch. Finely chopped pieces of beef with tomato and spicy peppers... sort of like a stew. It was delicious and just what I needed after traveling all morning. After lunch I headed straight out for the trail. Ilhara valley is a deep canyon cut by a river (not sure the name). Maybe 100 - 200 meters deep and very beautiful with abandoned churches and dwellings dotting the cliff faces. It was about a 20 minute walk to the trailhead but 5 mınutes into the walk a kid on a scooter stopped by and offered me a lift! The trail was beautiful and I hiked for several hours down and back. On the way back a farmer called me over from his field and handed me a fresh ripe tomato as a gift... very generous. Very unlike Istanbul! I was definitely out in the country now. Had dinner back at Akar's with a bunch of French tourists and went to bed. Slept soundly after the long day's hike.
Tomorrow Konya and the whirling dervishes!