Kalimera friends.
Today is Saturday and finds us in Greece. I am publishing this week's blog post today instead of Sunday as tonight we sail from Igoumenitsa to Bari, Italy, and I won't have any coverage, nor do I want to take my PC into the cabin.
We are at the end of week 6 of this year's road trip which has been slower paced than last year's. Also, we haven't been as far. The furthest we went was to Pamukkale in Turkey where we were last Sunday.
Pamukkale is a very special and unique place and is one of the most visited sites in Turkey, along with Istanbul, Capadoccia and Ephesus. What makes Pamukkale unique is the white rock formations of calcium and lime stone which come from the minerals in the water. These formations are called travertines; sort of big slabs of white rock often in the shape of terraces. Not long ago there was water running through them forming beautiful blue pools. Sadly the water was diverted elsewhere and the travertines are not as spectacular as before. Even so, the whole place is absolutely fabulous, like nothing I've ever seen before.
Early in the morning there were people going up in hot air balloons as they do in Capadoccia. I wouldn't have minded going up in one but it's an absolute rip off and you have to be there by about 5 in the morning. However, I got my thrill just watching them from the balcony of our hotel room. In Turkey this place is often referred to as the white cotton castle. Figures right?
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| View from our balcony last Sunday morning at 6 a.m. |
The hotel offered a miserable breakfast so I supplemented it with some muesli and fruit which we ate by the pool while watching whole spectacle of Pamukkale. I took a
video to share here. The curious thing is that the travertines only stretch for about half a mile or a mile, not more. I wondered why.
There are 3 entrances to this national park which costs 40 euros each to enter but includes a visit to the ancient city of Hierapolis just behind the travertines. We chose the easiest one, the South Gate. Had we gone up the main path it would have been one hell of a climb in the heat. Not only that, as soon as you reach the travertines you have to walk across them barefoot. That is to preserve them but it would have been far too slippery and dangerous for me. However, from the South Gate, it was easy to access them and this was the scene that greeted our eyes.
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| In Pamukkale |
I found the place so special I had to take another video to share here.
This is it.
Just a bit further down we came to the part where there is some water - artificial I think - and the only place in the travertines were people are allowed to bathe. Those who walk up the path from the town come through this way. I tried to walk on the hard rock with water everywhere and had to give up. I was worried I would fall and spoil our trip. But it was nice to watch others experiencing it.
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| People bathing in the water in a special area of the travertines |
It was a very, very hot that day but we were given a reprieve as it was cooler up where the travertines are located and there was some wind. We then walked further to see more magnificent views. To do so, we had to walk through the remains of the Roman wall of Hierapolis. Here we took photos and a young Turkish guide, married to a woman from China, took our photo. I have chosen it as this week's feature photo. He was the person who told me that Pamukkale has rivals in the US and China in Yellowstone and Huanglong national parks.
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| Such unique scenery at Pamukkale |
We thought we had seen it all so made our way to the ruins of Hierapolis. But we suddenly saw signs pointing to "Antique Baths" so we went to investigate. They are also called Cleopatra's pool. I'm not sure she went there all the way from Egypt but legend has it that Mark Antony created this natural swimming pool as a wedding present. This pool, surrounded by the Apollo Temple was the primary healing area of Hierapolis in Roman times.
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| Cleopatra's pool in Hierapolis |
I have to admit I didn't know this before swimming in the waters where, unfortunately, cameras are not allowed. I was looking forward to cooling off after so much heat but was in for a surprise. The water was warm. Someone said the spring where it comes from which brings water with these minerals is as hot as 32ºc. No doubt it is lovely to swim in Cleopatra's pool in the winter and not in this weather.
Thankfully, we had a cold shower afterwards and sat for a while in the shade. We still had to see what is left of Hierapolis, the sacred city, where most of the remains are from Roman times in the second century AD. But it's also mentioned in the Bible and it is believed that St Philip the apostle was martyred here.
I also read that it is the birthplace of the stoic philosopher Epictetus. Eladio told me he was a slave before which is quite remarkable. It was famous for its high quality wool, fabric and dyes but mostly for the hot springs. Frankly what is left of Hierapolis which sits adjacent but slightly above the travertines, is very little. The theatre dominates and there are also baths, temple ruins, arches and such like. It was very hot so we didn't venture far. Besides, I think I had really had my fill of ancient city ruins hahahaha. Here are some pictures to remember the visit.
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| Some remains of Hierapolis |
By then we were hungry and went to have lunch by Cleopatra's pool which was the coolest place to be because of the shade from the trees. The choice was the usual; basically donner durums or kebabs and nearly everything is served with chips and rice! We shared a shish kebab which was rather small but supplemented it with some pistachio ice cream.
I'm not sure I've mentioned this but there are lots of stray dogs and cats in Turkey and also Greece, Armenia and Georgia. These dogs and cats live off scraps from restaurant owners and tourists or I don't know who. While we ate our meager lunch, there was a dog lying at our feet which is not unusual. What was unusual was to see a cat lying on a table where people were eating! It was sleeping peacefully and the people took no notice. I had to take some photos to show you.
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| Stray cats and dogs are everywhere in Turkey, even by Cleopatra's pool and on a table where people eat! |
All I can say is let sleeping dogs (and cats) lie, hahahaha.
That was the end of our sightseeing for the day and we came home to rest. The first thing I did was jump in the swimming pool after which I had a shower in our bathroom along with a lot of our clothes. I had to wash them quite a few times that way when we didn't have access to a washing machine. The balcony looked like a launderette afterwards, hahhaha.
We then rested, following the final at Roland Garros where I hoped Carlos Alcaraz would win the Men's single finals against Sasha Zverez from Germany, the world's number 4. I followed it together with my great friends Sandra in Brussels and Adele in France. I was able to watch it thanks to my Express VPN (which I nearly lost last week but that's another story) by setting it to France and switching on TF2. It was touch and go for a very long time. At one time Zverez was leading 2 sets but he lost the last 2 of 5 when Carlitos made an amazing comeback in true Nadal style. Last year Carlos was all nerves against Djokovic in the Semi Finals but this year after the initial hiccup he demonstrated what his grandfather taught him: "cabeza, corazón , cojones" (head, heart and balls). Thus I was ecstatic when he lifted the Coupe des Mousquetaires which is more Spanish than French.
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| Carlos Alcaraz with the Coupe des Mousquetaires. I saw the post match broadcasting from Turkey using my Express VPN and switching on TF2 - the French state broadcaster. Was lovely to watch. |
I think tennis players from Spain have won Roland Garros more times than any other nation. I searched a bit and could only come up with a wonderful photo posted by the US Open where it shows that a Spaniard has won there no less than 25 times in the Open Era.
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| Spanish tennis players have won Roland Garros 25 times. |
The first was Andrés Gimeno in 1972. Nadal won it 14 times and Carlos Alcaraz's win on Sunday will, hopefully, be the first of many.
6 times French Open champion, Bjorn Borg, now aged 68 and still sporting long hair, albeit all white, was there to hand Carlos Alcaraz from humble Murcia in south east Spain, the coveted cup. Carlos will now add another tattoo to his leg. He has vowed to add a tattoo for every Grand Slam win. The first was after winning the US Open. Then he added a strawberry for his Wimbledon win last year and now it's going to be an Eiffel Tower. There is a
video circulating on internet where he is interviewed aged 12. They ask him his name and age, his favourite tennis player and his dream. His favourite tennis player was Roger Federer and his dream was to win Roland Garros. This boy, aged just 21, who has been watching the French open since he was 5 or 6, saw a dream come true last Sunday. Not only that, he has climbed to the number 2 position and he is now the youngest player ever to have won on three different surfaces. His win made us happy and we celebrated on our balcony drinking wine and eating pistachios. I couldn't be prouder for Spain.
I nearly forgot to mention that last Sunday was EU voting day which of course we couldn't participate in. But Oli and Miguel voted and took the kids along, of course. They sent a photo to show us.
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| Olivia's husband voting in the EU elections last Sunday with the kids posing for the picture too. |
It was touch and go that night as to how things would turn out. In the end, the far right did well in certain countries; mostly in France but overall the European parties still have the advantage. Macron with his dismal result against Le Pen called for snap elections. That does not bode well for France.
And then it was Monday again. I was up at 5.30 after 6 hours sleep. It's an hour ahead of Spain in both Turkey and Greece so really I was up at 4.30. But it was already light at that time and the hot air balloons were out again.
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| View from our balcony on Monday morning - more hot air balloons |
It was my dear friend Sandra's birthday on 10th June. I remarked to her and Adele that soon we will be 70. Sandra, ever the optimistic, said we still have some years left in our 60's. So let's enjoy them.
After seeing the travertines of Pamukkale as well as Hierapolis, there wasn't much else to do in the area. But I had booked 3 nights, so we investigated what else there was to see on our last day in Pamukkale. There is and there was. There are more ancient and Biblical ruined cities in the area - no, please no more ruins - such as Laodicea but there are also some lesser famed springs, this time red and not far from our base, in Karahayit. So those were the places we would visit that day.
Karahayit is very near Pamukkale and we were there early. The famed red springs of thermal waters have a combination of minerals that lead to red coloured water flowing out. This water leaves behind a rusty red coloured travertine which we were keen to see. We parked in this dusty and dry village in extreme heat. The temperature reached 40ºc that day and my phone kept heating up. We walked past street sellers trying to sell us their wares. One lady was making wonderful Turkish stuffed flat bread which I would have bought if I hadn't just had my breakfast. Called gozleme (I think) it was the first time I saw it being made. It's funny but I seem to have enjoyed Turkish food more abroad than in the country itself. Maybe I haven't been lucky or didn't know what to ask for. The lady making the gozleme let me take a photo though.
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| The lady making gozleme in Karayit on Monday |
Being a Monday there were far few tourists around. But I don't think Karahayit suffers from "overtourism" like Pamukkale. On our way I was tempted by a long flowing blue and white summer dress at a clothes stall which I bought for just the equivalent of 10 euros. No doubt, the same dress in a shop in one of the Italian tourist shops would cost 7 or 8 times more. I was so happy with it, I put it on on top of my cotton trousers, the only pair of summer trousers I have brought with me! Here I am posing by the red springs. PS, I have been wearing it nearly daily ever since.
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| The red springs of Karahayit which we visited on Monday |
I didn't dare climb the rock to the source of the spring as it was too slippery but my husband did and I caught him on my camera.
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| Eladio touching the water coming from the Red Spring |
Not surprisingly, the water was very warm, like a hot bath according to Eladio. I also took a video to share which you can see
here.
When we had had our fill of the place and there wasn't much else to see, we ambled back to our car. On the way I took a picture of Eladio posing next to a sleeping dog and cat. I told you there are so many strays here. I was happy to see a bowl of bread and milk put out for them. They might be strays but people care for them. The government has even put chips on the dogs!
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| A stray dog and cat lying together in the shade with a bowl of milk and bread at their disposal. |
Leaving Karahayit, a name we have difficulty remembering, we stopped at a little supermarket to get fruit we didn't find, milk, tomatoes and hygiene products. Called SOK, it was pretty dismal. I couldn't wait to get back to the wonderful supermarkets in Italy and France, not to mention Spain. How spoiled we are in these countries, compared to Turkey and even Greece.
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| Doing some local shopping |
We then resumed our way to Laodicea, an ancient and biblical town mentioned in the Apostle John's Book of Revelation and the Book of Colossians. Towards the end of the Roman Empire in the 4th century AD and under Constantine 1st, Laodicea benefited from its position on a trade route and became one of the most important and rich commercial cities in Asia Minor. The main trade was in black wool. Perhaps most famous is the Epistle to the Laodiceans, supposedly written by the apostle Paul. I learned that day that the church there, discovered only in 2010, was one of the 7 churches of the Apocalypse. I think they were all rebuked and know for certain Laodicean was for it having grown "lukewarm and useless". The epistle refers to the selfish focus on wealth that stopped its people from living a real purpose in life. Whether they reacted or not, I don't know.
Today it lies in ruins with just a few intrepid tourists visiting but oh my were we impressed with what we saw; mostly ruins from Roman times and of course the church or what is left of it. I have lost count of how many ancient cities in ruins we have seen, many destroyed by tribes, new empires or more often by earthquakes but I think I will definitely remember Laodicea. This is the main street, Syria street where you can still see the grooves made by the wheels of Roman chariots on the great big slabs of rock used as pavement.
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| Syria Street in Laodicea |
The main ruins are an ancient stadium, two theatres, four bathing complexes as well as various "agoras". It must be important as it is one of Turkey's Unesco World Heritage sites. It's so massive and it was just too hot, we only saw some of it. Here are some photos to remember our visit to the Archaeological Site of Laodicea. If you ever go to Pamukkale, you have to visit Laodicea too.
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| Laodicea Archaeological site |
And below is what has been excavated of the 4th century church of Laodicea which I think impressed us both most.
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| The remains of the 4th century church of Laodicea |
There I read the Epistle which I had never read before and the words are harsh. My goodness how cross the Apostle must have been with the people of this place. Here is just an extract.
“I know your deeds, that
you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are
lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a
thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind
and naked. I counsel
you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and
white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and
salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those
whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my
voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person,
and they with me.”
There is so much more history to this place but no room to explain it in this post or otherwise I would bore you stiff. So that's enough of Laodicea.
It was about lunchtime when we finished our visit and we were both hot and hungry so drove back to Pamukkale. We had lunch again at the Hiera Coffee and Tea restaurant which ranks at the top of recommended restaurants on Trip Advisor but that, my friends, is not saying much. That day I had my first proper durum. Eladio chose bean stew (hahahaha)
Tuesday dawned and marked the end of our stay in Pamukkale which we had enjoyed but would have enjoyed more if only it hadn't been so damned hot. Sightseeing in 40ºc is no fun. It also marked the beginning of our return journey. That day we set off for Dardanelles near Çanakkale again, in the direction of the Ipsala border with Greece. We were going back the way we came. I had booked the same hotel too, the Sansun, by the Dardanelles. One advantage was we would get back our huge map of Europe we had left there on our way to Ephesus. I was so happy they had found it and kept it for us.
We had to drive 469km, a lot for us in one day and it would take over 6 hours. It was boiling hot outside so thank God for air conditioning. Around lunchtime we started looking for somewhere to eat on the road but didn't find anything decent enough. In the end, believe it or not, we found a McDonalds and made a beeline for it. I'm no great fan of that American hamburger chain but at least the food there would fill our stomachs.
We were given quite a warm welcome at the
SunSan hotel where we had stayed on our outbound journey. Soon I was sitting by the pool and thankfully it was not as hot as further south. In fact there was a lovely sea breeze. Eladio soon joined me and to my amazement, I saw him go in the pool, something he hardly ever does. That is news, my friends.
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| Cooling off in the pool at our hotel by The Dardanelles |
We then ambled across the hotel garden to their private pool and sat in the mellow sun enjoying the view of The Dardanelles; especially of the big ships sailing by. It really is a beautiful place and it was good to be back.
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| On the beach by the Dardanelles |
We decided to have dinner at the hotel on the sea front as the place is just so special. The only problem is that the menu was only in Turkish and internet was too slow to translate the words on a photo of the menu. But never mind, we ended up enjoying a sort of mezze. Here are some photos of that magical night, our last in Turkey.
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| Notice the dog - told you. |
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| Dinner at sunset by The Dardanelles in Turkey |
It was a magical setting but Eladio was not bowled over by the food. Never a nationalist, he ended up remarking that there is no food as good as in Spain. He may have a point, although lots of cuisines are great. To prove it, don't forget Olivia announced that the three of the top five restaurants in the world are from Spain.
We then ambled back contentedly to our hotel room where we had to switch off the air conditioning. What a change in temperature from Pamukkale and how nice to be back in The Dardanelles.
If our last night in Turkey was magical, our journey to Thessalonika, Greece, was anything but. It was very long and tiring. We didn't know that when we set off on
Wednesday morning and were excited to cross the 1915 Çannakale Brige again. Here it is as taken from the car. I think I told you last time it is the longest suspension bridge in the world.
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| Crossing the Çanakkale bridge again. |
On our way out we had been charged twice for petrol so we were determined to go to the same service station and ask for a refund. If only we hadn't bothered as we were there for about 1.5h only to be told to talk to our bank. I spoke to Visa who told me to talk to my bank and our bank hasn't been much help at the moment. We lost 55 euros, no big deal but we wasted so much time.
We wasted even more later as we must have taken the wrong exit after the bridge and were driving towards Istanbul instead of Greece. That was a wasted 100km and meant we had to drive all the way back. The whole trip should have been 500km and taken 5.5 hours but it ended up taking a lot longer. We set off at 9 am and didn't arrive until about 8 pm!! What made it even longer was the hold up at the Turkish border in Ipsala. This is it coming up.
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| Trying to leave Turkey |
There were a lot of cars and lorries but what really held us up was payment in Turkish liras for motorway tolls that are registered by camera. We didn't have any local cash left and it took ages to find a working ATM and involved a lot of officials. I reckon we were there for 1.5h. Finally we got out and I visited the Duty Free shop to get more fags at less than 2 euros a carton. Eladio helped me smuggle them into Greece - all hidden under our seats. I wondered if we would get caught crossing into Greece. Here is the border which is heavily fortified due to the not very good relations between the 2 countries.
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| The Greek border |
While queueing to show our passports I changed my SIM card - never an easy feat but doable. Driving an EU car we sailed through the Greek border with no questions. How civilised to be back in the EU where our Spanish SIM cards work, where you can pay in Euros and where you can buy ham and wine at the supermarkets and where you don't need any paperwork whatsoever. How different to Turkey. And unlike Turkey, many people in Greece speak pretty good English. A young Turkish mother who I met in a loo at a restaurant in Greece spoke it very well but it turned out she was a teacher of English. I asked her why very few people speak the language in her country. Her reply was very revealing: because Erdogan doesn't invest in good language teaching; he prefers to invest in religion! Oh wow. That said so much.
It must have been about 3pm by the time we were on the A2 motorway to Thessalonika and we had more than 350km to drive. We were starving but didn't see any service stations, nor anywhere to stop. Thus we just left the motorway when we saw a sign for petrol. That led us to a signpost for a restaurant called
Ai Giorgis (in Greek which we were both able to read) and that's where we headed. Oh what a find. It was the most marvellous place, near Alexandropolis and right by the sea. Heaven. We had the most delicious food and there was so much of it we got a doggy bag to eat the other half the next day. Here I am smiling at Ai Giorgis. That was the highlight of the day and made the whole journey worthwhile.
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| Enjoying the moment - a very late but delicious lunch near Alexandropolis on our way to Thessaolinika on Wednesday |
I took the wheel afterwards and drove on the hot and long A2 motorway for about 1.5h. Then Eladio took his turn. We had booked a night at an
Airbnb we had stayed at last year belonging to a lovely woman called Helen. We had booked direct and there she was with her husband Efstathios waiting for us by the apartment she calls "Helen's Little Castle". It is on a very tiny street and complicated to get to so it was heaven to arrive and see this lovely couple, park the car and enter their excellent pad. The aircon was on and there and then we asked if we could stay another night, just to chill out. We were only going to Thessalonika on our way to Igoumenitsa to catch the ferry to Italy but also to service the car which badly needed changing the oil. We had no interest in sightseeing as we had done that last year. We were so exhausted and hot after such a nightmare journey, all we wanted was to chill out at Helen's place. And that's what we did. Finally, too, we were able to wash all our clothes properly.
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| Outside Helen's apartment in old town Thessalonika |
That night I tried to book tickets with a cabin for Friday from Igoumenitsa but there weren't any cabins left. Thus I booked if for Saturday night. I had left it too late but then again I didn't know how much time we needed to be in Thessalonika. That meant, though, I then had to find somewhere to stay in Igoumenitsa for Friday night and part of Saturday until the ferry was leaving late tonight. There are so many logistics when on a road trip but they are part of the adventure, I suppose.
On Thursday we had an appointment with a BMW Mini garage called Gerantidis which I had found online and chosen because of their good reviews. We were very welcomed and felt in good hands. Here is the Mini entering and being serviced.
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| The Mini being serviced in Thessalonika |
In the end the Mini needed a complete service so I imagined it wouldn't be ready until Friday. But oh no, we only had to wait for an hour or so. In Madrid it is hard to get an appointment and then they take about a week.
With time on our hands, Eladio spied a hairdresser and went in. His locks had grown so much on this road trip, I laughed and told him his hair looked like Puigdemont's (the nasty Catalan fugitive who is the country's de facto leader). Of course I had to have a photo of him at the hairdresser for my blog didn't I? This is it.
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| Eladio about to have his hair cut in Thessalonika while waiting for the car to be serviced on Thursday |
We even had time to visit a local market Helen had recommended. Markets and I, me and markets; you know I love them. There we got some shorts and a polo shirt for Eladio as honestly two of each is not enough on this trip. We then got lots of fruit and veg which was amazing. I had to have a photo at the market too and this is it.
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| At a local market in Thessalonika on Thursday which we visited while the Mini was being serviced |
When Eladio takes photos there are always people in them, like the lady just behind me. I laughingly said to him I was sure he is much happier to be married to me than to her, hahahha. Oh, how we laughed. PS I didn't buy any more clothes for myself as they would not fit in our bulging suitcase.
Soon the car was ready, we had provisions from the market so we just headed back to our pad in the city. We didn't move from it until Friday when we woke up with recharged batteries.
For Friday and part of Saturday I had booked an
apartment in a place called Plataria, 8km from Syvota and about 30km from Igoumenitsa (North West Greece and near Albania) where I didn't find anything. I had to be very careful choosing accommodation to make sure I didn't book something on an island as there are so many of them, including one of the same name!! The
Visit Greece page describes the area as one of the most exotic destinations in the country. I wondered if that was true. It turned out it was, although I haven't seen enough of Greece to compare.
The journey was about 3.5h on a pretty good motorway with more service stations this time. However, the road had endless tunnels. Why, I asked myself? Turns out 80% of this country is mountainous. Eladio says that's why the Greeks went further afield looking for territory which was more fertile and thus began the era of Classical Greece. But we had a huge prize awaiting us at the end of the drive. I had no idea just how beautiful this area was and how blue the Ionian Sea is. Before checking in at the lovely Blue Bay Apartments, we had lunch in nearby Plataria at a place called Kokosis. There we had a delicious meal there and Eladio chose fish from the catch of the day. Imagine just how fresh that was. The sea was across the way.
We were both bowled over with our new accommodation or rather its situation and the views. How absolutely stunning. There are about 8 identical houses, all very pretty, perched on a low cliff in front of a bay on a peninsula of the Ionian Sea. Each house must have about 4 apartments of different sizes and all have balconies with views and oh what a view. I reckon the owner must be making a fortune. I would love to own a place like this and run it. This was the view from our lovely apartment.
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| View from our apartment near Plataria |
We both fell in love with the view and the location. Here is a
video I took which better describes it. The beach itself is pebbly so not my favourite but nice enough. It was the swimming pool I fell in love with though, a swimming pool that seems to blend with the sea. Oh what a discovery this places is. Here are some photos which can also explain it better.
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| Yes, that's me in the pool |
I loved it so much I spent the afternoon by the pool. Eladio joined me for photos and promised he will go in today. While having a very simple dinner on our terrace, I reminded him just how lucky we are and privileged to be somewhere like here. There is more to Greece than meets the eye and we have only touched the surface. Wee love it here so much we shall probably stay all day until we have to leave at around 8pm tonight to catch the ferry.
And that's it from me for this week. We've done a lot haven't we? We have been to so many places and seen so many things, they all tend to merge and we have problems remembering where we were a week ago. Thank goodness for this blog which I always use as a personal filing cabinet.
Cheers then friends and readers until next week when I don't yet know where we will be.
Masha (and Eladio)
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