Patmos to Kusadasi (Turkey)

Before we departed Patmos at 2pm we visited two convents - one built recently (1930s?) with beautiful grounds and structures and very 'no-speakee' nuns, except for the cheerful soul who accepted our money in the gift shop. We took an updated team photo at this stop with Eric's camera on time-delay and it is the one at the top of this blog. The other convent was close to John's Cave of the Apocalypse. Both convents are famous for their needlepoint, but I baulked at paying the huge asking price, so sorry folks - no samples.

Then we shifted from Greece (Patmos) to Turkey (Kusadasi) on a comfortable, large ferry exclusively for our use. The passage took over four hours but time flies when one lies down and snoozes. The crew were OK, but distant - I presume they were wary of any group who actually chose to visit Greece, which is beyond comprehension for many Turks.

The ferry trip from Patmos was very pleasant and we celebrated Mass on board. Yet again a very prayerful experience against a panorama of Greek islands close by on one side and Turkey a mere kilometre or two away on the other.

Mass on Kusadasi Ferry

Kusadasi was a surprise. I expected a dozy little fishing village but instead we were wedged between three huge cruise ships. Two were from the US and were huge - as in ginormous! At a guess, they would have to house the odd 10,000 people or so (OK, Jacqui found out later they have only 3000-4000 passengers and crew on each). One was 'Celebrity Equinox' and the other was 'Celebrity can't remember'.

US Cruise Ships

Why would you go to sea on a cruise to 'get away from it all' on a boat with thousands of others? Bizarre! Which reminds me - all along the waterfront is a bazaar, one of the originals. Around this and further beyond is a very extensive shopping area geared up for the European and American tourists. So I might not find Benni's Leather Shop for these hand-bags I was thinking about. It is a huge town and the accommodation, about ten minutes drive out of town, is very comfortable. The food was superb at Dinner tonight, probably the best so far. The desserts were rather good as well.

Tomorrow we head for Ephesus nearby here and it should be very interesting.