Whilst vacationing in Turkey and Greece with my family (wife plus three children…adult children thank God), I enjoyed a remarkable journey into ancient civilizations, modern beauty, IWC shopping / gawking, and time to have two GTGs with IWC Collectors’ Forum members. This two week Odyssey was the trip of a lifetime for my family. We all survived too much togetherness at times.
Our journey with my wife and two daughters began in Philadelphia with a short hop over to Toronto where we met our son who flew in from St. Louis. From Toronto we had a long flight to Istanbul.
Departing for Istanbul.
Our youngest child was none too happy about our accommodations on a 10-hour flight with them in the economy section and the parents in the front of the boat:
My IWC PPC is hidden behind the MacBook.
PPC in plain view later:
We essentially had three days in Istanbul to visit the rich cultural sites in this ancient city that spans two continents. The Bosphorus straights separate European Istanbul (Constantinople) from Asian Istanbul.
We took a boat ride on the Bosphorus as part of the tour. My trusty Galapagos AT was with me on this day.
Along the way to the dock we passed the local fish and spice markets:
Smelly for sure:
Maybe the spices and nuts will help?
A visit to Istanbul is never complete without a visit to the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia (Aya Sophia). I don’t have the required IWC wrist shots in these places, but you will forgive me for just showing the beauty of these holy and historic sites.
The Blue Mosque:
This is a large, I mean very large, Mosque with thousands of tourist visiting each day. Women must cover their heads, shoulders, and legs to enter the Mosque and everyone must remove their shoes. Muslims wash their hands, faces, and feet before entering Mosque for the daily call to prayer. The prayer area is off limits to non-Muslims.
The Mosque as seen from a distance, behind me is the Hagia Sofia.
Men washing feet and bodies before entering for daily prayers:
Inside the Blue Mosque with my wife, son, and daughters in appropriate coverings.
The interior of the Mosque is breathtaking with its amazing mosaic tiles.
Hagia Sophia (aka Aya Sophia)
The Hagia Sofia originally was a Christian place of worship. It was built in the Byzantine period around 360 AD. It was destroyed and rebuilt three times. Before becoming a museum, it last was a Mosque. Many of the early Christian décor is still evident and being restored now that the site is no longer a Mosque, but a Museum. Once again no IWC content, but more will follow…sorry Michael and Tonny.
Feet and body washing station outside the Hagia Sofia; it’s no longer in use.
The interior with images of both Christianity and Islam:
Our first stop after leaving Istanbul was a visit to Kavala on the mainland of Greece. Kavala is the home of Argiris G., one of our own Forum members. Fortunately, there was time in both his schedule and ours for a brief visit. It was great to see Argiris once again and renew old friendships.
While in the Kavala area we had lunch the small village of Xanthi. Not sure how to translate the back label of this excellent Greek beer. Galapagos AT on display.
The next day we visited the ancient ruins in Ephesus. This world heritage site is a must see on any trip to Turkey. I have hundreds of pictures of this enormous historical site, but I will only post a few.
The Library of Ephesus:
Acropolis at Ephesus…The Theater where the Three Tenors and Yani performed:
Do you think this is an authorized IWC AD here in Ephesus? I did not go into the shop as the merchants are very aggressive. Does this count as IWC content, MF and Tonny? LOL.
I am skipping some other Greek Islands we visited to show pictures of one of the most beautiful sites on the globe…Santorini. Everyone has seen pictures of the white buildings that hug the top of the mountains, but unless you are there in person, you don’t get a sense for its real beauty.
There is an Authorized IWC Ad on the Island. I did go into his shop wearing my DFB. He had not seen one before. I selected my DFB for the day to match its white dial to the surroundings.
Window-shopping in Fira, Santorini, Greece:
Wrist shot of DFB as the sunrise began onboard our ship, Regent Seven Seas' Mariner, with Santorini on the horizon:
Required wrist shot with Oia, Santorini in background:
Another wrist shot at dock leaving the Island:
Atop a major lookout point with Santorini as the backdrop:
A bit more daring wrist shot atop one of the magnificent Santorini buildings.
The last stop was in Athens. We visited the typical tourist venues…the major one being the Parthenon atop the Acropolis. But the highlight of the visit was a GTG with Dimitris P. and his bride, Maria. Dimitris, a fellow Forum Member, is a real friend and I was happy we had time to meet again to renew old friendships.
First the Parthenon, alas without at least one wrist shot to keep on topic. Sorry again, I got distracted with all the sites.
I lingered a bit gawking at the girl in yellow, I mean the Parthenon:
The old couple: Mary and yours truly.
On the next to last day in Greece we had a GTG with Dimitris P, a fellow Forum member, and his bride, Maria. Our watches for the day were his Ingenieur 3327 and my Galapagos AT. My wife contributed her c. 89 for the table shot:
The family shot at lunch in Athens: AT in plain view
On our return flight to Philadelphia we transited via London. The AD in Heathrow had an impressive selection of IWCs.
So long to a memorable Big Fat Greek and Turkish Vacation. Welcome to jet lag for the next week.
