243: santorini, greece

Day 11:

Santorini, Greece

Santorini was one of our favorites.  Every view lent itself to a postcard picture.  It was breathtaking with its small, picturesque villages hanging off the cliffs.  Whitewashed houses were built into little niches in the rock and the colors, against the whitewash, just popped. From the colors of the Aegean Sea to the colors of the buildings to the colors of the flowers, they all complimented each other perfectly to give so much variety to the eye. We had to take a cable tram to get to the top of the island (actually crater..it was a volcano). On the way down, we didn't want to wait in the hour long line for the cable cars, so we walked down the very narrow streets with throngs of donkeys.  We could have ridden a donkey, but walking was quicker and less sketchy. If only the pictures could emit smell..that trail was quite fragrant with waste. It was a perfect day, in a perfect, quaint sea village town.

I wish I took more pictures of all the colored doors we saw..they were pretty cool!

 Not a bad view from your front door!

 More lovers locks atop the highest point in Oia

 Crystal clear water of the Aegean Sea

 Local art..lots of little ma and pop tourist and art shops around the island. Jim was just about ready to sell everything, move to Greece and open a little tourist shop..a quiet, simple life!

Pure excitement comes when we see one of these!!

 Stinky steep steps 

Just what I would picture an older, greek island man who runs a donkey train, to look like. Look at those feet! Probably doesn't care if he walks in crap. Such a simple life.

 A view of the steep trail we walked down from the top to the bottom! 

242: kusadasi, turkey

Day 10:

Kusadasi, Turkey

Ephesus

Turkey was a major highlight for us! I was especially excited to visit Ephesus, as we had learned about it and many other surrounding places in my New Testament seminary class last year. This was like a field trip for me. The sites were amazing. It was hard to wrap your brain around the fact that the Apostle Paul walked the very dirt trails that I walked on. We sat in the theater that he addressed all the people. We walked the streets where ACTS 17 took place. We were probably the youngest on the "biblical tour" by about 15 years, and the only ones who didn't take advantage of the special mass they put together for our group at the House of the Virgin Mary. Instead, we browsed the gift shops. Turkey was an incredible place and I would love to go back and spend more time.

 Ephesus

 The Basilica of John..here lies the tomb of John the Apostle

 Our tour guide..he was Muslim, but knew more about the Bible then most Christians. I can still hear him hollering into his microphone, which went right to our ear pieces, "#14 follow me...#14 this way...#14 hurry please..#14 follow the orange umbrella" 

 Another section of Ephesus

 The great theater in which Paul preached in.

How I would have loved to be sitting on these uncomfortable rocks listening to the Apostle Paul preach!

 Library of Celsus

 Biblical "public" restrooms..they must have felt very close to one another after a bathroom experience.

 The throngs of people who flock to Ephesus

 If you look in the newer bibles, this is almost exactly the picture that shows Ephesus.

A little show with Cleopatra and Mark Anthony

This was the prison of the Apostle Paul..I had to zoom my lens to it's full potential.

 We visited the House of the Virgin Mary.  It is believed that this is where she lived the last 11 years of her life. It is a very sacred spot to many.

 Sacred, holy water from the House of Mary..I was just thirsty, so I filled my water bottle. I'll take any blessings I can get.

 A prayer wall..I love finds like this.

 One can't go to Turkey without a demonstration of carpet weaving. Now, if it could just stop with the demonstration, that would have been great! No, we had to be swindled and pressured heavily to buy a Turkish rug. We escaped! We did not come home with the 3x5 rug they tried to sell us for $2,500.

 A cool statue on the boardwalk in Kusadasi..The Hand of Peace

Kusadasi literally means:  bird island.

 Ataturk Statue

Basking in the Aegean Sea.