At the beach, most people don't wear their swimsuits there. This is where you change.

Crete had great beaches and what is vacation without a beach. So we swam a little.

Crete was a great stop. In the end, we didn't take a tour but still had a blast. Next Stop - Corfu!

Next Stop - Ephesus, Turkey

Lisa and I were fortunate enough to be able to go to ancient Ephesus, Turkey, of Biblical fame. Enjoy! 

Dur in the name of the law

Their stop signs say DUR. This is odd because usually they say STOP. 

The Virgin Mary's house

 
 
 
Lisa and I were able to visit the house where the virgin Mary is thought to have spent her last years. The Pope recently visited the same site. This place also holds the distinction of the single best view from a male restroom that I have personally encountered. 

The Law

One neat thing they did was to carve the city law on a building. When you were coming into town, you knew what was off limits. 

Ancient Toilet

Marble warms up if you sit on it for a while. 

The Library of Celcius

This is the most famous site in ancient Ephesus. 

Christian Symbol

This symbol was carved in the street leading from the colosseum to the Arcadian Way. You can see all the Greek letters for Christ in the circle, IXOYE, which are abbreviations for Jesus, Christ, God, Son, and Savior 

The Colosseum

 
This is the audience seating where people sat when St. Paul preached to the Ephesians. 

Too good to pass up

"Look Honey! I got a genuinely fake Rolex!" 

Genuine Humor

This is funny whereever you are. There is a museum, in Italy I believe, that houses the heads and arms of all the other statues. 

Topographic Map of Turkey

We were on the far western coast of Turkey. In contrast, the capital, Anakara, is approxmiately where the drumstick would go if Turkey, the country, were Turkey, the bird. 

St John's Church and Tomb

 
  

St. John's Baptistry

 

This is the baptistry at St. John's church. 

Turkish Grub

 
 
 
In Turkey, I learned that "Farmer's plate" means good eatin' in any language. 

Rug Shop Racket

Each tour guide we had on every port of call had a "special shopping stop" where they were in with the owners for a cut of the profits. In Ephesus, it was the rug shop. They were very nice people with very nice rugs. The problem was, they were also very expensive and heavy. Also you couldn't return them if they were stained or failed to fly as promised. 

Turkish Brother

This is Lisa's Turkish Brother. After visiting the racket rug shop, we were snagged into a T-Shirt shop by a guy who wisked us away (two streets over) to another rug shop where things were "much cheaper". After the obligatory free drink, we parted ways with a new member of the family. 

Next Stop - Crete

  

First Port - Athens

Our first port of call was Athens, Greece. It was a very neat city with lots to do. Here is everything we could cram into 6 hours.