European Honeymoon Cruise, Part 7: Turkey

{Read part one--The Beginning--here}
{Read part two--Rome--here}
{Read part three--Pompeii--here}
{Read part four--Venice--here}
{Read part five--Croatia--here}
{Read part six--Athens--here}

The final leg of our honeymoon adventure took us to the nation of Turkey. We would have two stops in Turkey, with Istanbul being our final destination.


Our first stop in Turkey was to the city of Izmir--the third-largest city in Turkey. The city was called Smyrna up until the last century and is a historic center dating back to early civilization.


We had booked a tour with our cruise ship and began with a bus-guided tour of the city. We then stopped at an amazing archaeological museum. Although full of fascinating relics, it was small, so we were only given about an hour to browse the collections.

We were then taken to the Agora of ancient Smyrna. This city center was constructed when Smyrna was under Roman rule. It served as the political and commercial center of the city and also contained a marketplace. The Agora consisted of three floors, all of which can be explored by visitors.

These arches were designed to be earthquake-resistant and have stood the test of time {almost 2,000 years!}. They have survived earthquakes when many modern city buildings in Turkey did not.

We were then taken to the city center of modern Izmir at Konak Square. We saw the famous Izmir clock tower {the symbol of the city} and from there, our group was given free time, so Matt and I walked to the nearby Kemeralti bazaar.


As we approached the entrance to the bazaar, we could see that some kind of fervent political protest was going on. Matt was a little nervous that things could get out of hand, but after observing for some minutes, we decided it would be okay to go around the group to get to the shops. We wondered at what the protest could be about, but had no way of knowing.

The bazaar itself was overwhelming. The shops were endless, filled with every sort of merchandise one could imagine. It was obvious that Matt and I were tourists, and some shop owners rushed out as we passed, thrusting pairs of jeans or other objects in front of our faces and speaking forceful, broken English, imploring us to buy their goods. It was a real turnoff, to be quite honest, and it left us feeling that we didn't want to explore the bazaar much further.


Of course, by this point, I was also feeling extra poorly. We had been outside in the heat for a few hours and my sore throat was getting worse. We had passed by a sweet shop on our way into the bazaar, so we made our way back there. Matt and I wanted to be certain that we bought a good stock of Turkish Delight candy to bring home!

Back on the ship that night, we attended the finale evening show in the theatre and the crew joined in the fanfare:

The next morning, our ship was docked in Istanbul. We were given that day and night to explore the city, and after sleeping aboard the ship, we'd depart early the next morning.

However, I am sad to report that Matt and I did not leave the ship all that day to explore the legendary city of Istanbul. I was feeling really badly after a week of pushing myself to the max when I should've taken more time to let my body recover. We had booked an evening excursion with our cruise, and Matt was adamant that I rest for the day so I would feel well enough to go on our excursion. We did go and lay poolside for the afternoon, and the upside was that nearly all the ship's guests were ashore, so we enjoyed an unprecedented amount of peace and quiet on that sunny deck.

Our excursion was called "A Turkish Night." We got dressed up and were taken to a lavish hotel in the heart of Istanbul. There, we were served a four-course, authentic Turkish meal whilst being entertained by traditional Turkish folk dancers, belly dancers, and singers. I was a little nervous that I wouldn't like the food, but my goodness--every morsel was absolutely delicious. We enjoyed the show, too!

Our "Turkish Night" dinner show was splendid, a perfect ending to our two week-long cruise.

Even though Matt and I weren't able to see a lot of Turkey, it left us hungering for more. We really hope we can return to Turkey one day to explore this fascinating country further and really experience it in all its glory.

It really is a shame that I was sick for the second half of our trip, but thankfully, we still did and saw all we wanted to {with the exception of getting to explore Istanbul}.

It really was the most exceptionally amazing two weeks! I can't believe all we were able to do, see, and experience. We made endless memories that we will always remember. And once again, I feel so endlessly blessed that Matt spoiled me with this dream-honeymoon.

This was the most-perfect, utterly-romantic beginning to our life together as "Mr. and Mrs."! It was a journey filled with love, laughter, romance, and adventure--the perfect prelude to the life-long adventure we'll share together.

European Honeymoon Cruise, Part 6: Athens

{Read part one here--The Beginning}
{Read part two here--Rome}
{Read part three here--Pompeii}
{Read part four here--Venice}
{Read part five here--Croatia}

Not only were we able to explore the ancient heart of the Roman Empire during our honeymoon, we were able to see the heart of Ancient Greece, as well--in the city of Athens.


Our day started out with a lot of frustration, to be honest. Our ship docked at the port of Piraeus. Piraeus is essentially a part of Athens itself, but Athens is a vast, sprawling city, and we needed to take a train to get to the center of the city.


Matt and I were going at Athens alone {meaning we didn't book an excursion with the cruise}, and the information the cruise ship had given us was incredibly unhelpful in helping one navigate from the docks to the train station in Piraeus. We had no clue where we were going, so we started walking towards what appeared to be the center of Piraeus, though we couldn't be sure.


After about an hour of walking, we did happen across the train station. Relieved, we bought tickets to the city center and hopped aboard a train.


Our destination was the world-famous Acropolis of Athens. In my state of feeling poorly, I didn't take my camera out until we were actually at the Acropolis itself. We also didn't approach it at an angle that offered a good view of the hill on which the Acropolis sits. So these first two photos, I borrowed from the net in order to give you a better perspective:

Photo retrieved here.

Photo retrieved here.

Our train destination didn't drop us as near to the Acropolis as we had expected. That meant a lot more walking, and uphill at that. Normally I would have enjoyed this, but since it was very hot and I didn't feel well, it was a struggle for me. Still, I couldn't help but to be excited at knowing we would soon experience one of the most renowned historical sites of all time.

The Acropolis sits upon a flat hill and contains the archaeological remains of some of the most important temples in Greek history. Most of the architectural masterpieces were completed during the 5th Century--the "Golden Age" of Pericles. Temples had been erected upon the hill as early as one thousand years prior, but then dismantled, and Pericles built upon the remains. Ever since, the Acropolis has stood as an international symbol of the dominance Athens held over the ancient world.


Once Matt and I finally arrived to the Acropolis, I became giddy and my sickness seemed to fade away, for the time being at least.

The most famous of all the monuments--the Parthenon. I had always dreamt of seeing this marvel in person one day.

No, scaffolding is not prime for viewing {and picture-taking} pleasure. But the archaeologist within me greatly appreciates the work that is being done here. A great restoration project of the acropolis has been ongoing since 1975 and is nearly completed.

The view of Athens from the Acropolis was astounding. Athens literally stretches as far as the eye can see, in every direction!

The other side of the Parthenon:

This photo cracks me up--the looks on our faces! It's the only photo Matt and I took of the two of us at the Acropolis, although I have no idea why we didn't ask someone else to take a nicer one of us.

After we had explored the Acropolis to our little hearts' content, we bought a frozen lemonade and shared it in the shade, mostly to try to soothe my throat.

We then decided to make our way toward an archaeological museum, though it took some time navigating the winding streets, even with our map. But to our dismay, the museum was closed for the day even though it was only about 2:30 in the afternoon; apparently this museum closed at 2 pm.

With no other specific destination in mind, and with my sickliness, we decided to head back to the train station and ultimately back toward our ship, since we knew it would take quite a bit of walking. We took our time, taking in as much of Athens as we could, browsing outdoor booths, observing the locals, and peeking our heads into little shops.

I wish we could have spent more time enjoying the city in Athens, although seeing the great Acropolis was more than enough for me. Our tiny glimpse of this epic city was enough to leave an impression upon us for years, until the day we can hopefully return.

European Honeymoon Cruise, Part 3: Pompeii

{Read part one here.}
{Read part two here.}

Stop number two on our cruise was to the lovely Italian city of Naples. A stop at this location allowed me to fulfill a lifelong dream--to visit the historical site of Pompeii.

Most people have heard of Pompeii and its disastrous history. In the year 79 A.D., the volcano Mt. Vesuvius erupted, wiping out the nearby ancient city of Pompeii. Not only were the city's inhabitants killed within a span of mere minutes, but the city itself was buried completely under layer upon layer of volcanic ash. This ash preserved Pompeii exactly as it was when the volcano erupted, and it layed undisturbed for hundreds of years. It is now one of the most-famous archaeological sites in the world, largely due to the amazing extent to which it was preserved.

The tragic story of Pompeii instantly fascinated me when I first heard of it as a young girl. Ever since then, the archaeologist-enthusiast in me has longed to see this place. So as Matt and I were looking over our cruise ship's land excursion options, the Pompeii tour was the first one we booked.

Our excursion included a 45 minute bus ride from the Naples port to Pompeii, and then a guided tour of the whole archaeological site. I was pleased that our cruise kept our tour group to a small size, so we didn't have any problems with crowding to see something or hearing our tour guide's in-depth and fascinating commentary. 

It was the most beautiful, warm, sunny day--one that made it hard to imagine the horrors that happened here when this city was lost to the world for so long.

Here's a great view with Mt. Vesuvius in the background:

One famous, yet rather morbid aspect of Pompeii is that not only did the ash from the eruption perfectly preserve the city, it also preserved the people who died such horrible deaths.

The bodies of these people did indeed decay, but because the sediment from the eruption was so compact, a cavity remained in the sediment in the exact shape of the human form. Archaeologists were able to locate these cavities below the surface, drill a small hole into them, and then fill them with a type of plaster. This resulted in molds showing humans exactly as they were in the moment that the volcanic eruption overtook them. Exact body positions and even facial expressions are visible, and I must tell you, it is an utterly chilling sight. 

These forms make the horror of that day come tragically to life. There are molds of individuals curled up in tight fetal positions, trying to shield themselves. There are couples gripping one another, or families huddled together. These scenes are beyond heartbreaking, and in the saddest way, offer an emotional bridge across the years to these humans who lived so long ago.

We toured one of Pompeii's many bath houses and were in awe of the mosaics and vivid paint colors still adorning the floors, walls, and ceilings.

Outside on the city streets, one can still see the juts left in the stones by all the cart wheels of this once-bustling city.

Here our tour guide is pointing out a mosaic on the ground in front of an entrance to a home:

The statue below was part of a fountain adorning the courtyard to one of Pompeii's grandest homes.

Below is a bakery that once provided Pompeiians with fresh bread daily. Archaeologists even found some perfectly-preserved, carbonized loaves of baked bread in the ovens here.

This was a cafeteria where locals came to dine. Little fires were lit in the holes to keep dishes hot:

This was once someone's lovely home...

It's funny, in a way--two thousand years later, Pompeii's city streets are still bustling with activity. Instead of city inhabitants, however, this time it's tourists.

Here we are about to go in and tour a brothel. You read that right--a brothel. Turns out Pompeii was filled with them, actually.

The outer city walls:

This is probably one of my favorite pictures of us from our honeymoon:

Seeing Pompeii firsthand was everything I'd imagined it would be. It was incredibly surreal to walk through the well-preserved city and get a real feel for what life was like for the citizens of Pompeii. The story stopped being just a story to me--it became personal. Walking the streets of Pompeii allows for visitors to experience history in a way few other sites can offer. I now feel I have a personal connection to the history here and the impressions it left upon my heart run deep.

After our experience at Pompeii, we had just enough time left to wander the streets of Naples near to the port. We really had just one goal in mind--to find a quiet little cafe where we could enjoy some authentic Italian cappuccino. I'm happy to report that we were successful!

As our ship sailed away from Naples, we saw the most beautiful sunset on the horizon. It seemed like the absolute perfect way to end our memorable day at Pompeii.