Dining Around with Gene Burns

Saturday 10am-1pm 

Trip Report 2004

Crusader Kingdoms (4417)! A cruise of the Mediterranean on the Silversea ultra-luxury Silver Whisper Call 1-800-722-9955 for Silverseas, and 1-800-AIRWAYS for British Airways, or simply click on the links provided. Please ask about special deals and promotions as well as your favorite destinations.

 TRIP REPORT

This vacation was built around a nine-day cruise from Athens, Greece to Istanbul, Turkey onboard the Silver Whisper, the fourth and newest ship of the luxury Silversea Line. We arranged our travel to allow for additional time in Athens and Istanbul. The ship sailed on Wednesday, June 16^th from Piraeus (the port of Athens) docking in Istanbul on the afternoon of Thursday, June 24^th. Thursday night was spent on the ship with disembarkation the morning of Friday, June 25^th. During the cruise we visited Aghios Nikolaos (Crete); Beirut, Lebanon; Limassol, Cyprus; Antalya, Turkey; Rhodes; Kusadasi and Istanbul, Turkey.

The Silversea Line has consistently received the highest ratings from both travelers and professional reviewers. You can certainly add Dining Around to both groups. This was our first experience with Silversea and it will not be our last! Two hallmarks of the Silversrea style are all-inclusive fares and intriguingly different itineraries. No tipping is required or expected; wine and drinks onboard are included. There are ultra-premium wines available on a Connoisseur’s List at additional charge, but quite frankly the complimentary wines were so well chosen that use of the List was not necessary although a nice option. We found Shore Excursions more reasonably priced than many mass-market cruise lines. Onboard accommodations were spacious and nicely appointed. In suite bathrooms had double sinks and a stand up shower in addition to a tub. Bulgari shampoo, conditioner and other skin care products provided a pleasant indication of a five star standard. The ship’s hotel and restaurant staff was an international mix while the officer cadre was Italian and both were unfailingly polite, prompt and helpful. The food and wine were the best we have experienced in our years of cruising. There were no assigned meal seatings and three dinner venues from which to choose, the main dining room, the Terrace Café and the gourmet restaurant called Le Champagne. No reservations were required in the main dining room. They were required in the intimate Le Champagne and the Terrace Café, which featured theme dinners, based on country or regional cuisine. These theme dinners accepted a maximum of sixty reservations. During the mid day a poolside Grille served great burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, salads and ice cream. In suite dining was also available and amazingly could be served during dinner hours "course by course". We sampled all of the dining options and found them all to be good. Indeed Executive Chef Gerhard Egger and his staff managed to provide superb choices at each meal. Incredible though it may seem all breads and pastries were baked fresh onboard daily by the resourceful ship’s baker who astonishingly worked a split shift every day. The kitchen endeared itself to many passengers, myself included, by featuring from time to time some of the classic dishes that have all but disappeared from contemporary menus. Items such as well-roasted duck, Beef Wellington and Tournedos Rossini were executed with panache and were a great treat. We ate in the Terrace Café on the night an Asian menu was featured and much to our delight the food choices were not "westernized" but the wait staff did cheerfully make substitutions for diners who found the authentic recipes too spicy or too "creative". Our experience in Le Champagne was wonderful. The intimate setting (only 24 seats) was cozy and warm. Chef de Cuisine Gavin Baxter has both a well-trained palate and a good eye for creative plating both of which are essential in this type of degustation or tasting menu. The restaurant’s wine list is creative and balanced but I do believe this is one area in which a small change would enhance the dining experience. It is next to impossible to match wines with a multi-course menu at a dinner for two, four or even six diners if you must order by the bottle. The range of wonderful wines now available from around the world provides nearly endless possibilities for stellar wine and food pairings. In Le Champagne a wonderful dining experience would be made better if a by-the-glass wine menu were offered (a different wine with each course) to accompany the meal at an additional charge per person. This relatively small addition would greatly enhance what is already an excellent wine component onboard. Indeed our sommelier throughout the cruise John Beyen was a great asset not only in interesting conversation but also with fine suggestions of wines to try. In fact I had never tasted the California Central Coast wine, Byron "Hang Time" Pinot Noir which John suggested one evening. It was sensational and at $27.00 a bottle easily the best wine bargain onboard. Imagine I had traveled half way around the world to discover a great wine made in my own geographical back yard! Byron is owned by Robert Mondavi. The wine is available (information not available at posting time – 7/7/04. It will be added soon.)

Silversea has made a decision to keep its vessels small, more like large yachts than cruise ships. At a time when the industry standard is bigger and bigger ships seemingly more like a small city than a luxury vessel, the Silversea style is refreshing and delightful. Not only are passengers able to get to meet and know more fellow travelers, but the ships are less crowded and hence less hectic. This is especially appreciated during embarkation and disembarkation when fewer passengers mean virtually no waiting in exasperating lines. Similarly shore excursions are less crowded and hence deliver a far more satisfying experience. Smaller ships also mean access to more interesting ports of call which are unable to handle larger ships. In addition smaller ships are better able to dock at pier side avoiding the need for boarding tenders to go ashore.

Silversea fares may seem more expensive, but after you calculate all of the extras for which you are charged on mass market lines and such things as gratuities, you discover the difference is not as great as at first it might seem. Not to mention the demonstrably higher standards of service and comfort delivered by Silversea. This cruise line has developed some of the most interesting and unusual itineraries available today. Rather than repeatedly circling the Caribbean or trekking to and from Alaska, these ships seek out and visit such intriguing places as Lebanon, Cyprus, Dubai, Libya, Syria, Vietnam, Shanghai and Tasmania.

We have consistently received excellent service from British Airways at very competitive prices. We began researching air fares six to eight weeks before our scheduled departure. We used a variety of web sites as well as newspaper travel sections and direct inquiries. We were willing to be creative in designing our itinerary to get the best deal. After all was said and done, British Airways had both the best price and the best routing available from a reservations clerk by telephone. British Airways has daily non-stop flights from San Francisco to London. We chose the 7 PM flight on a Friday night since it most approximates a normal night’s sleep. We arrived at London’s Heathrow Airport shortly after 1 PM Saturday. With a ten hour layover before a British Airways late night flight to Athens we took advantage of a service offering a day room rate at a nearby Marriott Hotel to rest, shower and refresh. The service included transfers to and from the airport. We arrived in Athens at 4:30 AM on Sunday, the early hour being the only disadvantage to our chosen route although there was certainly no waiting at the nearly empty Athens Airport. We once again experienced superb service from both ground and in flight personnel, and believe it or not the food was some of the best we’ve had while flying.

Two things are well worth considering when booking airfare; using the same carrier throughout your trip makes baggage checking and handling easier and reduces the chances of a misplaced bag and flying midweek even at peak times enhances the possibility of a less crowded flight.

Our Economy Class tickets cost $1,274.77 each and were booked at least a month in advance.

Athens was a challenge. The choice of a hotel there led to the greatest disagreements of our travels and the city was unfriendly, shabby and difficult. Of course the city is frantically racing to get ready to host the Summer Games of the 2004 Olympics, a source of great pride for the Greeks given that the games were born there in antiquity. The Games will be held of course but I wouldn’t count on Athens being ready to host them.

Prices in Athens are very high and made more so by the strength of the Euro against the American dollar. Many of the luxury hotels were fully booked although in fairness we waited far too long to address the hotel issue there, finally booking less than ten days before we arrived. I suggested we search the web for a three star hotel in the city since all we really needed was a clean air-conditioned place to sleep. I had seen Rick Steves do just that a hundred times in his television travels. Executive Producer Joel Riddell was doubtful and his partner Robert Moon was wisely non-committal. We searched Greek Tourism and Hotel web sites surprisingly without success or in most cases even the courtesy of a reply. Consular and tourist offices here in the United States were not particularly helpful. We turned to hotels.com and had better luck. The search turned up several choices differing widely in price. A property called The Amaryllis Hotel looked promising and quoted a great rate – two rooms for four nights for three people breakfast and all taxes and fees included 440 Euros, about $550.00.

The hotel had an elevator, air conditioning full bath and refrigerators in the rooms. In my mind’s eye I could see RJ (my late father) nodding his partly Scottish head in approval. Joel thought we were signing up for an apocalyptic version of hell on earth. As is often the case reality rests somewhere between these polar extremities. I thought the hotel was fine. It served its purpose and delivered exactly what the husband and wife owners had promised it would. My final satisfaction came at check out when I handed the desk clerk 440.40 Euros in full payment. The .40 Euro incidentally was use of the telephone.

What did we learn? Several things. Three Star is not luxury nor is it American style. If you don’t know a city be cautious, a web site may not adequately convey information on the surrounding neighborhood. The Amaryllis it turns out is in one of Athens rougher neighborhoods, but in fairness that was not a problem although it could have been. Having a restaurant in a hotel serving more than just breakfast is a nice convenience. This hotel served only breakfast. When a hotel says it is within walking distance of one sight or another question carefully. After all Lourdes is within "walking" distance of Paris if you’re a penitent pilgrim! Whatever you do don’t walk into a hotel room in a strange city at 6 AM after flying thousands of miles and fourteen hours and expect to have an unbiased positive reaction. After flying halfway around the world even the Waldorf Astoria might seem less than adequate. Sleep first, then assess! It helped me. It did not help Joel. He was terrified that the hand held shower in the bathroom would be a precursor to a replay of the great Tahiti Adventure and explaining that to my boss Mickey Luckoff would not be fun. The shower

was fine. Three (as in star) is less than Five and that’s the trade off.

Athens was a significant disappointment, which left me puzzled and troubled. All of my Greek and Greek-American friends were fun, gracious, hospitable and helpful. Athenians were none of these things and indeed many were just the opposite. There was much less English proficiency than I would have expected in a major foreign capital. I’m not sure what I expected Athens to be. Perhaps given its importance in antiquity, I expected more order and polish. I found Athens to be hot, dusty, dirty, disheveled and hostile. I suspect the hospitable Greece I was expecting is to be found in the countryside and the islands. In fairness it may well be that the intense pressure of preparing for the world to come calling during the Olympics may have taken the edge off Athenian hospitality. In any event a capital city does not a country make. As nice as Washington, DC is when you visit there you do not find the spacious skies, amber waves of grain and purple mountains majesty of which the song sings. I owe Athens a revisit in a calmer time and Athens owes me a better welcome!

Here is one Athens anecdote with a happy ending. While resting over a drink near the Acropolis I struck up a conversation with two ladies from South Africa who were on that day’s tour with us. The opener was a question about espresso coffee. The ladies asked if I had seen the newly minted Two Euro coin commemorating the impending Olympics. I had not. They produced one of the two they had bought as mementos of their visit. They were available at banks for face value (about $2.40). It was a great souvenir idea either as is or crafted into a pendent or key ring. I immediately scouted out several at two banks. I'm indebted to my new South African acquaintances for a great souvenir idea and a reminder that gifts for the folks back home can be both reasonable and creative.

I have made frequent trips to the Middle East over the years, both business and personal. Because of the fifteen-year civil war, my last trip to Lebanon was right after the horrible bombing of the Marine barracks in 1983. It saddened me since I thought Lebanon was a beautiful welcoming country. Indeed its capitol city Beirut was known as the "Paris" of the Middle East. Its inhabitants were suave, sophisticated and interesting; its culture was well developed and its antiquities were well preserved. A small compact country, Lebanon offers beautiful Mediterranean beaches less than a two and a half-hour drive from stunning mountain vistas. The only time I have done anything approximating a religious pilgrimage was a visit I made in the 1970’s to Bishara, a small Lebanese mountain village which is the birthplace of the poet/philosopher Kahlil Gibran author of the book The Prophet, one of my favorites.

In happier times I spent many hours in the garden of a wonderful Italian restaurant not far from the Phoenicia Intercontinental Hotel in Beirut called "Quo Vadis". Isa Majaj a Palestinian-American friend who owned the Jordan Express Company and I would eat air-dried ham carved at tableside, sip Chateau Musar wine and talk politics. The Chateau Musar winery was founded in 1930 by Gaston Hochar and has managed to produce wine even at the height of the war. A few years ago during an interview with Serge Hochar, the current winery President and son of the founder I discovered that Chateau Musar also made a fine multiple-distilled arak the Middle East version of the anise flavored digestif. I asked where I could get it in the States. Serge said it was available only at the winery in Lebanon. Chuckling I said the next time I was in the area I’d drop by and get some. Thus I was delighted to see that our cruise itinerary would take us to Beirut for the day. While our shipmates took tours to Baalbeck, Byblos, Jeita and downtown Beirut we would make the trek a few miles north of the capital to the hills above the port city of Junieh to Chateau Musar to acquire the elusive arak. We would also spend a few hours with one of the most knowledgeable and passionate winemakers I have ever met. Hospitality is an honored Lebanese trait. In that spirit the winery responded to our earlier email by sending a car and driver to the pier in Beirut to take us to the winery. Serge greeted us warmly and asked exactly what type of tasting we were interested in. We said we simply wanted to meet the property through its wines. It was precisely the right answer and it launched us on an unforgettable experience. Serge Hochar is intensely proud of his winery and its products, acutely aware of its membership in the fascinating wider world of viticulture and he understands the anomaly Chateau Musar represents laboring as it has through even the bleakest years of the civil war. Into the cellar we descended as Serge explained that the winery’s white wines had unusual longevity, that the House made three different styles of wine Musar Cuvee reservee (red, white and rose), Hochar Pere et Fils, and Chateau Musar as well as the afore-mentioned arak. Corks popped and we tasted the younger wines as the indigenous grape varietals were explained. Down another level into the cool slightly musty home of the pride of the House, dust covered bottles, vintage after vintage, of superb Chateau Musar incredibly more than eight million bottles! We sniffed, swirled and sipped the master of the House watching me intently for reaction. "Move over here", he suggested, "the wine will taste different". Taste different? Sure enough, the character of the wine changed. "We’ll take this wine back upstairs", Serge said, "it won’t taste nearly as good there". He was right again. As his friends have told him endlessly Serge Hochar has a book to write. "Maybe soon", he offers, "when I have time". As we enjoyed a stunningly fresh 1971 our conversation drifted to an appreciation of Robert Mondavi a man we both admire immensely. Funny I thought to myself how much alike they are Serge Hochar and Bob Mondavi each a giant in his own context, each a vital part of that almost mystical world-wide cadre of wine producers and each reduced to near rhapsodic elemental joy when appreciating the magic that occurs when mere grape juice reaches for immortality.

Lebanese hospitality would be incomplete without food and so we moved to a nearby Country Club that Hochar is developing. As a cooling breeze wafted up from the Mediterranean far below us ameliorating the heat of the mid-day, the components of the traditional meze began arriving at our outdoor table: hummus, baba gannough, olives, cheese, kibbeh (both raw and cooked), spinach and cheese turnovers, fresh tomatoes, cucumber, scallions, romaine lettuce and pita bread. The second course was shish taouk (grilled chicken breast kebab) with cold impeccably fresh fruit for dessert and Arabic coffee served traditionally with glasses of cold water.

As we rode along the highway by the sea back to our ship, bottles of the prized arak and Chateau Musar wines securely stowed, I mused on our amazing day. It’s a great human mystery – how similar we are and yet how different; separated by thousands of miles united by our passion for grape juice and its seemingly infinite permutations. As we turned onto the pier I remembered this line from the Persian poet Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat: "I wonder what it is the vintners buy which is one-half so precious as what they sell"? I think they buy grape juice. They sell contemplation!

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The island of Cyprus is an Eastern Mediterranean jewel virtually undiscovered by American tourists. The British, Germans, Scandinavians and Russians on the other hand visit much more regularly. Andreas Alexandrou, the husband of the daughter of an old friend of mine from Jordan, first suggested I visit the island in the late 1980’s. He recommended that I read the book Bitter Lemons, which details the island’s struggle for independence. One visit and I was hooked. The island is partitioned; the southern two-thirds is the independent Republic of Cyprus, the northern one-third is occupied by and affiliated with Turkey. The border between the two is a United Nations controlled armistice line. Passage between the two sections is now easily achieved. Cyprus is an archeologist’s dream, a treasure trove of antiquities left by the many civilizations that have come to call over thousands of years. The mosaics in Paphos, the island’s ancient Roman capitol dating from the Fifth Century AD are some of the most compelling I have ever seen. Residents of the Republic speak a dialect of Greek and are practitioners of the much-touted Middle Eastern hospitality. English is widely spoken and easily understood even when not well spoken. (For a more detailed report on Cyprus please see my Atlantic Monthly travel article which follows this Trip Report) We docked in Cyprus on a Sunday. Most stores and many sites were closed. Not a problem for us since our destination during this brief visit was a splendid stretch of Mediterranean beach near the village of Episkopi, my friend Andreas’s birthplace. The beach lies below high cliffs on which sit the ruins of the Greco-Roman settlement at Curium and the Temple of Apollo. Curium’s amphitheater still hosts dramatic performances and concerts, which unfold with the breathtaking Mediterranean Sea as a backdrop. Andreas picked us up at our ship and we rendezvoused with his wife Lisa and their two children seven year old Nadia and almost two year old Nicholas at the Kourion Beach Restaurant. The restaurant right on the beach is operated by our friend Marinos a veteran of the Greek Merchant Marine and is a favorite haunt. Marinos dishes up great local specialties, cold Keo beer and spirited conversation. As we settled in Andreas served up a surprise in the person of Kikis Talarides, a Nicosia lawyer who also happens to be a KGO fan! Mr. Talarides who used to live and work in California was listening on the Internet when I interviewed Andreas on the subject of the pending Cyprus reunification vote. He heard me say I would be visiting and he called Andreas to invite us to dinner. Time being short they arranged to meet at the beach instead. We had a wonderful conversation – I gave him the KGO "inside scoop" and he held forth on local and regional politics which in case you haven’t guessed is a key Middle Eastern parlor sport. How small the world has become! Andreas, now the Dean of the School of Engineering at the new University of Cyprus, Lisa and I caught up on family news while Joel and Robert went swimming. We enjoyed a lunch of fresh village salad, grilled Haloumi cheese, sheftalia (ground pork with onions and spices wrapped around a skewer and grilled) souvlaki (skewered and grilled cubes of pork, lamb and beef), pita bread and of course Keo beer. Our short time ashore precluded my usual rock hunting at the beach, for me a serious pursuit, which cannot be hurried. Besides news of the growing sophistication of the Cypriot wine industry from both Andreas and Marinos portends a return to Cyprus soon. There will be time then for rock hunting. Time had flown but the day was the very pleasant interlude, which is the essence of Cypriot hospitality. There was just enough time for a cup of coffee and sweets with Andreas’s parents Elektra and Neophytos at their home in Limassol on the way back to the ship. As the sun headed for the horizon our ship slipped out of the Port of Limassol on the south coast of Cyprus and headed for picturesque Antalya on the south coast of Turkey.

We found Turkey to be well kept and welcoming with some of the best prices and values we found on this trip. We made three stops in Turkey. The first was the south coast city of Antalya on the Turkish Riviera. Antalya lies on a sun-drenched crescent bay with beautiful beaches near the town. Continuously inhabited since the Second Century BC when it was founded by the Pergamum king Attalos II the city has always been a busy trading port. I opened the curtains in my suite shortly after we docked early one morning to a stunning vista, jagged mountains rose from behind the city providing a dramatic backdrop for the sun dappled port. Agriculture and tourism are now the principal pursuits of the locals. We found superb examples of local craftsmanship in the bazaar of the old town the work being much finer than the usual souvenirs. Shopkeepers were insistent but friendly and they seemed to sense when no really did mean no. English is so widely spoken and understood in Turkey that there is no language barrier. If archeology is your thing Antalya has many local antiquities both in the town and nearby and it has an excellent museum. This is a resort town too thus discotheques and clubs abound and the city has a beautiful marina.

Our next Turkish port of call was the one that had been most urgently recommended by friends and acquaintances in the travel business. Kusadasi is the Turkish community near the excavation of ancient Ephesus. Given the intense interest in the archeological digs at what was one of the most important sites of early Christianity Kusidasi has exploded from a sleepy fishing village to a bustling thriving city. Although Ephesus is best known to modern day tourists for its significance to the Christian world, the ancient city dates as far back as the 10^th century BC and is considered Turkey’s most important archeological site. Ephesus is a short bus ride from Kusidasi. Buses drop you off at one end of the ruins and pick you up at the other end and here’s good news: the walk through the impressive site is blessedly down hill. Ephesus is breathtaking! The marble road rutted by chariot wheels, the remains of the baths with examples of early indoor bathrooms and the Library of Celsus. You can almost hear the cheers of the twenty-five thousand spectators in the ancient Grand Theater. After finishing your tour a visit to the Archeological Museum adds to your understanding of the wonders of Ephesus. In the hills near Ephesus you will find the remains of the Basilica of St. John and the House of the Virgin Mary. Kusidasi is in the heart of one of Turkey’s principal rug making centers. Special efforts and tax concessions are made by the government to encourage continuation of the craft of making these beautiful handmade rugs. The rugs are hand-loomed by local women using cotton, wool and silk that is prepared using natural dyes assuring luminescent colors that result in spectacular designs. There are many reputable local dealers who can arrange shipment of your choice included in the final price. Carpets are not souvenirs. They represent a serious investment thus you would do well to read up on carpets before you go and set some parameters in your own mind in terms of price. You can bargain of course but in terms of quality and durability you do get what you pay for so caveat emptor (buyer beware)!

We also found some wonderful examples of Turkish glass making in Kusidasi and I purchased a goblet for my collection at a very reasonable price.

We left Kusidasi at 5 PM and headed for our last port of call. In the early morning we entered the Straits of the Dardanelles connecting the Aegean Sea with the Turkish Sea of Marmara. It seemed a bit strange to be reading a book on the First World War as we glided past Gallipolli the site of the British defeat, a monument to foolish military inflexibility and hubris and quite possibly the nadir of a young Winston Churchill’s early career as First Lord of the Admiralty.

Imagine the seductive sound of an oriental flute, the tinkling of small cymbals and a tambourine, the rustle of diaphanous fabric as it swirls nearby, smell the cinnamon and sandalwood, hear the plaintive cry from the minaret of a distant mosque, and close your eyes for just a moment – Welcome to…Constantinople…Byzantium…seat of he Eastern Roman Empire…the link between the continents of Europe and Asia…Capitol City of the Ottoman Empire! The final stop on our cruise is the intriguing bustling metropolis of Istanbul. With twelve million inhabitants this cosmopolitan city is the very heart of Turkey. Although Ankara is the capitol of the Republic of Turkey, Istanbul is the repository of the country’s soul. We had little more than two nights and a day here but we made the most of it. After dinner that first night we attended a performance of the whirling dervishes at the mosque of Suleiman the Magnificent. I use the term performance advisedly since the whirling dervishes are actually performing a religious ritual. Followers of a 13^th century Sufi mystic practitioners whirl dizzyingly to musical accompaniment and chanting as they seek greater communion with God. They actually pass into a trance as they whirl providing a spectacle unlike any I have ever seen. The next day we transferred from our ship where we spent the first night at dockside near the Bosphorus Canal to the beautiful Ritz Carlton Hotel overlooking this picturesque waterway connecting the two continents. We were met and enthusiastically greeted by the hotel’s Public Relations Director Sedef Baran. After settling in to our suites with huge picture windows overlooking the Bosphorus we met Sedef for a tour of the property. The Hotel has a spa; full Turkish baths (hamam) lavishly appointed public spaces and a comfortable outdoor terrace where we enjoyed a delicious lunch of Turkish specialties. We had a collection of small plate appetizers, kebabs, succulent fresh fruit and Turkish coffee. It was a sunny day and a refreshing breeze blew across the terrace from the Bosphorus. After lunch we were joined by a very talented guide Nahide Sahin who took us on a whirlwind bus tour of the city concentrating on the three not-to-be-missed sights, the Blue Mosque, the museum of St.Sophia and the Topkapi Palace. These three important sites are within relatively easy walking distance of each other. The Blue Mosque is also known as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque and is the only mosque in the world with six minarets. It is elegantly proportioned, has beautiful stained glass windows and takes its current name from the blue Iznik tiles in the interior. The church of St. Sophia was built first by the Emperor Constantine and enlarged and rebuilt by the Emperor Justinian. After the Turkish Conquest the church became Istanbul’s principal mosque. In 1935 it was declared a museum. The structure is a supreme example of Byzantine architecture. The Topkapi Palace complex was the official residence of the Ottoman Sultans. Impossible to see in one visit of special note are the harem which housed the Sultans many wives and concubines and the treasury museum holding priceless examples of the opulent jewels of the Empire. Intriguingly built with a maze of interconnecting courtyards when the Sultan was in residence your status and rank at court was reflected in just how far into the Imperial enclave you were allowed to go. The higher your rank the closer to the Sultan’s personal chamber you were allowed to penetrate.

No visit to Istanbul would be complete without a stop at one of the bazaars for shopping. On the advice of our guide we chose the smaller more manageable Spice Market. Don’t be fooled by the name. While the market does house spice sellers it also has many other shops selling fabric, ceramics, caviar, brass and tin ware and souvenirs. Interestingly unlike the larger Oriental Bazaar, prices at the Spice Market are set and thus the seemingly endless haggling so typical of the Middle East does not occur, on balance a pleasant change.

Turkey is 97% Moslem, yet on our drive back to the Ritz Carlton although it was a Friday evening (the Islamic Sabbath) all of the shops and stores were open. I asked our guide about this since I had experienced store closures in most Islamic countries on the Sabbath. Turkey is a secular democratic country she explained and although we are almost all Moslems we have other religious groups who are Turkish citizens so we chose to keep church and state separate. This was the first time I had visited a country that was overwhelmingly Islamic but militantly secular. The experience provided a new and important view of Islam in a thriving peaceful context.

Saturday, June 26^th we went to Istanbul Airport at 4:15 AM Turkish time to begin a very long day, a flight to London and then another flight to San Francisco arriving at SFO at 3:50 PM. We had a tolerable two-hour layover at Heathrow Airport in London. Of course we were tired after flying for the better part of fourteen hours, but we agreed our trip had been one of the best we had ever taken.