The Great Pyramids, the Blue Mosque, the Parthenon, Ephesus, Santorini and Rhodes. Any of these destinations would constitute the trip of a lifetime, but on a cruise that included Turkey, Egypt and Greece, we saw all that and more.
We visited where the Apostles talked; where Roman legions, chariots and gladiators fought; where Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, Socrates, Muhammad and Homer walked. All of these historic connections were offered on Crystal Serenity’s 12-day Temples of Gods & Pharaohs cruise.
Istanbul, which as Constantinople was Europe’s largest and richest city in the Middle Ages, is the only city in the world to straddle two continents. Daily, 3 million passengers use the city ferries between the Asian and European sides. On the European side is where we board the 1,080-passenger Crystal Serenity.
Our first excursion begins with the long entrance line at the Blue Mosque. In “Turkey: Bright Sun, Strong Tea,” Tom Brosnahan wrote: “I discovered the magic … one day as I approached the mosque from the Hippodrome, … my eye rose up the broad staircase and penetrated the tall portal of the mosque courtyard. Through the portal in the center of the courtyard was the domed sadirvan (ablutions fountain). Above its dome rose another dome, the one atop the main portal into the mosque sanctuary. I approached the steps and climbed them slowly, looking ahead, watching in amazement as dome after dome appeared above the two I had already noticed. A cascade of domes and semi-domes billowed heavenward until the mosque’s great dome appeared triumphantly above all.
“As I entered the courtyard, the two slender minarets flanking the mosque shot heavenward insistently: Up! Look up!”
The next stop, the Church of Holy Wisdom — Ayosofya in Turkish or Hagia Sophia in Greek — makes a similar demand. It was intended to be the grandest church ever built, and it took 1,000 years for that intent to be rivaled by St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
Later a mosque and now a museum, it is still one of the world’s greatest buildings, especially considering its sixth-century construction. Its massive dome rises 210 feet above the floor; the Statue of Liberty could fit inside with room to spare.
Our excursion continues to the Basilica Cistern, once Topkapi Palace’s water supply and now a cool respite of platforms built to view the water below plus 336 artfully carved, illuminated columns, two of them with famed sculptures of Medusa.
The sprawling Topkapi Palace with its hundreds of rooms was home to the sultans of the Ottoman Empire and their hundreds of concubines, children and servants for 400 years. Visitors clamor for the harem, meaning “private,” living quarters.
One of the heavily jeweled and gilded rooms features a golden cage, from behind which the sultan watched the dancing concubines.
Among the treasures on display are the emerald Topkapi Dagger (made famous in the 1964 film “Topkapi”) and the 86-carat Spoonmaker Diamond.
We pose for photos under the golden-roofed pagoda on the terrace where 17th-century sultans dined after Ramadan sunsets.
From the next port of Kusadasi, it’s an easy bus ride to the ruins at the ancient city of Ephesus, which, after Constantinople (now Istanbul) was the most important city of the fifth- and sixth-century Byzantine Empire.
The Bible’s book of Revelation mentions the seven churches of Asia, meaning the seven communities of Christians in the province; Ephesus was one of the seven. The Apostle Paul lived here for a time, the Apostle John wrote the Gospel of John here, and he is said to be buried nearby at the Basilica of St. John.
Ephesus had one of the largest outdoor theaters in the ancient world, seating 25,000. Most of it has been excavated, making it easy to imagine the crowds and the gladiators and actors entertaining them.
The sloping, paved Curetes Street is a river of visitors each day, but that doesn’t diminish the feeling as you approach the ruins of the impressive two-story facade of the Library of Celsus, built in A.D. 135.
In between pointing out details in the Temple of Hadrian and the bath complex, our guide says that less than a fourth of Ephesus has been excavated. He also explains that a footprint in pavement showed the way to the city brothel.
Nearby, we visit what many believe to have been the last home of the Virgin Mary, site of a million pilgrimages a year by both Christians and Muslims. (Mary is the most frequently mentioned woman in the Koran.)
The simple stone house has been turned into a chapel, its quiet hilltop setting among olive and pine trees perfect for prayer and contemplation. Next to it is a stone dais where Pope Benedict XVI led Mass during his 2006 visit. On the sloping hill below the house is a stone wall with messages, most written on bits of white cloth, from the faithful.
Later, a quiet orchard lunch of shish kebabs and eggplant is served by young local women who afterward demonstrate Turkish rug weaving. Here at the Hali workshop and rug center, they learn not only the art but how to become businesswomen, with bank accounts in their own names, for instance.
From the port of Alexandria (don’t miss the new library) a convoy of buses, each with a security guard, takes us to Giza. Once there, our guide asks, “Anyone seen the pyramids?” Nonchalantly, she points out the window, and there they stand like mountains just behind a bustling city street.
Standing amid these world wonders and ancient engineering marvels, we’re overpowered by their daunting presence. The Great Pyramid contains 2.5 million blocks of stone weighing 15 tons each and took 20 years to build; no sand or mortar binds the blocks. The non-claustrophobic among us head, single file, stooping most of the way, down narrow steps into one pyramid’s burial chamber. There’s no sarcophagus or furniture to see, just dusty air, but we still get bragging rights.
Above ground are colorful camel riders and souvenir hawkers to photograph and avoid. Our guide cautions that camel drivers may offer a ride but then demand steep payment, as much as $100, to let the rider dismount afterward, so she advises us to negotiate firmly upfront. A quick stop at the Sphinx makes us wish we could stay to see it and the pyramids in the evening laser show, but we’re off to Cairo’s Egyptian Museum to see the Mummy Room and King Tut’s treasures, including the famed gold mask. Neither disappoints.
Guides tell how Ramses II, the Mummy Room’s most famous resident, once twitched, panicking onlookers, when a temperature change caused the arm tendons to contract. When the mummy was flown later to Paris for deterioration to be assessed, it traveled with an Egyptian passport listing the occupation as “King (deceased).” When King Tut’s treasures go on tour, there usually are long lines to see the gold and jewels of the boy king from a distance. Not so in Cairo, where the priceless artifacts are displayed behind glass, mere inches away.
At Rhodes, Greece, we opt to tour the Acropolis at Lindos, which some reach by donkey, but we use foot power. Later we explore the walled city at Old Town. This island was home to one of the seven wonders of the ancient world: the Colossus of Rhodes, a 110-foot-tall bronze statue of the sun god Helios.
The volcanic island of Santorini begs to be photographed, from the cruise ship anchored in the vast, deep-blue waters filling the caldera to Oia’s dramatic white buildings, which stand in contrast against a different blue-hued sky, to Fira’s donkeys carrying tourists on the paved, switchback steps to the harbor. (The cable car is another option.)
Our excursion lunch in a vineyard is a hit when it erupts into dancing and breaking plates to Greek bouzouki music while shouting “Opa!” More photo ops await at our last port, Athens, with its Olympic Stadium, Hadrian’s Arch and the Temple of Olympian Zeus, Constitution Square, Presidential Palace and, of course, the Parthenon atop the sacred rock, the Acropolis.
The sun is bright as we study the Parthenon with new friends from the ship, a young couple from Chicago. Between photos, we marvel over how this one cruise managed to include several trips of a lifetime.
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Crystal Cruises offers similar sailings in this eastern Mediterranean region June 6, July 7 and 19 and Aug. 24. For more information, go to www.crystalcruises.com or call 888/799-4625.
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