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Samos: June 17 to 22
We left Amsterdam at 6:00am on a Transavia flight and arrived in Samos at 10:30am. We picked up our rental car at the airport and drove to our first apartment, the Marina Apartments, named not as one might think because it's at a Marina, but because the owner is named Marina. We were a little disappointed to find we didn't have one of the units with a rooftop patio, but we did have a small balcony with a sea view.
The view from our balcony during the day
And at dusk
Kris had chosen this apartment because it was situated above what many guide books describe as the best beach in Samos, Tsamadou Beach. It was a relatively easy walk down to the beach, but a bit of struggle walking back to the top.
It's quite a long beach and it's effectively divided into two sections. The left hand side of the beach is a conventional beach, with a bar and restaurant. On our first day, we walked down to check out the beach. As the restaurant was closing, we stopped for an ice cream.
We sat for a while before climbing back to Marina Apartments on the cliff above us.
However, the right hand end of the beach with the blue umbrellas, was the main event, as it's Samos' only official nude beach.
We quickly learned that there's not a lot to do in Samos, so we spent almost every day here.
For obvious reasons, this was as close as we could decently get to take photographs.
The beach is very attractive but very pebbly. There was no sand and sandals or water shoes are essential. The water was very clear although when it was windy there would be waves which would churn up the water.
Of course, it was a nude beach, so we were both naked most of the time and we did both go swimming, although Kris was a little more reticent than I.
Most evenings, we drove into the nearby town of Kokkari for dinner. We really liked the town. If we ever go back to Samos, this would probably be where we would choose to stay.
We spent a week in Samos at the Marina Apartments before heading to Turkey
Kusadasi and Ephesus, Turkey - June 23 to 26
We took the ferry from Samos to Kusadasi, which is a about a ninety minute journey. We stayed at the Ilyada Advantgarde Hotel, which was right on the waterfront and only a short walk from the ferry. The hotel was OK, but we had to request a top sheet for our bed. Apparently having a top sheet is not normal in Turkey.
The towel heart was a nice touch. The top sheet was a nice addition as well.
We had a great view of the port and the many cruise ships which docked there. This is a typical early morning in Kusadasi. Three cruise ships are already docked and a fourth is heading in.
The evening light was very pretty, especially with a cruise ship leaving as the sun set.
We also had a very nice view of the sunset.
The city did look better at night!
We spent the best part of one morning looking for a fake Rolex watch for me and there were many. However, after much negotiation, we finished up buying a "Cartier" watch for Kris, which she seems to like.
No pretence here!
Looks like the real thing but it isn't
Epehesus
Our main reason for visiting for Kusadasi and the reason all the cruise ships come here, was to visit the ancient city of Ephesus, which is about fourteen miles outside the town. After much debate, we decided not to take a tour, but to take a taxi and explore on our own. We left early to avoid the cruise ship crowds and when we arrived, there was no line for tickets. Good planning on our part.
Ephesus has a history dating from 1,000BC to 1,500 AD and was occupied by many groups, from the Greeks and Romans to ultimately the Ottomans. It's the Greek and Roman remains which are of the greatest interest. However, eventually the harbor became silted up, the city lost its natural resources and was abandoned.
Because it had such a long history, it can be difficult to know what exactly you are looking at, but the main public buildings are easily identified.
The Library of Celsus built around 120AD. Celsus who served as governor of Roman Asia paid for the construction of the library with his own personal wealth and is buried in a sarcophagus beneath it. The library was mostly built by his son Gaius Julius Aquila and once held nearly 12,000 scrolls.
Stone carving of the goddess Nike
The Odeon Theatre
The Odeon was a small roofed theatre constructed by Publius Vedius Antoninus and his wife around 150 AD. It was a small salon for plays and concerts, seating about 1,500 people. There were 22 stairs in the theatre. The upper part of the theatre was decorated with red granite pillars in the Corinthian style. The entrances were at both sides of the stage and reached by a few steps.
After walking through the city, there is an audio visual show which explains all about the history and the many groups and individuals who lived here. Ephesus later became an important religious center in early Christianity. From 52 to 55 CE, the apostle Saint Paul spent three years here preaching the Gospel and is said to have brought Mary, the mother of Jesus, here to spend her final days. The presentation ends with the statue of Artemis found in the ruins, who was an important Greek god.
Two statues of Artemis were discovered here, depicting the Greek goddess of hunting and abundance with fertility symbols around her torso — interpreted variously as breasts or testicles.
The Theatre of Ephesus, currently under reconstruction. The Great Theatre, with an estimated 25,000 seating capacity, is believed to be the largest in the ancient world. This open-air theatre was used initially for drama, but during later Roman times gladiatorial combats were also held on its stage. The theater appears in the Bible in “Acts of the Apostles” as the site of a riot sparked by a silversmith named Demetrius, angered by Saint Paul’s preaching against the Artemis statues from which he made his trade.
We spent the morning in Ephesus and then the taxi took us to Sirince, the laid-back mountain village nearby which is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful places in Turkey
It is a very pretty little village but it's now a tourist mecca although I think we got there early enough that we missed the crowds.
We had a drink and wandered around the village for an hour. We didn't buy anything but we did have an excellent ice cream, before rejoining our taxi for the ride back to Kusadasi.
This was our last day out in Turkey and the next day we took the ferry back to Samos
Samos: June 27 to 29
After our side trip to Turkey, we returned to Samos for the last three days. This time we stayed in the main town of Pythagorio, at the Daryssa Theorem Hotel. We had a little problem checking in, as they had given us a twin bedded room although we had booked and paid for a double. After some discussion, they moved us to a better room with a double bed. The rooms were very sparsely furnished with no drawer space of any kind. Strange!
On our first day back, we rented a car and took a tour of the island, which was very green and mountainous. The drive showed us some nice views of the coast.
We spent the last two days back at Tsamadou Beach.
We would then return to Pythagorio in the evening and eat dinner at one of the many restaurants along the port.
Our restuarant was busy. We had to sit in the corner but it gave us a great view of all the other tables.
We also bought some small pottery items as gifts and a plate for ourselves. This is the artist wrapping our plate.
After three days back on Samos, we flew to Manchester on Jet2. This was our last view of Samos.
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