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Mediterranean Sea Cruise

Olympic Cruise Lines

August 1999

 

My first ocean cruise other than to the Caribbean was to the Mediterranean during August 1999.  This cruise was on the liner New Renaissance sailing out of Athens.  The weather was hot and the ship was slow!  The ship sailed through the Dardanelles to Istanbul for our first stop.  Next were ports of call at Kusadasi, Patmos, Myknos Island, Rhodes, Crete and lastly a stop at Santinorni Island.  The ship returned to Athens to end the cruise.  In spite of the ship being old and slow there were some very nice people on board and the ports visited were very interesting

. 

Here I am at the Olympic stadium in Athens.  This was taken on the morning we sailed out from Athens.

I visited the Parthenon at the Acropolis.  This historic site commands the views of Athens.

The Erechtheion on the Acropolis.

The Caryatids on the porch of the Maidens.  This is part of the Erechtheion.

The Odeon of Herode Atticos.

An old and tired vessel.  It was ok, but I have many interesting stories to tell about sailing on this ship.

Sailing into Istanbul, Turkey.  I was struck by the size of Athens and Istanbul.  They are huge cities with millions of citizens.

I am in front of the Sofia Museum in the hippodrome area of Istanbul. 

The Blue Mosque.  A view from the rear of the mosque.  I was on a tour that took us inside this religious site.

After Istanbul, our next port of call was Kusadasi.  While there I purchased my Turkish rug (a small one).  Our tour visited Ephesus outside Kusadasi.  I am standing in front of the area where the municipal palace stood.  These are ruins of an ancient Roman city.

Standing in front of the library at Ephesus.  This structure is very large and one of the most photographed spots in this ancient city.

Toward the end of the voyage we had a port stop at Myknos Island.  It is a beautiful island with classic Mediterranean beach and town views.  It is a very arid environment and was described as a hot party town.

I have many more photos of this trip stops.  It turned out to be a great way to learn about international travel.