Purgatreis

Yes, I know that it is spelt wrong but there is such a thing as poetic licence.

We are back in Turkey in a place called Turgetreis just to clear customs and be on our way.

We have just crossed over from Kos, which was an interesting place. We're not been there before and went wandering into town last night exercising the ubiquitous "free time". Kos town has a decidedly Turkish feel to it even though they have converted to the mosque into a shopping arcade - something which even with my decidedly jaundiced view of religion, I find rather disrespectful and inappropriate.

Today we went up into the hills above town to a delightful little village called Zia. Having had it described to us as a 'tourist village', we feared the worst, but were personally surprised. The view was magnificent and the people friendly and charming.

Earlier in the day we experienced a 5.1 magnitude earthquake - quite an experience as we have been to Greece many times and never felt the slightest tremor. To put this in perspective, this is the same magnitude that caused devastation in Spain a few days back.

A charming Greek lady was telling us that this was the worst quake that they are experienced in 35 years and it knocked all the stock off her shelves. She said she was terrified and immediately felt for her children's safety. The shop is 90 years old and made of stone, but her father assured that the house will stand forever but then added "but the floor may collapse".

We are now across the straits in Turgetreis - or as we have branded it 'Purgatory' - moored in a huge yatching marina and looking at the endless rows of little white boxes that they shove tourists into.

We can't help thinking that the quake was perhaps in the wrong place!

Purgatreis

Yes, I know that it is spelt wrong but there is such a thing as poetic licence.

We are back in Turkey in a place called Turgetreis just to clear customs and be on our way.

We have just crossed over from Kos, which was an interesting place. We're not been there before and went wandering into town last night exercising the ubiquitous "free time". Kos town has a decidedly Turkish feel to it even though they have converted to the mosque into a shopping arcade - something which even with my decidedly jaundiced view of religion, I find rather disrespectful and inappropriate.

Today we went up into the hills above town to a delightful little village called Zia. Having had it described to us as a 'tourist village', we feared the worst, but were personally surprised. The view was magnificent and the people friendly and charming.

Earlier in the day we experienced a 5.1 magnitude earthquake - quite an experience as we have been to Greece many times and never felt the slightest tremor. To put this in perspective, this is the same magnitude that caused devastation in Spain a few days back.

A charming Greek lady was telling us that this was the worst quake that they are experienced in 35 years and it knocked all the stock off her shelves. She said she was terrified and immediately felt for her children's safety. The shop is 90 years old and made of stone, but her father assured that the house will stand forever but then added "but the floor may collapse".

We are now across the straits in Turgetreis - or as we have branded it 'Purgatory' - moored in a huge yatching marina and looking at the endless rows of little white boxes that they shove tourists into.

We can't help thinking that the quake was perhaps in the wrong place!

Crap places - Kusadasi

For many years, we have shied away from a holiday in Turkey. There is no particular reason for this or even any logical explanation, but for some reason it has simply never appealed to us.

However, we have always had a desire to see Ephesus. For several years we stayed in Samos and thought about the day trip but being laid back as we always are in Greece, we just never got around to it. So when we saw this boat trip that included a visit to Ephesus and thought, as Mrs D. so succinctly, it would be an opportunity to finally go Ephesus 'without inflicting a week in Turkey on ourselves'.

As I write this, we are second morning in Kusadasi and are leaving at lunchtime. Our tour manager summed it up nicely yesterday in a rather an unguarded moment. "Kusadasi is a shit hole" she declared.
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We had an open mind - despite the previously declared illogical bias - but we agree with her. Like a camel, it has few if any redeeming features. Firstly, it is an ugly concrete anthill festooned with more satellite dishes than I thought they were in the entire world. It is a place you pass through to get to Ephesus. This is the sole reason it exists. Each day a new cruise ship pulls in, disgorges coachloads of tourists to Ephesus and then deposits them back at the town centre to be subjected to the Kusadasi shopping experience.

If you have been to Egypt or Morocco will have already experienced this in a lesser form. Here the shopkeepers are absolutely relentless! Is is impossible and even pass within 50 feet of a shop without being pounced on. It is so bad that they even put up signs saying "no hassle" but they do it anyway!

One shopkeeper actually asked me why it was the English don't come into his shop. I explained that the English wish to be left alone to browse in peace and like to see price tags. This concept was totally lost on him proving once again that trying to teach a pig to sing simply annoys you and frustrates the pink!

But just to prove that there is always one, last year Mrs D. bought a leather jacket (quite a nice one actually) in Marks & Spencer is for £220. Yesterday in Kusadasi, one of our merry gang bought quite a simple for £250 and was bragging about it being such a great bargain. The sheeple billed and cooed accordingly, whereas Mrs D. and I just thought "What a cunt!"

Clearly, the Kusadasi shopping system actually works!

Crap places - Kusadasi

For many years, we have shied away from a holiday in Turkey. There is no particular reason for this or even any logical explanation, but for some reason it has simply never appealed to us.

However, we have always had a desire to see Ephesus. For several years we stayed in Samos and thought about the day trip but being laid back as we always are in Greece, we just never got around to it. So when we saw this boat trip that included a visit to Ephesus and thought, as Mrs D. so succinctly, it would be an opportunity to finally go Ephesus 'without inflicting a week in Turkey on ourselves'.

As I write this, we are second morning in Kusadasi and are leaving at lunchtime. Our tour manager summed it up nicely yesterday in a rather an unguarded moment. "Kusadasi is a shit hole" she declared.
.
We had an open mind - despite the previously declared illogical bias - but we agree with her. Like a camel, it has few if any redeeming features. Firstly, it is an ugly concrete anthill festooned with more satellite dishes than I thought they were in the entire world. It is a place you pass through to get to Ephesus. This is the sole reason it exists. Each day a new cruise ship pulls in, disgorges coachloads of tourists to Ephesus and then deposits them back at the town centre to be subjected to the Kusadasi shopping experience.

If you have been to Egypt or Morocco will have already experienced this in a lesser form. Here the shopkeepers are absolutely relentless! Is is impossible and even pass within 50 feet of a shop without being pounced on. It is so bad that they even put up signs saying "no hassle" but they do it anyway!

One shopkeeper actually asked me why it was the English don't come into his shop. I explained that the English wish to be left alone to browse in peace and like to see price tags. This concept was totally lost on him proving once again that trying to teach a pig to sing simply annoys you and frustrates the pink!

But just to prove that there is always one, last year Mrs D. bought a leather jacket (quite a nice one actually) in Marks & Spencer is for £220. Yesterday in Kusadasi, one of our merry gang bought quite a simple for £250 and was bragging about it being such a great bargain. The sheeple billed and cooed accordingly, whereas Mrs D. and I just thought "What a cunt!"

Clearly, the Kusadasi shopping system actually works!