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Kusadasi to Samos [Turkey to Greece]

April 7th, 2002

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In Search Of Sand. Taken from the hilltop of Samos during my hike to the “sandy beach”.

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From Asia to Europe, Turkey to Greece, Kusadasi to Samos by Ferry

An expensive ferry ride, a 10k sprint, and finally sun!

At 8am from Kusadasi, Turkey we hopped onto the only daily ferry to Greece. It was the deal of a lifetime. The less than 10 mile ride, 1-hour long ferry to Samos, Greece was only $35.00!!!. It was so amazing that when I hiked over to the other side of the island, swimming back to Turkey would’ve been faster. There are some serious border issues between the two countries and tourist reap all the hassle. Not to mention, my American passport was questionable that an official straight faced phone call needed to be made. Absolutely bullshit!…. these passport control people… its all a huge front. They checked only my backpack, thank god, because all the illegal items were in the other bag….hah! I guess the trouble all started because I apparently look Turkish. So now I have permission to say I’m a Turkish tourist in addition to the popular Japanese I’ve been constantly getting.

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Kapadokya Cave Living

April 4th, 2002

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Our Kapadokya Tour Group

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Touring Kapadokya

A visit to remains of an ancient cave civilization

From Istanbul we departed on an overnight bus to Ugrup, Kapadokya where we rested for one hour, put our bags in our hotel and started the first leg of the Kapadokya tour. Day one we toured Devrent-the imagination valley, Avanos, Zelve, Causin, Goreme, Canak Somlekci in Avanos-a pottery factory, and Uchisar. The tour provided historical as well as geological information about the caves & rock formations. The layers of rock on top of the soft hardened mud are puzzling. The formations are explained by volcanic ash below harden volcanic rock and the erosion of the ash which supports the rock below. Each year the rock formations grow up or rather the volcanic ash below the rocks erodes down into the stream, hence the ground is sinking.

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Amazing Istanbul

March 31st, 2002

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Sultan Ahmet Camii. The Blue Mosque.

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Istanbul. Tasting The Orient

Amazing city with historic monuments, fun people, and a taste of oriental culture.

When we arrived at the Greek-Turkish border we first turned over our passports into a basket and waited a half hour. Then we proceeded over a river that divides the two countries. In Turkey I immediately saw military enforcement and a lower standard of development. At the passport control office in Turkey I had to scheme up 45 US dollars for the visa fee. This was the first time since September I’ve held USD in my hand. Meantime, the inspectors emptied all the bags out of the storage compartments to search for any large quantities of items that could be resold in Turkey.

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