Cruisin' with the Chaplain

Donkeys are lose in the road as we travel to the ancient city of Lindos. The climb to the Acropolis put us among the ruins of the sanctuary of Athena Lindia.
Shopping for fish in a truck from a motor scooter.
The Knights of the Order of St. John fortified the city of Rhodes in the 1300’s – you can see the old city walls beneath the bow of the Galaxy.

The view of the Old City across the Golden Horn from the top of the Galata Tower (from 1348).
The Galaxy waits for us in Turkey’s busiest harbor.
Typical street in the Galata neighborhood – in the European side of Istanbul.
Sailing away – the Old City alight and the rush hour headlights lining the shore road. Same the world over.

The entrance to Topkapi Palace, the grand palace for the Ottoman sultans for over 3 centuries – our guide, John, poses with Hästa.
The Hagia Sophia museum – first a basilica (537 AD), then converted to a mosque in 1453 and finally a museum in 1932.
The old city lights up at night – this is the 400 year old Blue Mosque – with its six minarets. We bagged our shoes (can't wear them- disrespectful) and rushed inside to see it before the doors were closed to us for prayers.

After a month of “being on our own” we are ready for someone else to do the driving: Capt. Margaritis (I kid you not) of Celebrity Cruise Line’s Galaxy, we are in your hands.
Touring Ephesus in Turkey and seeing the amphitheater where the Apostle Paul preached was amazing.
Every tour in Turkey ends with a carpet-making demonstration – here they show how silk from cocoons is boiled and strung out – a strand a mile long from one cocoon, we were told.

We visited Regensburg in Bavaria today (Thursday) and parked right next to the River Danube. We had our Thanksgiving dinner at the Hofbrauhaus.
The sun broke through and gave us delightful views of the Old City. On the way back to our hotel outside of Munich we passed acres and acres of hops fields with rows and rows of poles as big as telephone poles to support the plants.
Our next chance to post may be Sunday from the Galaxy Cruise ship which sails from Athens on Saturday evening. Auf Wiedersehen!