Rhodes to Turkish Delights

Postcards 9 from Rhodes ( Rhodos) and Turkey

Tonight the eight of us catch a plane for Rhodes. *Then after Julie wins a shouting match with taxi drivers, who do not want to take us to the old town, we proceed down the airport road, lined with large modern hotels and apartments. Rhodes is lush with flowering vines and green trees, quite different from the stark beauty of Santorini. It is about a 20-minute ride to our destination.

We enter through a huge gate into the enchanting, medieval "old town," cruising down narrow, cobbled lanes past a large tree-shaded square to our hotel, the Saint Nicholas.

It is a lovely old place, lovingly renovated by our hosts. Our room is a cozy bed sitter, furnished with antiques and "old rose" patterned curtains and bedcovers. From our tiny balcony we look out into a green, vine-covered courtyard.

Our host is very helpful and friendly and arranges for us to have dinner in the adjoining restaurant, although the kitchen is officially closed. He also takes our passports down to the port, so we will not have the hassle early in the morning.

Bright and early, we again taxi through the cobbled streets of the old town, then to the port, where we board a hydrofoil that will take us to Turkey. The port is a huge, walled fortress that has guarded the island for centuries. From off shore the view of the fort is awesome. I try to visualize the 100-foot bronze Colossus that guarded the island in ancient times and was one of the seven wonders of the world.

The sea is calm and the sun is overhead as we travel on to our Turkish adventures.

The city of Marmaris comes into view, its port edged by a forest of sailboat masts. The city is surrounded on three sides by mountains, the fourth by the turquoise sea.

After disembarking, we taxi to another part of the port where we will charter a sailboat for our stay here. We stop at one of the many restaurants on the sea-walk lining the harbour. Then after an English breakfast, the girls go shopping in the bazaar, which is close by, and the guys search out a suitable ship and crew.