MV Cristal
(Three Continent Cruise - Istanbul, Delos, Jerusalem, Cairo, Agios
Nikolaos)
MV Cristal, Louis Cruises
This was an enjoyable cruise in June of 2010. Different from the higher end cruise companies in quality, but more than suitably discounted in price. Some of the differences:
- Ship registry in Greece instead of the Bahamas.
- Smaller size of about 1,200 passengers plus some vacancies meant shorter line ups.
- Mainly Greek staff of many ages and with overall more understanding of English than other cruise line staff.
- An international aspect, with announcements in English, Greek, French, Spanish and German led by a cruise director fluent in multiple languages.
- A stronger team atmosphere among staff than major cruise lines. Singers also organized bus tours. Dancers arranged passport visas. Just about every staff member, including women, handled baggage delivery resulting in the fastest and most efficient processing of luggage I’ve ever seen.
- Some staff had their children on board for one or two weeks
-
Excellent food quality, with a little bit of Greek option inserted in each buffet.
- Very nice draft beer on tap
- Below average shows, but still enjoyed the effort and the sense that they were giving it their best.
- The ship staff keep your passport throughout the voyage and release
it only for stops that require it. They also arrange all visas
and don't bill extra for this. Interestingly, we went ashore
in Istanbul, Turkey but all passengers left their passports on the
ship.
Istanbul
I was nervous about Istanbul after all our cab troubles in Athens, because we decided to do our own tour and that likely meant starting off with a taxi ride again. The first night, at sea, we woke up to see the lights as we went through the narrow passage of the Dardenelles after midnight. Our entrance to Istanbul by sea was grand, with a sail past of the
Blue
Mosque, Hagia Sofia and the Topkapi Palace. We docked right near the bridge and near to the Ruby Princess. That meant we could avoid the taxis altogether – plus the GPS kicked in and help us get our bearings.
We left the tourists behind and wound our way a short distance to the Golden Horn Bridge. Both sides were lined with fisherman. At the western side were the small boats that rock in the waves and sell fish in much the same manner as a hotdog
vendor - watch Rick Steves give it a try on his coverage of Istanbul. We were quickly in to the Egyptian Bazaar and literally a world of Turkish delights. From there we headed up to the grounds of Topkapi Palace but decided not to go in. The Ruby Princess tour group passed us, following the Princess symbol raised above the crowd – not how I care to visit places at all. We went to Haiga Sofia. At the ticket booth they only took Turkish lira, so we had to leave the grounds and buy the currency from a designated vendor just outside the gates. Hagia Sofia is an unusual structure and I’m glad I went. It is gloomy even though it lets in considerable light. The large stone structure has the appearance of a giant fortification and doesn’t belie its origins as a church and then a mosque. Today it’s simply a tourist stop. There are some remaining Christian mosaics, but after it became a mosque, the emphasis switched to patterns and text praising Allah. The altar was modified off
center to align with Mecca.
The Blue Mosque or Sultanahmet Mosque
Hagia Sophia
Next we had a very unusual experience at the Blue Mosque. It was closing for 2 hours for prayer and we were turned back. A man who indicated he wasn’t a tour guide convinced them to let us in the exit. Inside we were unnerved that he turned out to be a carpet salesman doing his best to make us indebted to him so that we would make a purchase at his shop after our mosque tour. We indicated we would not be buying a carpet and he quickly latched on to one of the few remaining tourists in the temple. It was interesting to be in the mosque as the crowds dwindled and only the Moslems remained. It was not nearly at beautiful inside as the
impression it makes over the city from the outside.
Grand Bazaar, Istanbul
Grand Bazaar, Istanbul
Spice Market
Our last stop was the Grand Bazaar, which we amazingly found without too much trouble. We wandered about through the crowds, carpets,
jewelry and vendors rushing to deliver hot glasses of tea. It was pleasantly crazy. Vendors continually and quite politely solicited our business. We asked a couple of times how to find the spice market and received conflicting directions that never helped us along. We left the bazaar and wandered the streets on its edge toward the bridge. We stopped and bought some lamb and chicken gyros. From there the volume of people in foreign dress and vendors shouting for attention reached a maximum. Suddenly there were spices everywhere and lovely aromas. We were very comfortable in the bazaar, but we weren’t in Tourist Land any more. I asked a price on a bronze mortal and pestle and offered slightly less. When the vendor wouldn’t move on the price, I politely said goodbye and was surprised he made no effort to retain my business. None of the tour groups were around and we felt we were getting a more realistic view of Istanbul. The GPS came through for us nicely and we emerged from the chaos right at the bridge and easily returned to the ship. We’d conquered Istanbul on our own!
Delos
Delos was a trip highlight for me. After anchoring at Toulous near Mykonos, the cruise tour had customized a trip from the dock to Delos for a tour of the ruins at the birthplace of Apollo. There were about 30 English speakers in one tour and about 20 Greeks in another. The small enclosed 2 story boat was an adventure in the 6 – 9 foot swells for approximately half an hour. The island was enchanting. No one is allowed to live on the island except archaeological staff. The island had already closed for the day to tourists, so our tour involved the only people on the island. The guide was amazing. She gave us the history and kept us moving about the large expanse of ruins.
Delos, Greece, birthplace of Apollo
Delos, Greece, Apollo torso remnant at left
The building structures are well preserved and only about 1/6 has been excavated. The marble temples have all been plundered over the centuries. From 600 – 300 BC this was a pilgrimage site for Greeks and eventually births and death were forbidden on the island. The dead were buried on nearby Rhenaea Island. This allowed the control of income of pilgrims but also eventually led to no one having an identity with the island. The extensive ruins have a very different feel than Pompeii. The stones are intricate and small, instead of massive. The surrounding area is natural instead of enclosed by a city. The tourists are absent except for our small tour. There are no souvenir shops. We visited the temple of Dionysus, the 5,000 seat amphitheatre, the temples for Apollo and the remains of the statue of Apollo. The tour finished beside the lions facing east and guarding the lake where Artemes and Apollo were born under a palm tree. A palm tree has been planted at the location, giving a sense that more than 2 centuries are just a few moments back in time. The tour guide indicated that Delos was the island at the centre of the Cyclades.
All the other islands revolve around it. Apollo is the source of light and art in the world. Her reference to us being at the centre of the Greek universe, alone and untouched by the modern world brought tears to my eyes. An unexpected highlight of my time in the universe, as it chose to
center on Greece that day.
Mykonos
The trip back to Mykonos was even rougher than the trip out to Delos. The town itself was quaint with numerous white-washed buildings and narrow streets in a tangle that was fun to wander. The windmills at the edge of town were picturesque but hard to get in a photo, due to all the other tourists taking snap shots. We wandered looking for
Petros the Pelican, which I thought would be a statute, but turned out to be a live Pelican calmly resting at ground level beside the intersection of a number of pathways. Very
strange and unique mascot for the city. The downside of Mykonos for me is that it’s high end tourist. A dish of spaghetti at a local street side restaurant with run $25 or about 3 times the price for the mainland areas. I don’t really understand the attraction of this city.
Mykonos, Greece
Jerusalem
At the Israeli port of Ashdod, the Israeli immigration interrogated many passengers and it took more than an hour to disembark the ship. Fighter jets screamed overhead and you knew security was a big deal. The visit to Jerusalem was a disappointment for me. I’d been 47 years earlier, when the city was divided and we couldn’t go to the Jewish side or the Wailing Wall. This time I couldn’t go to the
Dome of the Rock instead, as it was supposedly closed for prayer while we were there. I got the impression subsequently that it was more about it being a major Muslim site that caused it to be missed on the itinerary. The view of the city from the Mount of Olives was fabulous, but I was struck even in my faint memories by how much the wide open spaces had disappeared and how we were the only tourists around last time whereas now the hillside is covered in tour buses. Gethsemane and the Church of all Nations were unusual to me, but typical of the area, with many religions physically sharing the same building. The same was true of Jerusalem itself with its Christian, Moslem, Jewish and Armenian quarters. The
Church of the Holy
Sepulchre continued the sharing of regions between Orthodox Eastern Church, Roman Catholics, the Copts, the Syrian Jacobites, and the Gregorian Armenian. Inside is the site of the resurrection of Christ with an Orthodox mausoleum on the spot of the resurrection, thus making a small church within the larger one. The Eastern Orthodox decorate with bright shiny tacky looking décor that contrasts markedly with the Roman Catholic section of the church. People line up for hours to be blessed on the site the by the Orthodox priest.
Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem, Israel
We also walked the streets of Jerusalem. Our Israeli guide was quite anti Moslem and apologized that we needed to go through the Moslem section to follow the steps Christ took. He requested that we not buy anything from the Moslem vendors as there would be good Christian shopping later. He also commented about how unjust it was for ships to try to run the Israeli blockade of Gaza. That issue was deeply on our minds, as our cruise ship in Ashdod was docked directly across from the Rachel
Corrie & the Gazze, the impounded ships that had just tried to run the blockade
with loss of life. The abandoned Rachel Corrie still had FreeGaza.org painted boldly on its side.
Wailing Wall, Jerusalem, Israel
From there we wandered the narrow shaded streets to the Wailing Wall. When I visited 47 years earlier, I could only peer down from the top of the wall
from the Arabic side to see the Jewish people against the wall. This time I was at the bottom looking up. There was a metal detector security check to get into the
square and armed patrols. It was interesting to see the men and women segregated, leaning their heads against their elbows placed against the wall. Many rocked back and forth in this pose and chanted prayers. Many placed their wishes on notes and jammed these into the cracks of the wall. The wall was chock full of notes and they were falling to the ground like flower petals. The Wailing Wall is the only remaining vestige of the original temple mount.
Next, the tour had a pleasant lunch and then the part I can’t stand – a half hour of shopping at a location that has a deal with the cruise company. This one was almost entirely nativity carvings from olive wood. Very nice, but I can’t support the controlled shopping conditions.
Bethlehem is now under Palestinian control, so the security delays in and out were lengthy. Armed security walked through the bus. The two military personnel looked like teenagers, as did many of the security personnel with rifles that we saw on the streets during our bus travels. Our trip to Bethlehem continued the strange multi-religion traditions at the
Church of the Nativity. The entrance to the church has a large square arch that originally would let in camels, but was filled in first by the Crusaders to a small arch and then by the Greek Orthodox to a half height door called the Door of Humility. This forces all, regardless of their status, to bow before the King of men. The quote of the day came from one of the tourists who refused to enter – “I’m not bowing down to go into some stupid church.” He waited outside. The site of the birth of Jesus is a church that is controlled by the orthodox church, but has an Armenian alter, a Syrian Orthodox alter and an entire Roman Catholic Church wing. The site of the manger and the birth are beneath the Greek Orthodox altar and many proceeded down into the cramped
space with the birthplace marked by a star set in stone. Two priests were making strange Arabic type chants as we visited and the Greek Orthodox decoration was best described as tacky. The Roman Catholic wing was traditional Catholic décor and is the site of world-wide televised ceremony each Christmas.
Gazze freighter impounded after 9 crew were killed, Ashdod, Israel
All in all, Jerusalem was disappointing, though the view of the city and the Wailing Wall were worth going for. I also had this strange sense of the passing of my original family and of the passing of the city – both to something new and no longer tied to my past.
Egypt
Visiting Egypt is truly a trip to a foreign land! We started out from Port Said with 16 tour buses, two spare buses in case of breakdowns and armed escort vehicles. Amazingly, they had all the side streets and on ramps blocked for the first 2 hours
to the outskirts of Cairo. At each intersection, a white clad member of the Tourist Police stood blocking side traffic. This section is the most exotic of the tour day. Farmers in traditional dress, women in abayas, horse drawn carts, vendors selling fruit at make shift roadside stands, women crossing large irrigation canals on wooden planks suspended over the water, gigantic pigeon coops used to supply meat, grown men riding small donkeys, herds of goats and sheep being tended through brush and sparse vegetation, run down shops and vehicles filled chaotically with goods and people, ram shackled buildings and debris that were actually homes. It looked exactly like Baghdad did 47 years ago. A whole culture stuck unchanged in time, yet frantically going about survival.
Amazing!
All side traffic held for 16 tourist buses
Armed escort, Port Said to Cairo, Egypt
Roadside sales, rural Port Said, Egypt
Rural Port Said
Pigeon coops, rural Egypt
Cairo was interesting too, with frantic traffic and constant noise from horns. Easy to understand that whales must be communicating with each other when you understand that the horns in Cairo are a language unto themselves. A myriad of different short and long patterns to communicate ideas such as “watch out”, “thanks”, “go ahead, it’s clear” and also much less polite expressions. Downtown, in the heart of the chaos, we visited the Egyptian Museum for a little over an hour. This is a must see stop. Photos aren’t allowed and the security screening keeps the cameras out. Given how busy it was, this was actually a benefit, because there is no one posing for photos in front of exhibits. The displays are extensive and cover basically 5,000 to 3,000 years ago. They include gold plated chariots, numerous sarcophagi, tables many metres tall with cuneiform chiseled over every exposed surface and papyrus documents. The main attraction is the King Tut exhibit including 4 rectangular gold plated rectangular coffins, two gold individualized sculptured coffins and the famous head dress. The various coffins all fit inside each other like Ukrainian dolls. Their beauty is enthralling.
Bread delivery, Cairo, Egypt
Cairo - No lanes, no crosswalks, no lights, no problem.
Next we went for lunch on a Nile River cruise. This was an unexpected pleasure. The food was great and the upper covered deck provided views of the city and cool breezes. The belly dancing and exotic live music on the lower deck distracted somewhat from the peaceful atmosphere up top.
Poverty in Cairo, Egypt
Gizeh, minutes from the Pyramids
Pyramids of Gizeh
After that we were off to the Pyramids. Surprisingly, they spring right out of the poverty stricken district of
Gizeh. One minute you are watching people, camels, horses and goats in a maze of side streets and the next minute you are at the base of the pyramid. The sphinx lies below the 3 large pyramids and overlooks Cairo. To the west, the city and the ruins both cease immediately and the desert takes over. The pyramid site was a gong show. Add our 16 tour buses to the mix of tourists and the multitude of camels and vendors trying to make money off tourists. No time to be contemplative about the magnificence of the pyramids. Take your photo and fend off the locals. I actually enjoyed the local experience more than the
pyramids. Lots of fun. We heard quite a few horror stories from less fortunate tourists back on our bus though. The camel riders hounded some of them until they paid for the photos they had taken. Even the tourist police extracted money for having their picture taken. One tourist paid $130 for a camel ride when the going rate was about $10. “I just paid $25 for a bag of junk”, one fellow laughed.
I enjoyed bartering for trinkets, fighting to keep my hat, fending off
pick pockets and conversing with camel riders. Having lived in the
Middle East as a youngster, I had confidence in being clear about what I
would buy and when. I would have loved to wander in the heat and blowing sand longer just to see what might have transpired. Visiting for more than a day would allow for the luxury to view the site before or after the daily infestation of tours.
As we left we could see camels being loaded on to trucks signaling the end
of the assault on the tourists.
Pyramids of Gizeh, view to Sphinx and city
Our visit to the Sphinx was quite brief. The tour guide reminded me of a fact I’d forgotten – that Napoleon shot off the nose and beard of the sphinx with cannon fire. Quite a macho man.
Great Pyramid of Gizeh and the Sphinx
It took me more than half a century to finally get to the pyramids and the experience was over in a matter of
seconds.
The tour next had a short demonstration on how papyrus paper is made and then the famous structured shopping opportunity with a vendor chosen by the cruise ship company. I refused to participate, but they did have the most lovely large papyrus pic for $200. Not sure where I would ever put such I thing, but I did love it.
The route back to Alexandria was 3 uneventful hours. Apparently we didn’t need an armed escort once we’d completed our visit. The land was manly fenced farmland until we got near Alexandria. Then we saw the poverty again. Right beside the port were stone buildings that were collapsing and yet you could see that people were living in them. The reality of
daily life in Egypt made a far stronger impression than its history.
Agios Nikolaos
This stop was a refreshing change from the hectic atmosphere in Cairo.
When you touch an item for sale on the streets here, a swarm of vendors
don't rush you in a frantic attempt to complete a sale. It was very
calmining. We wandered through the harbor and down to the beaches on the back side of the downtown area. Although it was very windy in the harbor, the beaches we found were nicely sheltered. The waterfront was basically a local family affair and we sat for a long time watching the tranquility of a day at the beach. A nice way to recover from the chaos of Cairo.
Agios Nikolaos, Crete, Greece
I highly recommend the Louis Cruises MV Cristal tour of 3 continents. An excellent way to cover the eastern Mediterranean ports in style.
See also our write up on the MV Aquamarine
cruise through the Aegean Islands, which also originates in Athens.
