Back by the pier we headed up the street to the main bazaar. And so it started. Kusadasi is the capital of Genuine Fakes! Shop keepers were on the street encouraging us to go in. Mel headed into a watch shop, I went into a rug shop. I wanted a tiny rug for a doll house. The smallest one they had was too large and over $200, so that idea was forgotten. The owner did his best to get me to buy one anyway, I declined. We continued down the street headed to the Turkish Bath. We stopped to look in a lot of shops. Asking for directions to the bath we were told past the castle, up toward the mosque. We don't get those directions in the US! We finally found it but it was closed. A man walking by said it had not yet opened for the season, so no Turkish Bath for us, bummer.
We headed in the direction of the ship to leave packages and have lunch. We of course shopped along the way. There were a lot of leather goods stores so we decided to check one out. Mel really needed a new leather jacket. He tried a few on then the most expensive one was perfect. Now it was my turn, the first one I tried was very nice. We told the shop owner we would be back as we wanted to look around. The price went down. We said no, we really had not looked at any other shop and wanted to go back to the ship, we would be back. The price went down again. We finally walked out of the store. The shop keeper followed us and the price went down again. We went back into the store, Mel offered $50 less and it was accepted. The price was less than 50% of the original. As we were paying he started in on my jacket. That one was also less than 50% of original price, we walked out with 2 jackets. You have to wonder about the real value as the original price is definitely not it!
Just a bit down the street we went into a luggage store. I had been looking for an extra one in a few ports. The shop keeper mentioned our 2 jackets. Word travels fast in the market! We did end up buying a suitcase when the price went down even more as we walked away. With our jackets and name brand knockoff clothes for the grandkids, we filled it and rolled back to the ship.
After lunch we headed out again. I had told one shop that I would be back for Greek Delight as I didn't want to carry it in the morning. We found a few pieces of ceramics in one store. We wanted to pay for it with our Visa so the guy said to follow him to a different store. Most owners seemed to own more than one shop. I figured it would be nearby but was led down the block and around the corner, up 2 flights right into a rug shop. I found a gorgeous little silk rug. It was about 12" x 8" and $2200!!! I did not need a rug that badly, or at all with those kind of prices. He did go down to $1000, I asked to pay for my ceramics. Then I was taken to a jewelry store downstairs. They are very good at marketing. As I paid they brought out a tray of sultanite rings. This was a Turkish stone that changes colors depending on the light. He started at a very high price, Mel was disgusted as I had already bought a beautiful ring on the ship. He went down about 50%. I said I needed to look around as I had no idea of a good price. As we walked down the street the shop keeper from a store next door came running after me to show me his ring. It was the same one! He went down another 25% so I bought it. While waiting for it to be sized he showed me earrings and pendants to match. The price was right, after a lot of haggling. Mel found a watch he wanted around the corner, then we headed back to the ship to get ready for the ship's party that evening. I must say that shopping in Kusadasi is a very fun experience. The people are all very friendly and polite. In other places we have experienced very pushy, almost to the point of being rude, vendors, wanting you to buy. Here if you bought or not we were offered a delicious apple tea and left as friends. Two shop keepers who we had passed at least 3 times commented as we went by, "You are a lucky man!" I got a kick out of that one.
At 6 pm they started calling out preassigned letters to start disembarking and getting on buses. We were H so waited about 20 minutes for our letter to be called. As we got off the ship we were each handed a blanket as it was very cool there, especially in the evening. We boarded the bus and headed out to Ephasus. There was a guide onboard, narrating our journey, that was unexpected and nice. The CEO and new president of HAL were onboard for a few days so this was another of the special events planned for us. Once in Ephasus we found tables set up on the Main Street. There were many tables set up with "heavy appetizers". The food was different with a lot of lamb and yogurt. It was probably the best of Turkey, we did not care for it. But there was a lot and I am sure they gave us their best. We ended up at a table for 6, the other 2 couples were who we eat with daily in the ship. The fourth couple showed up and sat next to us at the next table. It is so nice that we enjoy each other's company.
Once we were done, the ladies decided to go get desserts. On the way we stopped at the port a potty. It was the most elegant one I had ever seen with wood paneling, real flush toilets and heated seats! They really went all out to make this event special. The dessert buffet was set up in front of the ruins of the library. The string players from the ship were in the library playing, very nice. As it got darker all the lights went on and made the ruins beautiful. We headed back with plates full of delicious desserts including baklava. The desserts were better than the food, fine with me!
At 8:30 we all headed to the amplitheater for a concert. They had put out stadium cushions so we were not sitting on the cold stone. The show started with some folk dancers. They were very good, spinning and jumping around. But the atmosphere of the 3000 year old amplitheater made it very special. The CEO and president spoke a few words, being amazed at speaking in that place. They did not need microphones as their voices carried very well. We were told how special this party was, as if we didn't know! The last concert held in Ephasus was 10 years ago. Sting and Elton John have both preformed there. That won't happen again as the speakers vibration caused some damage to the stones.
A 30 piece orchestra ended the show with 11 short pieces. It was the Aegean Concert Orchestra. I can only imagine how they must have felt being able to play in that historic place. It was an incredible evening. There was also some drama though. On the cruise are many older people with walking issues. The ship assigned a crew member to every person in a wheelchair or with a walker. The streets were uneven cobblestone, so not easy to navigate for anyone, especially in the dark. There were crew members everywhere with flashlights telling everyone to be careful. As the concert was going on we could see the people who had used a ramp to get in, starting to go out. They were led by crew members, many on the bottom step with a ten foot drop right by their feet. I think everyone was holding thier breath as some of them went by. Someone did drop their cane and it clattered down a flight of stairs. We heard later that a few people just went down on their butts, step by step. After the concert we filed out. We did hear someone fall along with some screams. Apparently no one was badly hurt, fortunately. There was an ambulance standing by just in case. We heard there were 3 falls. Later the number had grown to 50. Amazing how the gossip travels and grows on the ship. We were back onboard at about 10:30, it had been a magical evening.
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