The bare statistics give a glimpse at the physical elements of the trip, but none of the adventures. This trip included four continents, five countries, seven islands, ten time zones, fifteen flights totaling 17,050 air miles, ferries to four separate destinations, two boat excursions, travel on two subway systems, four rental cars that traveled close to two thousand miles in Turkey and Greece, twelve separate hotels, and a ride into the Sahara desert on camels. For those of you who remember Camel cigarettes with the picture of the camel on the front, the pyramids in the background, and the catch phrase “I would walk a mile for a camel” - being on a camel, riding a mile into the desert was like magically being inserted into the cigarette package. Of course riding a camel is not exactly the same as riding in an Aston Martin, both modes of transportation will take you places, but the ride is probably a bit smoother in the Aston.
Will & Kate’s Aston parked in front of our hotel in Athens
While Starbuck’s Coffee is a common in many places around the world, we only saw one closed store on the island of Rhodes at the beginning of our trip, and then one in Athens close to our hotel at the end of the trip. In every Greek village the local taverna is the meeting place for men, and some younger women, who sit for hours drinking Greek coffee, playing backgammon, smoking (always smoking), and talking; it is actually a good place for a light meal at a reasonable price, and with many offering free wifi, a decent place to catch up on the home front.. With many trips to Polichnitos, we got to know some of the locals at the taverna, and throughout our travels frequented many tavernas for lunch.
On our last day in Athens we decided to visit the Starbucks close to the hotel, we were greeted in Greek by George the barista (no idea what his real name is); through our travels we have learned a few basic Greek words along with Turkish and Arabic so I was able to discern some of what he said. Actually he was kidding us; he wanted to know where we were from and of course when we said Seattle, he got quite excited. George wanted to know how long we were in Greece where we had gone and what we saw. This is pretty typical of the Greeks and for that matter anyone we met during our travels, very personable, genuine people who are interested in people they meet. One thing to remember about Greek or Turkish coffee is it served in a cup the size of a large thimble and always with glass of water to wash down the residue of coffee grounds in the bottom. After getting used to coffee served in this manner, it was quite a shock to receive a full cup of Starbucks coffee in a mug the size of a gallon can!
George asked us when we would return to Greece so he could take us to some of the other islands and as we were getting ready to depart he gave us two Starbucks, Athens souvenir demitasse cups as a gift.
‘George’ the Athens barista
As we look back on this trip, the places we visited were spectacular, walking inside the Great Pyramid into the Grand Gallery, or riding a camel into the desert was always something to imagine, not really do! Standing at the entrance to the Parthenon or walking along the same path as Socrates and Plato still seems unreal. In 2012, we will watch the lighting of the Olympic torch in Ancient Olympia, where we stood in 2011, and remember Alkidiviades Siliopoulis who carried the torch in 2004.
But above all, we will remember the kindness of the people we met on this trip; people in the family hotels who were actually concerned about our comfort and well being, not just an employee trained to be considerate. We lived among the Greeks, learned of their culture, participated in their family events and in a way became part of their family. Even in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul where there is great competition to sell their goods, we were taken in by a shop owner who had tea brought in for us, patiently explained the difference between quality and ‘tourist’ merchandise, and taught us to make Turkish coffee.
Unfortunately, not everything was good, being surrounded by revolutions in six Mideast countries, and to watch the final chapter of Osama Bin Laden unfold brought a stark reality to life in 2011.
Before we left the US, many people cautioned us about travel to Turkey and Egypt but what we found was the exact opposite, people who would make sure we were safe and sound. Through all our travels around the world we have experienced the kindness and goodwill of people. The language may be different, but the people are all the same. It is such a shame that countries continue to bring war against others. Starting with Cain and Able, the wars continue and it does not seem possible to stop this behavior, citizens of each country are indoctrinated to believe their country is the best in the world and all other countries are their enemies.
Hate is a potent force and unfortunately tyrants and politicians use it effectively to stay in power while their people suffer and die. None of the people we have ever met want war or harbor hatred, so why is the world always in turmoil with the common man used as a pawn, willing to be sacrificed by their government?
Rodney King said it best “why can’t we all just get along”.
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