Thessaloniki to Edirne

Must have been tired - slept through the alarm so had a quick breakfast before we toured the Ottoman sites of Thessaloniki. The city was named Thessaloniki for Alexander's wife and step-sister. It is the second largest city in Greece. The old Ottoman sites were built on old Greek sites and later new Greek sites on top of them. There is a lot of excavation going on in toen as they put in a subway system. We had brief stops at the "White Tower on the port and the fortifications on the acropolis of town - also the old Ottoman neighborhood. It is a beautiful city with a lovely port. We then drove a couple of hours to Kavala - used to be Philippi - for lunch. The harbor doesn't allow for any swimming or even dipping of ones feet into the Aegean, but we at least spent a relaxing hour sampling bakery goods and walking along the waterfront. All too soon it was back on the bus for 5 more hours of road trip, mostly on 4 lane divided highways. The scenery along the coast was quite picturesque, and without all the curvy roads, most of us could enjoy it, too! I have decided that there needs to be an Aegean/Adriatic cruise in Jim and my near future! The coastal cities of Turkey, Bosnia, Croatia, Albania and Greece were so lovely and so beckoning......

The border crossing into Turkey was a bit intimidating - NO PICTURES ALLOWED - armed gurads and checkpoint gates, machine gun "bunkers" and barbed wire fences surrounding....we had no trouble, but it was a bit creepy.....we were then back in the land of mosques and for a time on a cobblestone "highway". We entered Edirne, a quaint, picturesque city about 7PM and discivered that our hotel for the night was to be a 16th century caravan "sarai" or Ottoman Motel. It is amazing in its design and history. The only problem is that tonight it is also the scene of a wedding - with very loud Turkish music still going on at 11 PM - looks like it's an ear plug night!

It almost felt like "home" to get back to Turkey, where we had become familiar with the language (and able to use a few expressions), food, and customs. After a good dinner, we wandered the main pedestrian walkway. There are a large number of old Ottoman style buildings, probably 19th century, all around the town, plus Sinan the architect's most impressive mosque from the 1500's. Most of us then came back to try to finish blogs, re-pack, and go to sleep before our on foot exploration tomorrow as a group. Last day of the "educational" part of our trip! Tomorrow night we are back in Istanbul and Hotel Bristol to work on curriculum projects and any repeat tours or last-minute shopping. To the USA on Monday!