Our recent 3-week trip to Turkey, Egypt and Greece was full of adventure and inspiration. The great thing about being on a cruise is seeing lots of different places without having to pack and unpack! And it’s a good way to get a taste of where we might want to spend more time on a future trip. Greece is definitely on the list! And Turkey was fascinating, too, with its blend of Asian and European culture and Islamic, Byzantine and Catholic architecture — it was truly a feast for the eyes. And yes, when we were in Istanbul, I couldn’t resist playing the song “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” by They Might Be Giants on my iPod!
Some highlights of our travels included riding donkeys down 1,000 steep, slippery steps on the cliffs of stunning Santorini, visiting the vast and exotic global spice bazaar in Istanbul, touring the ancient community of Ephesus in Turkey and walking around the Acropolis in Athens.
Of course Brian took amazing pictures, which we’ll share soon. I took the opportunity to fill my travel journal with sketches to capture the experience. Here are some pages below:
We had a day in beautiful Mykonos. The iconic white-washed buildings and blue doors seemed almost unreal they were so picturesque! I enjoyed having leisure time to stroll the curving streets and even sketch some of the vivid doors.
Also in Mykonos, our stroll along the winding walkways and coast ended at the string of windmills overlooking the ocean. Brian even gave me a photography lesson there!
We trekked on to Cairo to see the Pyramids and the Sphinx. It was pretty cool to witness these wonders in person! We also visited the National Museum where I sketched this bust of a female pharaoh named Hatshepsut who was the only other woman Egyptian ruler besides Cleopatra.
Also, at the Cairo National Museum, I was drawn to the sculpture of Hathoric, the goddess of music and festivities. Seemed like a great muse for my exploration of fun and creativity. We also spent time in the bustling port city of Alexandria. One of the cool sites we saw there was the new Alexandria Library that boasts room for 4 million books!
After touring Egypt, we headed back to Greece where we visited Corfu, Olympia and Athens. I would love to go back to Greece, especially the lush island of Corfu with its breath-taking views of the sea and plentiful cypress and olive trees.
[tags]travel, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, art creativity, visual travel journal, watercolors[/tags]