Kusadasi to Samos

Western Turkey - Group Journal
Day 13 - Thursday, 16 April 1998
by Geri Squires

After breakfast we took a different bus (goodbye Metin!) to the dock. Meli followed in her own car and saw us safely through the customs process. She then said her final good-byes - with tears, and then with hugs for each one. She is leaving in a few hours for her trip to Uzbekistan.

It is a short boat trip over to Samos, and rest was the first item on the agenda for many of us. Some would later rent bikes or cars and explore further. A laundry facility nearby was utilized, as some prepared to travel on into Greece, Italy, and other places before returning to the U.S.

The group agreed with each other to take Julie out for dinner. So, she arranged the evening for us. Pretty clever, huh, we take her out and she does all the work! Dinner was at the Kotopoula restaurant run by Penny, a Greek-American from Texas, who did a wonderful job of putting together a meal for 20 or so unexpected guests. She also filled us in on some local customs.

Having experienced Kurban Bayrami and then Easter while in Turkey, we had now walked directly into Orthodox Easter in Greece. Church services began on Friday night with preparation and parades of "tombs". A high point is reached at midnight on Saturday when candles are lit and people exclaim "He is risen!", or "Receive the light" to each other. Throughout, the exploding firecrackers sound like bombs falling on the city. Although they are illegal, there seems to be no effort to control their use.