Anzac Cove and Gallipoli . Today was quite special. We left the Dardanelles early in the morning and sailed slowly along Anzac Cove. By about 10am we were stationary just off the cove. One of our lecturers gave a commentary explaining about the events that had taken place there. The Australians and New Zealanders on board were familiar with the story, of course, but it was interesting to have all the places we'd heard about pointed out - Lone Pine, the...

Istanbul Woke early and looked out to find that we were in the Bosporus sailing past the Blue Mosque. What an entry to a city. All the famous landmarks were passing outside our window. After breakfast we caught a shuttle bus into the old part of the city. The ship was docked on the northern side. The shuttle dropped us off near the Grand Bazaar and, as we had shopping to do, we set off inside. There are streets galore in the bazaar and they seem to be group...

Mykonos I was wrong when I said Turkey was next. It was really Mykonos. We only had a half day in beautiful Mykonos. Still making up time for the lost engine! Mykonos is too small for the ship to dock so it was our first port for tenders to be used. Tenders are just lifeboats which are used to transfer passengers and any crew ashore. I always like tender ports because you get a usually rough boat ride which I enjoy. Once in North America our tender became ...

Jerusalem Another early start. We set off still excited from our day in Egypt yesterday seeing the pyramids, etc, and with memories of the squalor still vivid in our minds. Israel, we soon discovered, is a complete contrast to its neighbour. Chalk and cheese. Night and day. Black and white. The drive east from Ashdod to Jerusalem revealed an attractive, orderly, very European style countryside. The fields were planted with a variety of healthy green crops ...

Egypt and the pyramids . We had to be up early this morning for our trip to Cairo. We were going to see the pyramids and the Sphinx, and to visit the Tutankhamen exhibition at the Egyptian Museum. It was a 3 hour trip and I was quite excited so, for once, I didn't mind rising early. We met our group, were issued with our numbers and climbed aboard the coach. Surprisingly, it was clean, modern. very comfortable and the guide spoke good English. The coa...