Trabzon was today's port and we were met with absolutely beautiful weather. Leslie, Brad, Sharon, Dick, Mary Ellen, Jim, Fred, Pat, Doug and I all decided to take this Regent tour. Our tour guide told us that it usually rains and the Sumela Monestary we were going to see is usually shrouded in clouds, so we were in for a treat. Boy, were we in for a treat. This area of Turkey looks very much like the Eastern part of Switzerland near the Bodensea and is remarkedly beautiful. Hopefully, someone has captured it with a photo for you to see. In fact, the greens were so exquisite, it looked phoney. The buses dropped us off where we transferred to smaller vans. From there we trekked up to the monestary. It is not a tour for anyone who can't walk easily. It was about a 15-20 minute walk. The views were spectacular. Once there, we climbed some steep stairs into what a thought was the monestary to see an entire village below us. There were lookout points with mountain streams and waterfalls, all picture postcard lovely. We were given a tour of the village and vibrant frescoes before going back to the ship for lunch.

The afternoon's tour included the Ayasofya (Saint Sophia) church, which was constructed in the thirteenth century. The interiors are decorated with various frescoes. Next, I think we saw the either the Hatip or the Iskender Pasha Mosques, from the sixteenth century. We then ended the day with a visit to Ataturk's home, which was a cheerful mansion with well tended gardens. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to walk through the markets in town which looked like fun, but we certainly have had our share of history!

This trip certainly hasn't has much in the way of dull ports. We were busy from the time we docked until the time we sailed. There is just so much to see. This may be one of my favorite itineraries to date. I just wish there were more sea days.

Now, it's time for others to add some pics!!