That is, except when I got in the water, and then I had the shore and the Greek island of Somos to look at. I could also look at about 20 women sitting on lounge chairs
enjoying beverages and occasionally getting in the water.
The water was about 24-26C-just warmer than the river. Like the river, it feels great on a hot day, but is a shock when getting in. Once in, I found that I was so boyant I didn't have to move to stay afloat. This was the Agean off the coast of Turkey-a national park.We did learn a bit about Turkey on our way out there, and got to visit a rug store and learn how silk rugs are made on our way back. The Turks (the women that is-only women make rugs, and only men sell them) use a double knot method making thier rugs really durable. They were also quite beautiful and, since they are handmade and silk thread is teeny tiny, it takes quite a long time to make them and they are very pricey.
We also learned a bit about Turkey as we swam. Upon entering the national park, we noticed several young soldiers with uzis-machine guns. Our guide explained that all men are required to serve in the military for 15 months, and that these guys were here because there might be bad guys trying to get in the park. Later, as we swam, we noticed that the soldiers were quite close by, and "encouraged" the young men jumping off the rocks nearby to move on. Indeed, I had
my first shower in front of a police car with three armed guys standing around. I was, of course wearing my swimsuit, but it was certainly a new experience for me. I'm not quite sure exactly which bad guys might threaten us, but we are very near Iraq, Iran, and Syria, and this is a Moslem country-though it is very secular, and I can imagine that there might be anti-Americans and anti-lesbians lurking about. I thought better of trying to photograph the soldiers.Nevertheless, this was probably our favorite excursion so far, and we are wondering about swimming in the Adriatic and Mediterranean next.
KG
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