Island People

The Greek Isles and the Amazing Middle East

By: Henry R. Danielson

Narrated by: Henry R. Danielson

Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

Two retired American high school teachers, former Peace Corps Volunteers, have sailed their 35 foot Nauticat sailboat from the US to the Caribbean, across the Atlantic, through the Mediterranean to Turkey.

We begin this third book of the trilogy in 2008, with again launching our 35 foot sailboat Tapestry. We, along with 80 other boats, explore the Turkish Coast, Cyprus, and Syria, before the storm. Imagine Le Krak des Cehvaliers, a huge crusader castle, and the oasis of Palmyra, before the uprising and before they were vandalized, nearly destroyed. We discover Damascus, a bustling thriving largely Muslim city.

Imagine walking the streets of Beirut at night, four Americans, finding our own way, seeking a restaurant for dinner. How would we be received? Would we be safe walking back? Would we be welcome in Israel, coming from Beirut? What about Port Said, Cairo? Have you ever sailed a Felucca on the Nile, ever slept in a Bedouin tent? We share those experiences with you.

We begin the second part of the book in 2009, with an automobile trip in Turkey, to beautiful Pamakkale, bright white, on its travertine hillside, and Cappadocia, where we explore this city of fairy castles over an underground city. We venture by hot air balloon and on foot, in this magic land.

In 2009, Julie and I explored the Greek Isles by sail, from Marmaris to Simi, island by island, and north past Mount Athos, where no woman may venture, to lovely, rural Dhiaporos and south through Orei to Athens, where Julie’s sister and her husband joined us for a few days. We travel to Mikonos and on to Santorini, before returning to Marmaris, Turkey, and back to the US for another winter. What did we find there? Are these people happy, fulfilled?

Julie and I sailed to the Black Sea in 2010. We traversed the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara, past Istanbul, and through the Bosporus, where few pleasure boats venture. Would we be made to feel welcome in Erigli, Amasra, Sinop, Safranbolu? Come with us and discover how these Turks really feel about Americans. How they treated us. We visit Troy, the ancient city, and Gallipoli, where over 100,000 soldiers died. You might be surprised the feelings these places evoke.

So what does all of this tell us about how we might view others: Muslims, Jews, Bedouins, Egyptians, Turks, Greeks? Should we judge them by what we know of their culture, or is there more here?

Amid all of this wonder, life goes on. How do we cope. How do we sail and live and learn in our hectic world? What lessons are there for us here?

©2021 Henry R. Danielson (P)2022 Henry R. Danielson