Mon 01.Nov.2010
Rhodes, Dodecanisos, Greece
A Besieger's view of the old town. Tens of thousands lost their lives down there in the siege of 1522 alone.
The besiegers - Ottomans under Suleiman the Magnificent - didn't even
want Rhodes as such. Their problem was that the crusaders were pirates
as well as religious fanatics. They preyed on Ottoman commercial
shipping to the point where the sultan could no longer let them be. And
the pirates' city was god-awful well defended.
Modern besiegers come mainly from cruise ships, and are the life blood of a lot of people here.
Did somebody say Cruise Ship? This
behemoth was here last week, left, and returned a few days later for a
day. The passengers mostly spoke German.
Behemoth in the Bay
I've seen this cruiser a year ago across the strait in Marmaris,
Turkey. Besides it's huge size, it is defitely a bit odd in its livery.
One of my local contacts (I've been here long enough now to have
them!) says that there is one specifically gay cruise ship, and he
thinks this is it. It would explain the lipstick and the giant sperm
with eye make-up. Or is it something more elusive than that? Am I just
reading more into this bizarre branding than is really there?
Oh be he moth or be he bird
He's the prettiest frog I ever heard.
- Pogo
A kindly tourist, perhaps from today's
cruise ship, for 'tis still the season, offered to take my picture by
this fountain. I had waited patiently while he photographed his
girlfriend first.
Kindness to strangers. It puts some of the sparkle in the world.
Contents Copyright 2012 Jeff Bulf