Don Curry All Inclusive

Don Curry loves to travel. But almost as much, he loves to prepare for trips. Pre-packaged holiday products 'off the shelf', industrially manufactured by the travel industry, are abhorrent to him. No, for him, trip preparation is a genuine craft, almost like an art form, where various layers must be connected together: personal interests and preferences, the reasonable amount of driving distance and sights per day, and the choice of suitable accommodations, which can be very different. All of this comes together in a delicate masterpiece that deserves the label 'Don Curry on Tour'. What represents the pinnacle of travel depravity for Don Curry is an all-inclusive trip to a remote resort without a rental car - nothing more than voluntary confinement with fixed feeding times. But perhaps Don Curry's opinion is based on a unrealistic prejudice. That's why he actually exposes himself to his worst nightmare: he has booked an all-inclusive hotel for 2 nights. Will he be able to endure it?

The hotel 'Kayalar Terrace' is pretty much the opposite of an all-inclusive hotel: it is small, very personally managed, and surprises with many lovely details. The breakfast was definitely one of the extremely positive surprises. It was served from 9:00 am on the rooftop directly at the guest's table, while enjoying the magnificent view. Don Curry even spotted the Acropolis rock of Assos in the distance, with the white columns of the Athena Temple. But then the host came and inevitably fixed Don Curry's eyes on the table in front of him. Besides a pot of tea, a basket of freshly toasted white bread, and a plate with four types of cheese plus numerous cucumber and skinned tomato pieces, raisins and dried figs, the perfect host placed nine small bowls, containing various contents of various kinds: two types of olives, chili sauce and thyme oil for dipping, strawberry and apricot jam, preserved strawberries, butter, and a honey that captured the flavors of Mediterranean herbs fantastically. A freshly prepared omelette finally completed the very personal mini buffet. Don Curry indulged in breakfast heaven, even though it is a place he rarely visits.

Pampered and strengthened like this, Don Curry set off. It would be another long journey. Before he wanted to continue his ruins trip from yesterday, he had chosen another aspect of the local history as his goal, however a rather dark one that lies only about 100 years in the past. Until then, the entire Aegean coast was almost exclusively inhabited by Greeks, on both sides of the sea. The Turkish national movement initiated by Atatürk after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire subsequently led to civil war-like conditions and brutal displacements. In the end, almost all Greeks left Asia Minor, while the Turks were expelled from all Greek territories. Many coastal cities in the Aegean still have numerous Orthodox churches that were quickly converted into mosques. However, in the city of Ayvalik, there was an exception to this rule. The local Greek Orthodox cathedral remained without 'conversion' and had recently been restored as a museum. That's where Don Curry wanted to go.

As always, Google Maps calculated the fastest route for him, which initially led comfortably on a well-developed European road to the edge of Ayvalik. But then Don Curry had to drive into the city, into the old town. Relentlessly, the navigation system forced him through increasingly narrower streets. When the indicated route to the destination became impossible due to a changed one-way street regulation, Don Curry finally ended up in the labyrinth of a Turkish old town, to the delight of some smirking passers-by. In some alleys, his car had only a maximum of 10 cm on both sides before the walls of the houses began. Eventually, the sign 'Otopark' showed him the desired way out. Otoparks are private parking lots that have been created on small and smallest building sites. You only drive a little onto the property, hand over the key, pay 10 Lira, and then let the owner park the car in such a way that as many vehicles as possible fit on the small area, often in the second or third row...

Only 50 meters from Ozman's Otopark stood the well-restored cathedral. Don Curry purchased a ticket and heard a friendly 'Thank you! Goodbye!' from the cashier. Although the cathedral is structurally well preserved, its interior no longer corresponds to the original condition. Whether the expelled Greeks took the icons with them or whether they were later looted is beyond Don Curry's knowledge. Nevertheless, there are noteworthy items, such as a pulpit, a bishop's chair adorned with pelicans, parts of the iconostasis, and some wall and ceiling paintings, all of which testify to a once magnificent church that was only built in the 1880s and therefore served only a few decades.

Under Ozman's energetic instructions and violent gestures, Don Curry cautiously left the narrow Otopark and made a wide arc around the city center on his way out of the city. His next destination was another highlight of the Greek-Roman history of this region: the city of Pergamon, with its extensive, well-preserved ruins.

In today's city of Bergama, the ancient artifacts are mainly distributed among three areas: the Acropolis, the Red Basilica, and the Askleipion. In exactly this order, Don Curry visited the ruins. And he bought the Turkish Museum Card, which cost 60 € but allowed free entry to almost all museums and sights in the country for 15 days. Don Curry already saved more than one-sixth of the price in Pergamon alone. The Trajan Temple impressed, with some columns restored. But Don Curry also found the Zeus altar, whose well-preserved reliefs enrich the Museum Island in Berlin as the Pergamon Altar, while in Pergamon itself, only a sad pile of rubble reminds of the grandiose artwork. The Red Basilica looks like a gigantic church made of red bricks, but it likely represents the remains of a Roman temple for Egyptian deities. One of the two rotundas associated with it can be entered and is reminiscent of the Pantheon in Rome, albeit without reaching its dimensions. The Askleipion of Pergamon was world-famous in ancient times due to the medical skills practiced there. However, besides the round foundation, not much of the spectacular structure has been preserved. Due to the already advanced time, Don Curry skipped the planned lunch in Bergama; the rich breakfast made it possible.

His program for today included two optional sights that required more or less detours. Don Curry immediately dismissed the ruins site of Sardis due to the slight oversaturation with ruins on this day, but he did not want to miss the Muradiye Mosque in Manisa. Even if this late work by Sinan Pasha meant a relapse into the Ottoman theme of the early days. Manisa is a metropolis and can boast corresponding traffic conditions. Don Curry slowly approached the wonderful mosque on the outskirts of Manisa, which was trapped in a million-city traffic jam. Just nearby, he could park Turkish-style, which is against all rules but doesn't hinder the flow of traffic too much. The mosque already proved to be a real little gem from the outside, but - it was closed. Don Curry couldn't tell if it would open anytime soon. He was annoyed by the pointless detour and the wasted time.

But he continued. Out of Manisa, crawling slowly in the million-city traffic jam past Izmir, and then further south. It was only shortly after dark that he reached his destination for the day: the City's Hill Hotel in Kuşadasi; and this hotel is all-inclusive! Don Curry realized it at the latest when he had to extend his arm at check-in and a bright orange plastic bracelet with the hotel name was attached to it. Now he was branded, stigmatized; now everyone could immediately see: that guy is an all-inclusive type.

The hotel itself was quite impressive. Although it is located directly on Kuşadasi's bypass road, Don Curry had booked a room with a sea view, so he was protected from the constant street noise. However, on the sea side, mass-market soft music played in a loop all day until 10:00 pm. The view from his balcony compensated for all the acoustic annoyances: in front, the aquamarine blue pool, then the houses of the city of Kuşadasi with the island fortress, and finally the wide sea with the Greek island of Samos in the background. And the food? Don Curry had expected the worst, and he wasn't disappointed. Since the hotel was only moderately occupied, at least pleasing short queues formed, but the selection of food could be described as just as limited. Like in a canteen or large kitchen from earlier times, the desired dishes were clumsily slapped onto the plate. First, Don Curry chose rice, then a green and a red pepper filled with bulgur and minced meat, and additionally some veal strips with peppers. Considering this limited selection of vegetables, Sultan had probably declared a paprika week nationwide, thought Don Curry. Despite the loveless presentation, his meal was tasty at least; and since he was entitled to an endless supply of beer at the bar, he could ultimately drink down the food nicely with Efes. Cheers, all-inclusive!