Birthday Presents

Birthday Presents

18^th July 2011

Kusadasi is one of my favourite places to go. There’s so much to see and do in this port. One of the best things to do while in Kusadasi is shop. 

A couple of photographers were thinking about going to the beach but the girls would have to go to “Women’s Beach”. Females aren’t allowed on just any beach, they have to go to designated beaches while men can go anywhere. Men can join us females on the Women’s Beach but we can't join them on another beach. I'm so glad I'm from the West!

It’s my brother’s birthday  in August and there were a few things I wanted to get him in Kusadasi. I was getting the presents early so it’d give me enough time to find a post office in one of the new ports and send everything.

During the morning I was photographing David, dressed up as the Turkish Prince. At first we thought it was going to be a very slow gangway but things soon starting picking up and before we knew it, we were clocking up our counts. 

Just before heading out onto the gangway at 07.00 we bumped into Sanela who wasn’t even in her uniform. We were sure she was on gangway this morning. Asking Sanela, she told us she was free shooting outside the terminal and asked if that meant she had to wear her  uniform. Obviously!! David and I couldn’t believe it. She didn’t even have her camera equipment ready. It was still in the lab and her battery hadn’t been charge. Finally, she got off the ship 45 minutes late… again. This was becoming a habit.

Watching David jump and run around the gangway is always a sight to see! Some of the things he says has everyone cracking up. He put his arm around one person and playfully shouted “Sir, let’s get your picture. Just me and you, right here and right now!” The guy couldn’t stop laughing and stopped for his photo. 

Not only is it funny watching David prat around on the gangway, it’s gives you pointers on what you can do when you’re in costume. Obviously you can’t copy out right, that’d be impossible, David has a natural flare for gangway and with people in general. 

We weren’t the only ones on the gangway. Fede was also out shooting Sandra who was officially the Mariner of the Seas Cleopatra. I’ll have to upload a photograph because she looks absolutely stunning as Cleopatra. A couple of guests have spotted her in the gallery and commented “oh you’re the mini Cleopatra”.

David and I were in the lead with our image counts which is a first. Fede is a much faster shooter than I am and David had me running all over the place as he chased after guests. Overall, it was a great laugh and a brilliant way to remember our last gangway in Kusadasi.

Once gangway was over we all nipped up to the mess to get something to eat. A couple of us wanted to get some bits and pieces from the shops so Luci, Ritesh, Fede, Sandra and I headed out into the port. Ritesh wanted a pair of trainers, Luci wanted a pair of shoes like Sandra’s for her cousins back in Brazil, I obviously had to get my brother his birthday presents and Fede was just coming for a walk around. 

The strangest thing about walking around Kusadasi was that people remembered us from walking past two weeks ago! They’d call us and say “Lady, I remember you, you wanted these boots” etc. 
They have a bloody good memory. I find it hard remembering what a guest’s face looks like after five minutes!! 

As I walked past, the men were coming out of the shops shouting “Excuse me, Russian lady”. Me? Russian? No chance. I wouldn’t have said I was a stereotype of a Russian. One person thought I was Dutch which was probably more likely. I couldn’t help but smile either way. Popping into a shop I changed my “Fuck Google… Ask Me!” shirt for a smaller size. Fede bought a copy of evening shirts while Ritesh got a pair of jeans.

Walking around a little more we walked down a small back street where we found a little shop selling typical Turkish jewellery. The earrings are much cheaper and funkier than the ones you can get in England and dare I say it, but the quality is much better than Claire’s and any other accessory store. Choosing a pair was so hard, I wanted the lot! In the end I managed to get some chandelier earrings the girls wear in Turkey. I was thinking about getting a pair for Anna, back in England, but wasn’t sure if she would be able to wear them as they weren’t silver or gold.

With my brother’s presents finally stashed away in a bag, we carried on walking around until we’d done a full circuit of the shops. I even managed to get something for my Mama which I’ll send her once I finally get to a post office. Maybe I’ll be able to find one in Barcelona.

There were only a couple of hours remaining until we all had to board the ship. Heading to the port I stopped off at Hardward Café, a lovely bar with a balcony over the sea. It’s a relaxing place to sit and catch up with the family online. Unfortunately, because of the time difference, my Dad had only just woken up as I was about to leave to go back to the ship.

I found out today that Becks who I met at the Image job interview and trained with in Miami had been fired from Image due to “under-performing”. She wasn’t given any warning or notice, just sent straight home. 

The thing that struck me was that she is a trained photographer, her ship was doing badly anyway and in a previous meeting with her BM they said she was doing a good job. Not only that, during the cruise in which she was fired, she was also given a good comment. It really didn’t make sense. A couple of us guys from the Miami training (we still have a group message going on Facebook) think they might have been trying to make an example of her. Either way, she had no notice, nothing. 

It’s a good job she still lives at home. If it was someone in my case, I’d be sent back to England with pretty much nowhere to go. Obviously they don’t think about that. It’s made me wonder about a few things, that’s for sure. I was really hoping I’d be able to do my second contract with her. Looks like that’s not going to be the case. 

It’s sad as this was the job she really wanted to do: take photos, travel the world and get paid for it. Now that has all taken away within a couple of hours. The more and more I see and hear about the way things work around here, the more I realize that Stuart was right in more ways than one.

Later on, I found out that both Hernan and Zoran got an "Opportunity Log" because they had a low image count in Athens (3 negative opportunity logs is a warning). Hernan signed his and at the side in brackets put “Not Agreed”. Luci, the new AMS, even agreed with Hernan and didn't think either deserved a log. 

Zoran hadn’t even had his good comments logged, just the negative. Luci soon changed that and added them to the log. 

My three good comments from the previous cruise had finally been added to the log. So many of us got good name comments last cruise. Sandra and I lead the way with three each. One lady gave both Sandra and me a good comment. Sandra’s was for being a great help when the lady bought the canvas (of a photo I took on a Centrum). Mine, was for going the extra mile while shooting her daughter on the Centrum on Deck 4 (which was later made into a canvas).

This particular guest told Jomar that I didn’t have a ladder but went running around looking for one anyway and was determined to get a great shot. The girl had a white, puffy Holy Communion style dress on. Deck 4 Centrum has a large circle pattern on the floor tiles. I got the girl to sit down, spreading her dress out within the circle. All the other tiles provided leading lines in towards the girl. Standing up on the ladder, just under the soft box I got a fantastic shot of the girl looking up at the camera. 

It might not have been the most original but it provided an effective final print and the guests loved it. Plus I’d never seen anyone else do it on any of the Centrums. It’s just as Stu once said to me before shooting LSP “you’ve got to think outside the box that the box is in”. 

That’s three more days off for good comments. I’m planning to use them to my best advantages when we start the 7 day cruises next week in ports and countries I’ve never been to before.

Cleopatra

Luci and Cleopatra

Working the Gangway: Newman (Guest Relations), David (Turkish Prince), Me (Shooter) and Sandra (Cleopatra)

Gladiator!!

Gladiator!!

8^th May 2011

Kusadasi, Turkey

Today was another tour, this one was only four hours. Stuart got the short straw and got a 10 hour tour. Of course, he came back absolutely shattered. 

My entire tour took place at Ephesus… the place is massive and we had access to the terrace houses (for entry there’s an additional fee). Oh my word, it was so hot in Ephesus it was untrue, so humid. The site itself is fantastic!! The tour guide studied business administration at university in England and travelled the country quite a bit so he loved telling me all his stories. He was a great laugh and “I joke… I like to joke. See, I joke”. Fantastic! Having a super tour guide makes a huge difference and makes the day that extra bit special.

Here’s an interesting fact about Kusadasi. The name means “Pigeon Island”. "Kusa" translates to pigeons and "Dasi" is island. Originally and obviously the island was known for its huge amounts of pigeons. Kusadasi, believe it or not, also became well known and popular after the 9/11 attacks. It’s also renowned for being one of the safest places in Turkey. We were all given a map of Kusadasi an Evil Eye pin and a clay tablet ticket. The tour guide told us the Evil Eye in Turkey is used to ward off evil spirits and bring you luck. That, and keeping the mother-in-law away. The tablet tickets were used when Ephesus was the largest civilization in the region (2^nd Century B.C – 5^th Century A.D.). 
The clay, engraved tablet was used by spectators to enter the theatre. On the tablet's facade are two engravings, one of a smilings face, the other, crying. This was to symbolise the drama and melodrama found in the theatre's performances.

My tour group was only small, around 22 people, including myself and tour guide. One of the hardest things about touring is you have to split your time in between photographing the guests and keeping the group together and moving. You'd be surprised how easily they find it to get lost. One American guest did just that! He was darting all over the place with his Nikon D90 taking photos. Twice he stood in the way of my shots. As the tour is continuously on the move you have to shoot relatively fast. When he walked into my shot, the guests I was going to photograph walked off to keep up with the tour guide. It's incredibly frustrating to say the least! Anyway, the guy walked off taking photos and got completely separated from the group. It was only 30 minutes afterwards that his wife noticed he was gone… just shows how much she loves him!

Coming out of the terrace houses the lady came charging over to me and started shouting that I’d lost her husband and that he was missing. The tour guide didn’t seem to bothered and said he’d show up sooner or later, plus, he should have stuck close to the rest of the group. This is another reason why I loved this tour guide!! He didn’t pussy foot around the guests.

The terrace houses themselves were absolutely enormous! One thing I didn’t realize was that the Romans were so obsessed with being clean. In Spain and many other countries we have what’s called as a Siesta. Spanish think of it as a time to eat, sleep and relax. The siesta period originates from the Romans. Between 3 and 5.30 the rich people (the poor had to use public baths in the morning) would go to either the public or private baths and sit the entire time soaking and washing. At the entrance of the houses were baths where people would wash as soon as they walked through the door. The baths themselves looked more like decorative, semi-circle internal fountains build into the property wall.

The public bathrooms were great too! Along the back wall was a long marble bench with holes. The rich people would pay serious amounts of money to have a seasonal access to the toilets where they’d perch their bum rather than squat like peasants. Living in those times, compared to nowadays, must have been great if you were rich! Now, it seems like pure madness. Having said that, I'd love to take a step back in time and see it all with my own eyes. Absolutely amazing.

We visited the theatre which is being removed stone by stone. The government are moving the entire thing so that it can be used for future concerts despite public uproar. Sting once held a concert in the ancient theatre. There was big trouble too apparently. Spectators were nearly crushed due to others pushing towards the stage.

Towards the end there were a 10 minute show featuring two Roman gladiators, slaves and Royalty. The sword fight didn’t last long and the emperor gave the thumbs up. Bit unfortunate! When the Emperor gives the thumbs up at the end of a dual, it’s to signify whether the loser lives or dies. Thumbs up and he lives. Thumbs down and he dies a nasty death. Most of the crowd were willing for thumbs up, me and a few others were the opposition.

Every time the tour stopped for a couple of minutes, I was darting around to get the guests' photos one of the many ruins. Although I did the best I could, I didn’t do too well. Only 24 images.

After the tour we had a 30 minute period to use the rest rooms and have another look around. I was getting a few nasty comments about people being sick and tired of us photographers sticking our cameras in people’s faces and so on. Although I can understand it, they have no obligation to buy anything and it’s also my job. It’s just what I have to do to get my image count and hit targets. With 20 minutes left I gave up, you can only put up with so much nagging and bad comments before you need to step back for a bit; not only for the guests as they still have a few days left on the cruise but for yourself and your personal sanity! As Rich once said, it’s mass rejection.

I took the chance to have a drink and walk around some of the little shops that were located outside Ephesus. Of course I had to get some magnets! The Turkish flag, evil eye and Ephesus moment. Three for five euros - pretty good if you ask me. There was even a camel outside Ephesus. 1 euro to stand next to the camel and get your photo taken.

Back on the bus and the missing American had finally made his appearance. His wife pointed at me so I commented “Oh someone’s found you, where were you?” Wrong thing to say. The guy went off on one! “Where were you? Your job is to make sure we don’t get lost and you didn’t find me to tell me that we were moving on”. Rapidly losing patience I had to explain that my job was not to walk at the back of the group and make sure everyone sticks together. Instead, I’m there as the group photographer. I work for the photography department. Next I had to try and politely explain that although I do stand at the back of the group and usher people on, if he wants to take it upon himself to walk off I can’t be held responsible. I can’t separate myself from the group in case I get lost too so there are limits. If he wants to walk off then it’s his responsibility. The guy asked for my name so no doubt he’s going to put in a complaint/bad comment about me. I wasn’t rude but I had to cover my own arse and state the fact that although I’m the escort and photographer, he needs to use common sense rather than expect someone to hold his hand and wait for him to take photos.

Once back at the ship I told our new BM Reuben about the situation, just so he had an idea of what was going on. He told me not to worry – at least my new BM is prepared to give me his backing. A group of us were talking about the ruins and momuments when Reuben came out with a great comment: “In my country (India) we have ruins and everyone call it poverty. In Europe, they have ruins and everyone calls it culture”. The guy cracks me up! 

Our new AMP also went on a tour and only got 20 odd photos. At least now he can see just how hard it is on these tours and it’s not us being slack and lazy about it all. Although we can tell him again and again, he needed to experience the lack of willingness we have from guests. Virtually no one wants their photo taken.

Afterwards I headed out to Starbucks to meet Luci to use the internet. Unfortunately by the time I got to Starbucks there were so many people there the internet connection was so slow. For me, I couldn’t even get online. Fail. 

We took the opportunity to have a walk around the local mini bazaar. Some of the clothes in the shops are beautiful. There was a white, Greek style, cotton dress that I wanted until he guy told me the price, 24 euros. Although the dress was nice, those type of dresses are sold in the markets in Spain for half the price or less! Luci wanted to get some cotton parachute pants so we went into another shop where I spotted a lovely maxi dress. It was so nice, I loved it… but all my hopes of buying it were dashed when I asked for the price. 45 euros. Everything on that side of the market was way overpriced but there were people buying.

We headed over to the opposite side of the bazaar. The side was much cheaper and there was room to bargain. As I can’t steal Rich’s aviator sunglasses anymore I found a nice pair and got the price down to 10 euros. Luci keeps laughing and calling me a Bubaloo (that’s how it’s pronounced anyway. The word means idiot and provided by the Filipinos) as I haven’t taken the glasses off – unless it’s for work on board the ship. Luci didn’t manage to get any pants but she did buy her brother a Turkey top for US$5 instead of 10. 

Every shop has belly dancer outfits, some pants and some dresses. Both of us thought it’d be a great costume for gangway. Maybe that way we’d be able to have Hernan or Stuart as a Turkish prince and me or Luci as belly dancers. We’d get so many photos it’s untrue. Later on I spoke to Reuben and he thought it was a great idea, so when we are next in Kusadasi or Istanbul, Luci and I will be on a mission to find a costume and heckle the price down to the ground. Even though I don’t have a wash board stomach, I’m all for dressing up if it brings more revenue and a packet full of giggles. After all, you only live once so I might as well shake my booty on the gangway while I still can!

Tourism at Ephesus, Kusadasi (Turkey)

Gladiators

Genuine Fake Watches - Ephesus Market