Bruce and I were sound asleep during our last night on board the boat until my cell phone, which I had set to a white noise app, went ballistic. We were both startled awake by the blaring alarm that was going off. “What the H*&$ was that?” (In retrospect, I’m sure I used a more, uh, colorful word as I grabbed the phone.)

It was 2:17 AM, My phone home screen was bright red, and an “Android Alarm” statement said there had been a 5.8 earthquake, twelve miles off the coast of Rhodes, Greece, which was only 29 miles from where we were anchored off Marmaris.

As we were trying to absorb this news, we could hear the crew run by our cabin door. Still not thinking clearly due to the rude awakening, I stupidly said, “I wonder if anyone else had an alarm on their phones.” Bruce snapped back, “Who cares? I’m worried about a Tsunami!” And then it hit. “Oh my God, that’s right! WE’RE ON A BOAT!”

Meanwhile, the crew had received a call from the coast guard warning boats of large waves that were expected to come through. We were anchored in a protective cove, but I’m sure the captain kept his ear on the radio.

Not unexpectedly, the crew got us off that boat as early as they could, just in case…

As it turned out, there was no Tsunami, but when I think about what could have been, we are still, to this day, very grateful to have made it off that boat alive.

This is one of the press stories about the earthquake:

https://greekreporter.com/2025/06/03/greece-jolted-two-earthquakes-rhodes-crete-june-2025/

Relieved to be back on land (and looking forward to a cushy hotel bed), we said our farewells to the crew and made our way towards Kusadasi, a seaside resort known as the gateway to ancient Ephesus.

(For all photos, click on the image for a full screen view.)

Along the way, we stopped for lunch and free time in Sirince, a former Greek village. All the buildings are over 200 years old, so it had a lot of charm. The population is just 456, and the village is small, but it has become a successful tourist destination. In addition to tourism, they earn their income from agriculture (wine, olive oil, and peaches).

We enjoyed our lunch of Turkish cuisine while enjoying views of the mountains. During our free time, we poked around the stalls and shops, shooting a few photos along the way:

Next up: TURKIYE #16: TWO CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS: LGBTQ+ AND TURKS & KURDS