Leyte (CV 32) - Naval Cruise Book

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The Mosque of St. Sophia originally built in the 14th Century as the Cathedral of St. Nicholas. - ' x i - - ' ■ m mm OflM Visiting the Othello Tower. Here, according to Willie Shakespeare, poor Desdemona was strangled by her husband. Touring the new city by carriage

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ATHENS NOVEMBER 2-9 WHEN we arrived in Athens we reached the high point of the cruise from a historical point of view. Athens was the birthplace of our modern culture and most of the ancient temples and works of art have been at least partiallv restored. The Acropolis, with its Parthe- non and Erechtheum and other sights was, of course, the major tourist attraction, and virtually all of us got there at one time or another. Some of the other sights of the town were the Olympic Stadium, the govern- ment buildings, and the Temple of Jupiter. Some of us made the trip to Corinth for more sightseeing and most of us took the shopping tour downtown. The exchange rate of fifteen thousand to one had us feeling like millionaires until we found out the prices of drinks at the King George. Scotch was cheap at the British clubs until they ran out and Ouzo was cheap everywhere. One sip of that was enough, however. All of us bought dolls from the peddlers and postcards everywhere. With the exception of the long liberty party, a wonderful time was had by all, and even that will make a fine story for the homefolks. 41 r g - I- ■