We arrived rather late, or early depending on how you look at it, so we were not in the best mood to find out that the tour company had not left any information for us about the pick-up time. It was 1.30am but this did not stop Errin from getting the hotel to call our Turkish contact in Istanbul! Poor man was awakened out of his slumber but he was very gracious and called us back immediately with the information. We have not been nearly as impressed with the organization of our tour in Turkey, perhaps because it was flawless in Egypt and Jordan. Our tour guides have been great and Turkey is a beautiful country that definitely warrants a return trip.
After a great four hours sleep, we were met by our tour guide, Nuri, and headed off to Ephesus one of the best-preserved Roman cities in the world. It is so easy to imagine what it would have looked like in the day and it is always so exciting to walk down the main street and think about all of the people who lived there thousands of years ago. The library facade is stunning as is the Great Theatre which boasted a seating capacity of 25, 000 people.
There is also an example of one of the early secret signs on the street – a heart with an arrow through it, a left foot and a woman’s face. This is to indicate the location of the local brothel on the left side of the street!!! They believe that they have only managed to excavate 20% of this harbour city that now sits 5 miles away from the coast thanks to the ever-changing geography of the area. Unfortunately it is very expensive to do this and that is why there are so many ruins that are relatively untouched in all of the places we have visited.
Selcuk was next and we got to see the Basilica of St John which is his original burial site. From there we could see the Temple of Artemis that is no longer as impressive as it used to be since there is only one pillar left standing after an earthquake destroyed what was once one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. We also popped in to the local mosque that is one of the earliest in Turkey as noted by its very simple yet pleasing style. Lunch then a visit to the Virgin Mary’s house.
This is believed to be the place where she lived her final years with St John, whom Jesus entrusted his mother to. The original foundations are intact but the rest was rebuilt when it became a church centuries later. You cannot ignore the incredible feeling of peace and serenity that enwraps you as soon as you walk in the door. It was hard to put words to it and is probably something that each person could describe in a different way. The grounds are beautifully landscaped and are so quiet and calming. Sunday mass is still celebrated there in an outdoor area just next to the house.
Regardless of how holy a place may be or feel, there are always the tourist traps – the stalls with lots of trinkets and things related to Mary, not very nice but a fact of life. One of the things that gave us a good laugh was buying stamps for sending to Canada - they were Olympic stamps with the Vancouver 2010 emblem on them!
At this point our previous day and lack of sleep caught up to us and we decided to give the carpet store, the leather factory and other things offered a miss and headed back to our lovely 5 star hotel. There was a bit of negotiating to be done as we decided that we wanted to change our next day’s tour to Pamukkale instead of Pergamum, as Nuri said it was worth the visit. Errin had to do a bit of sweet-talking to our Turkish rep in Istanbul but she has a gift and they switched it for us at no charge!
Refreshed from a great sleep we headed out for the 3 hour drive to Pamukkale. It wasn’t as bad as it sounds as we got to see the countryside and found it looks very like Italy in places. Lots of greenery, trees and mountains. We checked out the Roman ruins first and then made our way to the Pools of Cleopatra where it is believed that she bathed there……naturally Errin had to do the same. The pillars have all collapsed and some of them are still in the pool, which gives it a cool look. After that we were left to our own devices and headed to the natural springs. These have to be seen to be believed – cascading white travertines that have been formed due to the high calcium content of the water. They were used by the Roman’s for healing purposes so it is kind of ironic that this ancient city also boasts one of the largest cemeteries! We got a good kick out watching the antics of the bikini and speedo wearing Euros posing in the travertines and thought we’d give it a go – so not ready for the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition!! A couple of good naps on the way back and we were back at our hotel for our last night before we had to move to another one for our 3 days of R&R (cost related we think……).
Bliss – a sleep in, no tour, just doing whatever we wanted! We switched our hotels and suddenly realized that we have become 5 Star Snobs!! This hotel is not nearly as nice and is much further out from the centre of town. It is also brimming over with kids…..and all kinds of interesting looking people. We are totally fascinated with Mr Hercules. Not sure what his nationality is as we have not heard him speak, but boy oh boy, does he fancy himself! Errin just had to take a photo of him in his little purple skirt – what you can’t see is the PINK thong that he shows off on the beach. Ugh.
And then we went out. This was actually our first real night out the entire trip and also our first hangovers! We met up with Nuri and after a couple of drinks we went for some dinner at a restaurant he likes that is quite authentic. A few more drinks at another bar and it was off to Bar Street……and the Authentic Irish Pub. That was our downfall. The time of our departure is a bit hazy but we think we got back to the hotel around 5.00am. Needless to say, today has been a slow one spent on the beach doing nothing except vowing to never drink again. Funnily enough, Errin is currently drinking a beer as I type, how soon they forget. But we had a fun time and ended our time in the Middle East with a bang!
Tomorrow is our last day here in Kusadasi and we plan on spending it doing some last minute shopping (as if we need anything else!) and lying on the beach laughing at Herc in his pink thong.
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