Throwback: Turkey, 21 June 2006

Transcribed from my travel journal

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Today was a busy day. We got up early and met our tour group at 8:00. First, we went to Ephesus, which was almost as good as Pompeii as ancient cities go. Although we didn’t see any private residences, the public buildings were beautiful and quite ornate. We went into the Library of Celsus and theatre and saw remains of the Temple of Hadrian, a brothel, a gymnasium, and more. The streets were lined with columns and because it was so hot today we wished for more shade. However, seeing the city was worth suffering the heat. Poppies grow among the ruins, making interesting still lifes. Greek inscriptions are carved on blocks of stone put together at random along the streets. Although it was very crowded, the site was amazing.

Temple of Hadrian, Ephesus

Next we drove to Miletus. The Turkish countryside is beautiful–hills everywhere with occasional villages of white stucco, clay-roofed houses. Every once in a while, a mosque glittered in the distance. At Miletus we saw the theatre, in a remarkable state of preservation/restoration, and a Roman bath complete with tepidarium swimming pool, which still had its steps leading down into the water.

Roman bath, Miletus

After Miletus we had lunch at a restaurant overlooking the ruins at Didyma. The food was good–lots of pasta salads and vegetables. We choose food from the buffet and also got fish with the heads and tails still on. I ate the fish even though they were staring at me [note: I am usually a vegetarian]. They were pretty good. We also talked to a nice British couple at the table.

Finally we saw the Temple of Apollo up close. I knew pretty much exactly what it would look like from pictures and books, but it was wonderful to see it in person. I tried to imagine what it would look like in ancient times. It must have been magnificent.

column drums from the Temple of Apollo at Ephesus

After the ride back to Kuşadası, the guide took us to a rug store. We watched a woman work on weaving a carpet and learned that it takes eight months or so to create one. We got drinks and watched the carpet seller and his employees roll out carpet after carpet in wool and silk. They were all beautiful.

Next we went to a grocery store and J got some Turkish delight. We then separated from K and B and went back to the ship for swimming. There were some obnoxious teenagers in the pool, so we sat in the sun for a while and watched as the ship sailed away.

I will definitely go back to Turkey if I get the chance. What an amazing place!