8 Countries, 72 days and carry-on only

Ephesus and other sites, October 24 – 26, 2012

Front of Hotel Caravanserail

We flew from Istanbul to Izmir where we were picked up by our guide and taken to the beautiful port town of Kusadasi. Here we checked into the Hotel Caravanserail which was a fort built in 1618 by the Grand Vizier and later restored n 1966.

Foyer in front of our room - perfect place to practice Tai Chi

Each step was almost 1' high

Across the street from the hotel

Boat large and small from across the street of our hotel

Turkish lady cooking our breakfast being well supervised

The alcove area of our hotel was filled with carpet shops. Here is a silk demonstration

It was an Ottoman fort built under Caravanseral of Okuz Mehmet Pacha. The place was beautiful, complete with a large courtyard of lush plantings, Turkish rugs, and steep marble stairs to the second floor where the rooms where located. Inside the room there were high ceilings, an old fireplace, Turkish rugs on the floor and a very saggy sad looking bed – very quaint. However, this was the one hotel where service was nonexistent and the breakfast left a bit to be desired. The best part of breakfast was the woman making some sort of spinach pita dish on a large, circular, hot, flat iron disc. The small town reminded us of Key West but on steroids and this was the off season. Still large cruise ships were docked in the harbor and busloads of tourists were being whisked away to the surrounding archeological sites.

Beth with Zaynep, our guide for the day. Never too early for a wine tasting

Fresh pressed olive oil

We had booked a private tour with “No Frills” tours and had a great driver and guide for the day. The main attraction was the ancient city of Ephesus along with a few add on stops to visit a small village of Sirince, known for their wine, the home of the Virgin Mary and the local museum which housed many of the statues and artifacts excavated from Ephesus.

In the very quaint village of Sirince, there where many varieties of local wine were available for tasting. The best was the peach wine. This area is known for its peaches, but it was the wrong time of year to taste them fresh. There were small shops of local handicrafts like olive oil, soaps, cotton and wool items. It was a very picturesque place.

Everyone has a gimmick, here the rabbit chooses your fortune

The meat is given to the poor on this holiday

Our tour coincided with the first day of Id al-Adha, one of the most important Muslim holidays and a day marked by the slaughter of thousands of sheep to be given to the poor (think back to the Biblical story of Abraham and the sacrificial lamb instead of his son). We saw many a sheep being led to slaughter and Jeff even stumbled into a back room of a shop in the village where the butcher was busy doing his part for the holiday observances. The holiday goes on for seven days and we were lucky to find a tour guide for the day.

One of the Monks at the House of the Virgin Mary

Our first stop was to the House of the Virgin Mary. It is known that St. John had brought Virgin Mary to Ephesus 4-5 years after the death of Christ. It is believed that this house and the waters from the fountains have healing properties; this place is visited by both Moslems and Christians where votive offerings are made. It is assumed that the grave of Mary is nearby. Most of the house had been restored and was now maintained by a group of holy men.

House of the Virgin Mary

The Senate Amphitheater in the high part of the city of Ephesus

Road leading to the lower part of Ephesus

The best part of today was the visit to the ancient ruins of the city Ephesus which originated in 13^th century BC. Due to natural disasters and wars, the city had been relocated three times and it was this third city nestled in a valley that we visited. It was immense and the ruins where well preserved. We could walk along the streets on the original marble stones; see some of the well preserved mosaics and an amphitheatre that is still used today for concerts due to its superb acoustics. Elton John had recently performed here, but it was Rod Stuart’s concert that literally shook the foundations so that now, concerts are limited to classical performances. There was the Heracles gate, the brothels, the temple of Hadrian and the public baths and latrines. There was even the Celsus library. It really is a place that should be on everyone’s bucket list (thank you Nan for having us add this to our trip). It was truly spectacular!!! Often you see individual temples and other ruins, but to be able to explore an entire ancient city; well that is truly remarkable.

Adrian's Arch

Some detail

Concert amphitheater in lower Ephesus

Heracles Gate

Playing hide and seek

My librarian and our guide, Zaynep

The Library at Ephesus

Jeff & Zaynep

Jeff & Beth in Ephesus

Most of the statues and artifacts unearthed were moved to a local museum which we visited the next morning before we left. What was amazing about this site is that you could touch, walk on, and crawl over almost everything. Even in the museum, very little was behind glass so you could get up very close to all the statues. There are friezes of the Temple of Hadrian, statues of the Emperor Domitian, Emperor Augustus and his wife. There were three Artemis statues (1^st century A.D.) recovered from Ephesus and they are quite stunning. The one made from marble is the most famous one and attracts the most attention. Note the symbols of fertility that cover her chest; they are 24 bull testes.

Slope house excavation area

Floor mosaic in one of the slope houses

more floor mosaics


Slope house walls

In addition to touring Ephesus, we also had a chance to see the “slope houses” which were a group of 8 homes of the elite built on the hill above the city. The place was covered by a large metal building to preserve the frescos that had been uncovered and the site was still being excavated. We climbed up many stairs to get a view of all the rooms and it really gave you a sense of what life was like during this city’s golden years. We have never seen anything quite like it. It was a photographer’s paradise. Once again we found the cats ruled the ruins while the dogs were mainly in charge of the streets of Kusadasi.

Evenings were spent exploring the city, eating seafood and taking pictures, lots of pictures. We totally enjoyed the area and loved everything about Turkey. Next stop is Athens and then on to the island of Corfu. I accidently left my leather jacket in Kusadasi so I guess I have to buy a new one in Italy!!! Actually, the driver in Kusadasi is going to mail it to Switzerland for me but I there is no harm in looking at new jackets in Italy!!!!