In the footsteps of Paul - a day at Ephesus
Trip Start
Apr 04, 2008
1
42
49
Trip End
May 15, 2008
Selcuk, Izmir, Turkey
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Today we went to Ephesus and wandered through the most interesting places. I find the oddest part that this used to be a seaport. You can't even see the ocean from here! Does that mean the sea levels were that much higher? They say it has silted in, but I can't imagine how that much silt could have filled in this valley. Anyway, the port now is down the road aways in Kusadasi, and that seems to be where all these tour groups are coming from. BUSLOADS of people are swarming all over the place. But the parking lot isn't even half full, so I guess it can get worse and probably a LOT hotter.
Wandering up the main street, we marveled at the houses and the buildings. The library is awesome and the theatres are cool - but the nicest part was wandering off the path and looking at stuff where nobody else was. We found a tiny green turtle - good eyes Hagedorn! All in all, definitely worth the visit, but if you're short on time and looking for a really special spot - go to Aphrodisias.
(S) My travel partner is too kind. And continues to sugar coat the travels. What he neglected to share with you, dear reader, is this is where I had my Turkish campground breakdown. I hinted at it in an earlier entry, but the showers in these campgrounds use the sun's rays to heat the water. Needless to say, the water is COLD in the morning and I had taken countless cold showers up until this point. Well, it was here next to ancient Ephesus that I lost it. One too many cold showers for this girl. I'm not too proud to admit there was crying in the camping shower.
You might ask why I just didn't shower in the afternoon. Good question. Let me answer – first, it's HOT here so there is a fair about of sweating. And I have naturally curly hair, which after a night in a tent is reminiscent of Medusa. My travel partner calls it "sunshine hair", which is the nice way of saying it sticks out on all sides like curly rays of sunshine. Morning showering is just my deal. My travel partner took great pity on my and this beautiful campground in Selcuk was our last night in a tent on this trip. And my last cold shower. On the travel end, Ephesus is an amazing site. The history contained in the ancient ruins and along the cobbled streets is beyond comprehension. That said, the hordes of tourists, regurgitated from the depths of cruise ships, who have a couple hours to do a quick tour and buy an evil eye keychain before they head back to the ship bound for their next port (sorry for all those cruise ship fans – I’m sure they are very nice – we’ve just seen how frazzled and absolutely out of step with their surroundings they seem at ports all over the world) can really suck the magic from a place. My travel partner is right – if you have the time, include Aphrodisias on your travel agenda.
