I have been dragging my feet on this one. Not because it wasn't a fun vacation, because it totally was, but because we took sooooo many pictures and I dreaded sorting them and editing them. But since Jack comes home every night and asks me if I finished my blog post, I guess I better hop to it!
We had a few days of for the end of Ramazan (Ramadan), or Şeker Bayramı (Sugar Feast), so we decided to take our summer vacation to the Aegean Sea, with stops at oh-so-many Roman ruins as well. First of all we had to decide how to get to the sea, we thought about flying, or taking the over-night train, or even the over-night bus (10 hours sitting up on a bus! Yikes). We finally just decided to rent a car and drive ourselves. Which was a great idea (mine, of course!), since that would free us up to see more out of the way sights. So with bags packed and Harry Potter on CD we were ready.
Our first stop was recommended to us by a Turkish guy Jack works with. We have been wanting a bigger Kilim (woven rug) for our living room, and he told Jack about this town along our route where they have a weaving co-op where we could get a good deal. It was great advice! Of course we got a little mixed up in the town, but when we stopped to ask directions a local guy just jumped in with us to tell us where to go, then he jumped out and walked back to town. The shop was pretty cool and the lady there gave us a demonstration. We liked a few and ended up mulling it over during our trip and then stopping back to purchase on our way home.
From there we continued to our first "real" stop, Pamukkale!!
Pamukkale (Cotton Castle) is a natural hot springs and terraces of carbonate minerals left by the flowing water. It is really white and beautiful. There are also the ruins of the ancient city Hierapolis. People have been coming to bath in the waters for thousands of years.
Here are the highlights:
Swimming in a hot-spring filled with ancient Roman columns!
Walking on the natural terraces with about a million tourists!
Our Hotel's outdoor restaurant! The food was good and I want a patio like this one day!
Hieropolis, besides the hot-springs, it is also the city where the Apostle Phillip spent the last years of his life and where he was killed. There are ruins of a tomb that is reported to be his and a Martyrium for Phillip built in the 5th century as well as a theater and other building remains.
Lizard!
The tomb, with scaffolding of course.
Martyrium
Our next stop was Aphrodisias.
This is a great sight and it is a little out of the way so there are not a lot of tourists around.
Highlights:
Monumental gateway, or tetrapylon
The Stadium
Temple of Aphrodite
(Umm, yeah, it was REALLY hot so I had to buy an enormous hat for shade.)
The bouleuterion (council house), or odeon
Baths (sad he lost his cheek!)
Wall of Faces (we named it that)
Next we went to Ephesus. You can read about Ephesus in The New Testament (hello, Epistle to the Ephesians) and it is believed that John wrote the Gospel of John here. Ephesus is a great sight but every tourist group makes a stop here so it can get crowded. We got there as soon as it opened and had a little time before the buses rolled in.
Highlights:
The Theater (this was amazing, so huge!)
Road to the Sea
(except the bay silted in so the sea isn't there any more. Side-note, why am I standing like such a weirdo in this picture?)
Library of Celsus
Public Toilets (really public!)
Jack couldn't pass up the opportunity and didn't let the rope stop him!
Lion Faces.
Did I mention it was hot?? Because it was soooo hot. Jack actually allowed some time for swimming at the beach. We tried a beach that the locals recommended first, but it wasn't great, so we went to a different one we liked better. The locals think it is too windy, but we thought the breeze felt good. I only got pictures at the first beach.
Near Ephesus is the Grotto of the Seven Sleepers. I think the story goes that some early Christians were walled up in a cave they were sleeping in because of their beliefs and then 180 years later they woke up and became saints. I am not very clear on this obviously but we went to see it anyway.
Oh, man! A turkey in Turkey!
Just because it's cool!
A lady making some Yufka.
We also went to the House of the Virgin Mary. According to legend, when John came to Ephesus he brought Mary with him and in the 1800's a nun had visions of her house and they found the foundations of this house in 19th century. Now it is a pilgrimage site.
There were a lot of people there. It was a little crazy. There were all of these tourists wandering around and a poor priest was trying to hold a service.
Water believed to have healing power. Jack drank some, we shall see...
Wishing Wall
Dude, this post be getting long! But I must forge onward!
We went up to Şirince, an old Greek village in the hills. We had heard from lots of people and guide books about this quaint town, were we would see little ladies doing needle work that they would be willing to sell to us. Well maybe that is how it was 10 years ago, now it is touristy to the extreme! It was also packed with people. However, if you wander off the main road it is still quaint and beautiful.
We hit three other sites in one day.
Priene, which was probably my favorite. It is up in the mountains, with lots of pine trees, it was quiet with only a handful of other visitors.
Temple of Athena
VIP
Miletus (mentioned in the Book of Acts chapter 20), has the most amazing theater, with the tunnels intact and open to explore. I am also pretty sure a local goatherd shelters his goats in there!
Didyma was our 3rd stop, mostly it is just the Temple of Apollo that you can see. But it is/was enormous. The pillars really are amazing!
Another example of excellent Turkish to English translation on a sign.
We spent an afternoon in Kuşadası. It is beautiful harbor city, with lots of touristy shopping for people getting off the boats from Greece.
Do you want to rent a boat?
We heard this castle was cool so we walked across the causeway to see it and it was, of course, closed.
This kid was like, "Hey, where are you from?" When I told him I was from the US he insisted I take his picture and then I had to take a picture of his friends. SO here they are America!
We stayed in a town called Selçuk. It was a great place to stay and had some sites of it's own as well.
Basilica of Saint John
Just hanging out, knitting.
John's Tomb????
Our hotel had a rooftop restaurant, where you could sit to watch the sunset. This is how we look after a day out.
There is a Roman Aqueduct that runs through the town. It is topped with stork nests. And this is a typical site in Turkey, men hanging out shootin' the breeze with their çay (tea).
İsa Bey Mosque built by the Aydinids in 1375.
The Grand Fortress
Temple of Artemis (once one of the Seven Wonders of the World now only one pillar is left)
View toward the Aegean.
So basically our vacation was totally awesome and Trum gives it 2 thumbs up.
The End or as they say in the Rowe Family, DEE DAW!
