Thursday--January 27--Ephesus

Thursday--January 27--Ephesus

All my bags are packed I’m ready to go.  When I come downstairs with my luggage and give the key to the receptionist she seems surprised that I am checking out.  I did have a reservation for two more nights, but I thought Ayca would have called and told them I was leaving.  Who knows.

“You are leaving?, she asks.

“Yes, plans have changed,” I say.

A different driver picks me up this morning.

Today I meet three other people all from Bombay, India.  There is a married couple and another woman who is the sister of the wife.  They are very nice, educated and have money.  The single woman is 30, I would have never guessed that and still lives at home.  The married couple have two girls aged 4 and 6.  They have come to Turkey for a one week holiday.  They spent the night in Izmir are taking this tour of Ephesus today spending another night in Izmir then flying to Istanbul for 4 nights.  

Ali and the "captain"

Our tour guide for today is Ali and we have the same driver I had yesterday, “the captain”.  I’m sorry not to have Seda as I thought she was very good. 


But Seda told me that the tour company has their own guides and when they are available they are used.  O.k.

We start our tour at the Virgin Mary’s house which is up on the hill above Ephesus.  

Virgin Mary on the road to her house

Supposedly she came here from Jerusalem and died in this house.  Ali said that some believe this is a myth but three Pope’s have come here and decided that yes it is true the Virgin Mary died here.  On August 15, which is the day she died, 1,000’s of people come here and there are many masses.

Virgin Mary's House

Legend has it that the Virgin Mary lived her last days on earth in a small stone cottage on Mount Koressos (Bülbüldağı, "Nightingale Mountain" in Turkish) to the south of Ephesus (map). Meryemana ("Mother Mary"), as the place is called, is located in a municipal park on the mountaintop 9 km (5.6 miles) from Selçuk, 5.5 km from the Upper Gate entrance to the Ephesus archeological site.

The modern history of the Virgin Mary's House is unusual. It was "discovered" in 1812 by a German nun, Sister Anne Catherine Emmerich, who never traveled away from her home.

Sister Emmerich, an invalid confined to bed, awoke in a trance with the stigmata and visions that included the Virgin Mary and Apostle John traveling from Jerusalem to Ephesus. She described Mary's house in detail, which was recorded at her bedside by a writer named Brentano.

Emmerich described a rectangular stone house, which John had built for Mary. It had a fireplace and an apse and a round back wall. The room next to the apse was Mary's bedroom, which had a spring running into it.

The German nun went on to say that the Virgin Mary died at the age of 64 and was buried in a cave near her house. When her coffin was opened soon after, however, the coffin and burial shroud were empty. The house was then turned into a chapel.

When we arrived there weren’t many tourists.  We walked into the house where there are many signs asking you to take two candles.  There isn’t much inside the stone house besides the many boxes of candles.  I didn’t see where the candles were used until we left the house where I saw the boxes filled with sand.  

This is where you are suppose to light the candles and leave them.  As we continued our walk away from the house there is a wall with prayer rags and three fountains of holy water.  

wishing wells

prayer wall

Of course I take a few sips of the holy water.  I can use all the help I can get.  The married woman on my tour gave me a handwipe to wrap around the prayer wall.  It reminded me of the Kotel (Western Wall) in Jerusalem where people leave prayers only that’s inside the cracks and this is outside.

We continue on our way and stop at the statue of Mary that is on the road.  The view from here is fabulous and it’s a glorious day.  You can see the entire city of Ephesus from up here.

view from the hill

The other people

Ephesus was incredible.  Bigger than I anticipated.  During our tour Ali tells us that only 10% of the city has been unearthed.  Remember they think nearly 300,000 people lived here at one time.

Ephesus which was established as a port, used to be the most important commercial centre. It played a great role in the ancient times with its strategic location. Ephesus is located on a very fertile valley.

Ephesus, once, the trade centre of the ancient world, a religious centre of the early Christianity and today, Ephesus is an important tourism centre in Turkey.

The ancient city of Ephesus (Turkish: Efes), located near the Aegean Sea in modern day Turkey, was one of the great cities of the Greeks in Asia Minor and home to the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. (Artemis was the Greek goddess, the virginal huntress and twin of Apollo, who replaced the Titan Selene as Goddess of the Moon.  At Ephesus a goddess whom the Greeks associated with Artemis was passionately venerated in an archaic icon. The original was carved of wood, with many breast-like protuberances apparently emphasizing fertility over the virginity traditionally associated with the Greek Artemis. Like Near Eastern and Egyptian deities (and unlike Greek ones), her body and legs are enclosed within a tapering pillar-like term, from which her feet protrude)  

There is so much to see here.  This is the busiest sight I have been to including the big ones in Istanbul.  I don’t know why I am feeling like there are so many tourists.  I can’t imagine coming here in the summer.

NIKE

Ali walks us around and explains area after area.  This was the main street, here were the stores, this was the temple.  There is a tomb of “Nike”.  Unfortunately, so many pieces have been taken by earlier excavations, and they are in museums around the world.  I asked when excavation started and Ali told me in the late 1800’s.  When Turkey became a republic in 1920’s the president said that no more artifacts could leave the country.  But by then it was already too late.  There are lots of stands but the statues are long gone.

There is an area we couldn’t go into which is the “houses” of the wealthy people built into the hillside.  It is all covered up and won’t be available for viewing until the summer.  Apparently there are wonderful mosaics inside.  Too bad.

Medea

One of the most impressive parts of Ephesus is the Celsius library.  Celsius built it for his father and used amazing ingenuity to keep the books preserved from the humidity.  Unfortunately the books were destroyed by the Goths.

The library of Celsus is an ancient building in Ephesus, Anatolia, now part of Turkey. It was built in honor of Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus (completed in 135 AD) by Celsus’ son, Gaius Julius Aquila (consul, 110 AD). Celsus had been consul in 92 AD, governor of Asia in 115 AD, and a wealthy and popular local citizen.

The library was built to store 12,000 scrolls and to serve as a monumental tomb for Celsus. It was unusual to be buried within a library or even within city limits, so this was a special honor for Celsus.  


I also found a menorah etched into the step of the library.

On the other side of the library was what Ali called the “Agoura” which was supposedly the “shopping center”.  Every area in Ephesus is large.  The last place we went to was the “theater”.  

Ali told us that Elton John and Sting gave concerts here but the government will no longer allow people to use the theater.  There was damage done from those concerts so it is only allowed to be used once or twice a year and only with acoustic instruments.  This was by far the biggest “roman” or “greek” theater I’ve seen at all the ancient sights I have visited in this part of the world.  What I did learn was the Greek’s used the theater more for theatrical entertainment but the Roman’s used it more for “gladiator” performance and killing of slaves.  

Outside of the theater is an area that looks like a cemetery where they display the empty boxes above the ground.

After being here for nearly 2.5 hours it’s time to go to lunch.  We are all hungry.  Again we go to one of those “tourist” buffet’s but this is the best one so far.  The food isn’t great but it’s edible.

Genuine FAKE watches

After lunch we thought we were going to go visit the castle in Selcuk however we are taken to a textile school where students learn to make rugs.  

cocoons

The first thing we see when we walk in is a vat of silkworms.  We are shown the cocoon of the silkworm and how all the different kinds of rugs are made.  There are not only silk, but wool and cotton used for making rugs.  We are given demonstrations on how each one is made.  The man explains the amount of time each different material takes to make a rug.  

All rugs are made by hand and some take up to a year to finish.  No two rugs are the same and that is why they do not have a web site or a catalog.  I have to say if there was a time I wanted to buy something this was it.  

each rug is hand knotted

After the school the India people want to stop at a Diesel outlet they saw on the way so we stop there.  Then we finally are on our way to the castle, so we think.  We pull into what looks like an empty lot across the field from the castle.  It is at this time that Ali tells us no one can enter the castle.  That’s a bummer

That’s the end of this day.  The people from India are being driven back to Izmir and I am being taken back to Kusadasi.  

The driver takes me to the travel office again so I can confirm my arrangements for Bodrum and pay Ayca.  She told me that when the driver picks me up in the morning he will have my vouchers for the hotels and the ferry tickets.  I’m not feeling 100% with this deal but I pay her anyway.

The driver takes me back to the new hotel.  This hotel is much better and of course I’m wondering why I didn’t change the first night.  

view from my room

I went downstairs to the restaurant and it looked o.k. so I sat down and ordered a pizza and a beer.  Not long after I was eating I noticed a family sitting at the next table.  Somehow we started to talk and it turns our the husband and wife are originally from Holland and the daughter, who is 12 but looks 16, was born in Turkey.  They have lived in Kusadasi for 14 years but are wanting to move.  They are thinking of Costa Rica.  They start talking to me about the world having a “DNA” shift and about some Japanese guy Emo.  O.k. so they really think outside the box.  I ask how, with this philosophy, have they been able to live in Turkey especially a small town like Kusadasi.  Oh we’ve done it, they tell me.   They are an interesting couple.  They tell me about a t-shirt company they are working on and the label will say “made globally”.  Sounds good.  I tell them about Earth Day and suggest they may want to investigate festivals like that to start selling their t-shirts. 

This is what this journey is about.  Meeting people from all over and hearing what they have to say.

Wednesday--January 26--Pamukkale

Wednesday--January 25--Pamukkale

I’m up at 7:30 and downstairs by 8:10 to see if breakfast is any better than dinner.  The coffee isn’t too bad.  I’m not saying anything else about the food.

During my conversation the evening before with Ayca, I am told that it is a 3 hour drive to Pamukkale.  I am astounded.  How much time will we spend there I wonder.

The same driver, “the captain”, who picked me up from the bus arrives with the tour guide, Seda.  There is one other man who is from Korea at my hotel going with us and we need to make two other stops for the other three people.  We pick up a couple at another hotel in Kusadasi and then drive to Selcuk for another man from Japan.  

Here we are the five tourists traveling to Pamukkale: the couple from Singapore; both engineers and speak perfect English (but speak Chinese to each other), the guy from Korea is a police man on holiday from his “assignment” in Moscow training with the Russian police, speaks fairly good English, the Japanese guy is 27, just traveling no job and doesn’t speak much English and me.

Pamukkale, meaning "cotton castle" in Turkish, is a natural site in Denizli Province in south-western Turkey. The city contains hot springs and travertines, terraces of carbonate minerals left by the flowing water. It is located in Turkey's Inner Aegean region, in the River Menderes valley, which has a temperate climate for most of the year.

The ancient city of Hierapolis was built on top of the white "castle" which is in total about 2,700 metres (8,860 ft) long, 600 m (1,970 ft) wide and 160 m (525 ft) high. It can be seen from the hills on the opposite side of the valley in the town of Denizli, 20 km away.

In this area, there are 17 hot water springs in which the temperature ranges from 35 °C (95 °F) to 100 °C (212 °F). The water that emerges from the spring is transported 320 metres (1,050 ft) to the head of the travertine terraces and deposits calcium carbonate on a section 60 to 70 metres (200 to 230 ft) long covering an expanse of 240 metres (790 ft) to 300 metres (980 ft). When the water, supersaturated with calcium carbonate, reaches the surface, carbon dioxide degases from it, and calcium carbonate is deposited. The depositing continues until the carbon dioxide in the water balances the carbon dioxide in the air.Calcium carbonate is deposited by the water as a soft jelly, but this eventually hardens into travertine.

Seda, the tour guide tells us the travel time to Pamukkale is 3 hours and after 1 1/2 hours we will stop for a “pause” and then continue on to Pamukkale.  I do not correct her word “pause” for “break” as I find the word rather endearing.

The drive is fairly uneventful and within her time frame we do stop at a “tourist” rest stop.  They have bathrooms, a restaurant and a  shop the size of half a football field filled with souvenirs of Pamukkale and other things from the area.  I have to remind myself that in the summer the place is crawling with tourists. Seda tells us that this area is known for agriculture especially figs and olive oil.  

The couple from Singapore buy 6 boxes of dried figs.  I have a pomegranate/orange juice and use the restroom.  The guide and driver have breakfast.

We continue driving and as we approach the area Seda points out the white mountain in the distance.  It doesn’t seem like much but as we get closer you can see how amazing it is. 

Outside the entrance gates are several souvenir shops.  I take a photo to remind myself what I’m not buying.

What I'm not buying

Upon entering you walk through the Roman Ruins of Hierapolis.

The weather has dramatically changed as we are more in the mountains.  I’m glad I have 3 layers on today.  

We go to the edge of the tavertine mountain and Seda tells us that there is no water flowing today and therefore there aren’t any pools of water sitting on the white surface.  Apparently the water is controlled and when it is cold it isn’t good to let it flow.  

“We will come back and walk on it later, Seda says, but first we will go to the pools.”

We walked over to the “pools” where supposedly Cleopatra came to bathe.  The water in the pools is from the natural hot springs and the water is like soda water.   

There are fountains that you can drink the water and it tastes heavily carbonated but good.  Seda says it’s very good for your body to drink the water.  I can see that it would settle an upset stomach.

On our walk to the pools we see lots and lots of trucks.  I see one of the trucks has a picture of a boom on it, like ones that are used when making movies. 

I say to the group, “these trucks look like they are from a movie studio.”

When we are inside the pool area, Seda asks someone what the trucks are and she is told that yes a movie is being made.  ‘Ghost Rider 2’ with Nicholas Cage.  I had heard when I was in Istanbul that Nicholas Cage was in Turkey filming this movie but was in Cappadocia.  There must be hundreds of people here associated with the movie.  I guess it’s a good time to come here since it’s off season and there aren’t many tourists.

There were only three people in the pool as it isn’t exactly swimming weather.  Although I did bring my suit thinking I might be able to feel the natural spring water.  

After our visit to the pools Seda asks if anyone is interesting in walking up to the outdoor theater.  We all agree to go.  When we come out of the pool we see a shuttle bus but Seda says they charge for that.  I guess it’s like the mules in Petra.

We walk up to the theater which is only a 10 minute walk.  The area around has many ruins but Seda says they are mostly under excavation and not for visiting.  This area had approx. 100,000 people who lived here back in the day as compared with Ephesus which had 250,000 to 300,000.

When we arrive at the entrance to the theater we are told we can’t go in because of the filming.  They aren’t filming but only setting up and they didn’t want to let anyone in.  I was not too happy.  Save the movies for Hollywood, don’t rain on my parade.  I’ve traveled a long way and I would like to see the site.  

I stuck my nose in to have a quick look and was able to see the stage and the statues that are standing on the stage.  Obviously I can’t take photos.   We were the last people even able to poke our noses in.  When we turned around to leave I heard the guards close the gates.

We walk back down the hill very disappointed. 

 I take a photo of the truck to remind me that due to the making of this movie I was unable to visit the Roman theater which looked like one of the best preserved I’ve seen so far. 

We continue back to the travertine mountain and Seda says we can walk on it for 1/2 hour and then we will go to lunch.  

I start to walk with my shoes on and many people are yelling at me.  I don’t realize that I need to take my shoes off. So I go back and take off my shoes.

I’m walking in my bear feet and the water feels so warm.  I walk with the group (they are nice people and I enjoy being with others.   I certainly would never have come here on my own.  I’m glad I decided to take this tour.) for a while taking photos of this amazing place.  It’s hard to describe and because it’s so white it’s difficult to photograph.  It must be easier to take photos when there is more water so there is some contrast.  

Although it’s so cold outside, I don’t feel cold because my feet are so warm from the water.  

me and my buds

The level of the water is about as deep as my foot.  You need to walk carefully as the rocks are slippery.

We are all hungry and decide it’s time to go back.  We wipe off our feet and put our shoes back on.  We walk back to the van and off to lunch we go.  We arrive at a “tourist” restaurant where there is a buffet and all the other tourists we saw at Pamukkale.  I can only imagine what it’s like in the high season.  Herding the people in and out all day long.  The lunch was o.k. definitely better than the Palm Hotel.   

At lunch we were talking about traveling the world and the man (you know I’m bad at names and have no idea what his name was) from Singapore starts talking about the 7 wonders of the world and asks me how many of them I’ve seen.  I’m not sure about that.  I go on my Blackberry to find the 7 wonders of the world.  I couldn’t find ‘one’ list so then we get into a whole discussion on the different interpretations of the 7 wonders of the world.  There are the 7 “ancient” wonders, there are the 7 “natural” wonders (grand canyon, great barrier reef, etc), there are the 7 “architectural” wonders, 7 “modern” wonders, etc.  Did you know that?  I sure learned something especially that I couldn’t find “the” list.  

Anyway, Ephesus is one of the “ancient” wonders and recently Petra was added.  Did you know the Golden Gate Bridge is on some lists as well.  Well Google it and you’ll see what I mean. 

After lunch it was about 2:30 and Seda says she was going to take us to a shopping place and then bring the other people back to Pamukkale for their bus.  The four other people needed to wait in Pamukkale until 9:00 p.m. for their bus to Cappadocia and we had a 3 hour drive back to Kusadasi.  

We arrive at this place that was the size of a department store but  was for tourists.  It had all kinds of towels (both cotton and bamboo), bathrobes, sheets, clothes, bathsuits, etc.  Cotton is grown in this area of Turkey and most of these items are manufactured around here too.  Seda told me that during the season the Russians gobble up this stuff.  There were no deals.  The first towel I picked up was $10.00 and it was a hand towel.  The woman of the store said it was made from bamboo that’s why it was so expensive.  Really.  

We didn’t stay long.  No one in the group was buying but actually the driver, “captain”, bought his eight year old daughter a bathrobe and slippers.  

Back in the van.  10 minutes back down the road and we drop off my four buddies at a travel agency office.  I can’t imagine waiting in this one street town for five hours and then spend the night on a bus.  We all pick our poison.

The drive back to Kusadasi was filled with conversation between “the captain”, Seda and myself.  Seda sat in the back with me saying it was more comfortable than sitting in the front.  I think she wanted to talk.  I learned that she went to college to train to be a tour guide.  I also learned that in Turkey you take a test for college/university and the score you get determines which college/university you can enter (not so different from the U.S.).  Obviously the better score you get the better university you can go to.  University is not very expensive in Turkey as it is greatly subsidized by the government.  However, that seems to be changing as that is one of the things being protested.

We talk about the Turkish culture and it’s politics.  Seda tells me that her mother and sister are more religious than she is and they wear head scarves.  It isn’t until much later in our conversation that I learn Seda is married.  She is only 23 years old and has been married for 2 years.  Her husband is an accountant for a 5 star hotel in Kusadasi, that’s why they live there.  When I tell Seda about Emily being 18 years old and living in Israel she can’t believe it.  She says that would never happen in Turkey.  You live with your family until you get married.  No one would think to live on their own if they are single, especially a girl.  

“Don’t you think 18 is young?”, she asks me.

“No, In America it’s very accepted that at 18 kids want to move out of their parents house.”  I explain.

When you go to college in Turkey you live in a dorm for all four years.  No apartment junior year and no junior year abroad.  A much more traditional life.  I’m not sure it’s all bad.  

Seda also said that the people in Turkey save their money to first buy a car, then a house/apartment and then if they have more money they will travel.  Seda said she doesn’t have a passport and has never left the country.  She has traveled a great deal within Turkey especially when she was studying because she had to learn about the historical sights.  Not only do they need to learn the history of each important tourist sight but also need to learn to speak English.  There are people who come here from all over the world and the one common ground is English.  I did see a large Japanese group with a Japanese speaking guide, a German group with a German guide and a Spanish guide with Spanish speaking people.  But these are large groups.  The small groups all had English speaking guides.  

I admire Seda’s hard work.  I know how hard it is to learn English and she has done a fine job.  Americans, myself included, are lazy when it comes to speaking other languages.  I tell you it’s been hard to learn how to say thank you in Turkish.  The “captain” gave me a lesson to make it easy--tea, sugar, a dream--teshacure adarim.  That did help.  Seda said some Turkish guy wrote a book with lots of phrases using the English words like (the tea sugar a dream) to make it easier for people of other languages to learn how to speak Turkish.

I am very impressed with the Turkish people I have met so far.  Most of the people I have come in contact with are working very hard to make the impression that they are NOT arabs and even though there are many muslims in Turkey they are NOT a muslim country.  I think the secular people want to believe this.  I have been told many times this week that when Turkey became a republic it was very important for the country to be seem as a “western” country not a middle eastern country.  It truly is on the border between Europe and Asia.  It would be very interesting to take the silk road.

On the return we stopped at the same place we stopped on the way to Pamukkale.  At first I said no we don’t need to stop and then I realized maybe I need to go to the bathroom.  They really needed their tea.  I also had a tea.

Another very strong tradition in Turkey is drinking tea.  Those tiny little cups.  The “captain” and Seda said they drink about 4-5 cups of tea a day and they do not coffee.  They were trying to explain that tea doesn’t have caffeine like coffee so it was o.k. to drink so much tea.  I ask Seda if she will be the guide for Ephesus tomorrow and she tells me no.  She is an independent contractor and when 

We arrived back in Kusadasi near 7:00 p.m. and they took me to the travel agent office so I could meet with Ayca.

I discussed with Ayca my options for traveling to Bodrum and then to Greece.  She said she would arrange all this for me and change my hotel here in Kusadasi.  When I asked her again why she had put me in the Palm Hotel she did not give me an answer.  She said I could move this evening if I wanted but I decided it was too much to do and it was late.

I was taken back to the Palm Hotel.  

The dinner was a tad better.  The man in the restaurant pointed out the fish on the buffet, telling me he really enjoys the fish and I should try it.  I do.  Even though it is fried and looks like Mrs. Paul’s kitchen, it’s not bad.  I think I’m tired and hungry.

I’m feeling happier because I know I am leaving this hotel and I have a plan for the next week.