Pages

Monday 9 April 2018

The Final Countdown. Day 9: Selçuk

The hostel manager the day before told us not to come down to breakfast when it opened at 8am because it can get really crowded with the big groups. This was perfectly fine by us as we desperately wanted a sleep in.

Breakfast was fresh and tasty (not quite to the standard of Angel Cave Suites - seriously, I don't think anywhere ever is going to top that place!) with fresh tomato, cucumber, orange, that Turkish bread, eggs and some tasty pastry things that I think are borek. Today we really only had one goal: Ephesus.

Ephesus was an Ancient Greek city dating back as far as the 10th Century BC, with a few iterations since. It is remarkably well preserved, thanks to the help of other countries including the Austrian Archaeological Society and the American Archaeological Society.

The day before, the bus company had tried to sell us a tour package for here, but frankly we try not to do tours if we don't have to - I hate being sheparded around with limited time to just experience the place. We had learnt from him that a few of the main sites were not within the Ephesus grounds, but upon researching this we weren't really that fussed if we didn't see the whole thing.

So come that morning, we start the walk towards Ephesus. Google Maps said about 40 min, and it was a reasonably pleasant walk along the side of the highway. Occasionally the footpath ran out and we would have to do a mad dash across the multilane highway but no biggie - there weren't many cars. Much of the walk was along a tree lined boulevard where other locals and tourists were going for a stroll, so it was quite lovely.

We saw the sign for Ephesus and made yet another mad dash across the road. A taxi driver was standing outside his car, and as he saw us cross he started approaching. Here we go, I thought, and tried to ignore him. This didn't work as he came straight up to us, asking if we were going to Ephesus. Yes, we replied, to which he said something to the effect of "It's 5km from here, to here," pointing to his ready-at-hand map, "and then another 5km back again. I can drive you to this entrance here, and you only have to walk one way!" To which I replied, "we need the exercise!" and Dan and I continued on our way.

A short way up the street, a man was standing next to his horse and cart. He saw us, and started approaching. "Lady!" he cried, "It's 4km to the entrance..." to which I called back, "we need the exercise!" and kept going. In fact, the entrance was just up around the corner (no more than 10 min walk), and we were surprised when we reached the carpark so soon. It was actually a rather pleasant walk (all in total about 3.5km probably) in the crisp morning air. I had opted today for the first time to wear no sleeves, and was initially cold - but soon was quite thankful not to be overheating!

We passed through the car park that was filling with giant tourist buses, and through a small market that had been enterprisingly set up at the entrance of the ruins. We walked straight up to the cashier as here wasn't a queue at all, by this time it was about 10am, and swiftly bought our tickets and were inside.

Now, as I am wont to do, I had to pee before we got stuck into the sightseeing. The toilets on the outside of the grounds required payment, but I was pretty sure they would be free inside. I was right. As we approached the toilet cubicle, we noticed that there were a lot of cats around. And I mean a lot of cats. Probably about 15 in my clear view, but with many more hiding around. I left Dan in his cat paradise while I went to the bathroom (which is always a battle of the wills here!) and returned, saying hello to a few cats along the way. God they're cute here! They're all really rather small, I don't know if this is from malnutrition or if it's the breed, but they're all bloody adorable and many still look kitten-like.

By the way, I've totally lost count of the Dan Cat Pat Tally.




We finally dragged ourselves away from the cats and started along the path. We initially stopped to read one of the sign boards but it was a bit too much reading so we continued on, passing a lady trying to get her very small toddler to pee in a bottle. I mention this only because we were going to turn that way but quickly moved on, as I think we started the boy into being pee shy.

Ahead of us we came across a huge amphitheatre, The Great Theatre. It was indeed rather large, and we scrambled up as high as we were allowed to go to soak in the sights. We watched a lot of ladies get their perfect Instagram photos in their perfect Instagram outfits.



From here, we continued along the path, which was getting more and more congested by the minute. I wondered what it would be like in peak tourist season, deciding it would be truly awful. As we were our own bosses, we just meandered at our own pace, and coming to the Library we stopped for some more photos. This was rather beautiful and perfectly preserved, and meant that a lot of people were milling around it.

Nearby were the ancient public latrines, which would have been an interesting experience (espeically if you were pee shy) and after that we came across the Terrace Houses. You have to pay an additional 20TL per person to enter, and while I had read it was a good thing to do, I wasn't 100% sure. I'm so glad we went in - even though ruins can start to get a bit...ruiny...after a while, this was really fascinating.

Inside, and I say inside because the area has been covered in a giant canopy to help preserve it, lay the ruins and partial reconstructions of an ancient what could be described as an apartment block. 6 or 7 adjacent homes, with courtyards, and basilica were being restored, and much had been put into place already. It was especially interesting because you could clearly see that this was a work in progress. The bigger, obvious puzzle pieces had been put into place, while the smaller shards, eg, pieces of marble that had been smashed over time had been painstakingly arranged on work benches, ready to be fitted onto the walls. Our entrance fee helps continue the preservation work here, and maybe one day I can return and see how far they have come.

What really struck me was the paintings on the wall and the floor tiling. Some of this was truly amazing - especially how preserved it was - and how ancient people adorned their walls and floors with images, much like we do with hanging paintings and photos today! If you get the chance, definitely check out the Terrace Houses and help the preservation project.



From here, we continued up the "main street", which was completely flooded with people. We found a nice little view point where we were all by ourselves, took a few photos before BOOM surrounded by a massive tour group. When we had first entered the grounds, a gentleman had approached me but I was intent on my peeing mission and so didn't pay attention, but apparently he wanted Dan and I to join a tour group. I don't know if we would have had to pay extra for this, but as mentioned previously we prefer to wander at our leisure. The place was teeming with tour groups so one often had to wait for a large group to finish or to try to edge around them before proceeding.



We finally reached the other entrance which was by far busier than the one we had entered, and doubled back, sitting in the small amphitheatre to have a snack and decide our next move. I laughed at the tourists who were getting very excited about this amphitheatre, thinking that they don't even know that an even bigger one is up ahead. Meandering our way back down the main street, we patted some more cats and left the premises. By now, the queue to get in was quite substantial.

There was quite a walk ahead of us to get back into Selçuk, but we took it slowly and actually got back in really good time. We stopped for a while to watch some goats in a field - the adult goats were all on long leashes while the kids were running around the field. One even jumped up on the fence as we walked past. Back in the town, we grabbed lunch at a place called Petek Cop Sis, getting their namesake cop sis (or shish kebab). This was very tasty (with more of that bread) and we were happily sated.

I should pause here - you've probably noticed I've been going on and on at length about the bread. It's seriously amazing. And it hasn't been upsetting my stomach, which is quite strange. Maybe there's a preservative in the white crappy bread I usually get (and other forms of bread don't usually treat me any better).

Our tour guide a few days ago said something that made me laugh, he said "In Turkey, if we don't have bread with a meal, we don't feel properly full!" And it seems so true, there's bread with everything. Be it big fluffy white bread, or hot steaming pull apart bread, or soft pita breads - it is served with everything. And it is delicious.

Back to it! After our meal (and patting another adorable kitty), we went to the bus station to figure out what we need to do tomorrow to get to Cammukale. It's a bit further than I remembered, and one bus company gentleman approached us with a price. I was a little wary and said I would just check the other companies first. He replied that his was the only company that went to Cammukale, and I did not believe him.

Turns out, his was the only company that went to Cammukale, and he looked at us a bit smugly when we returned. I was cheeky and asked if he could do us a better price, the answer being no. So we booked on a morning bus: first we need to get public transport to Izmir, and then jump on his company's bus to Cammukale. We had a slight hiccup with the booking as I didn't have my passport on me, but we figured it out and bought our tickets. The gentleman made us promise that we would come to the bus stop early tomorrow morning so he could show us how to catch the public transport.

After that, we just returned to our accommodation - there's plenty to do in Selcuk but much is religion-oriented which doesn't interest me so much, and more ruins. So we thought we'd have a bit of a sit down - after all, we did walk for a decent 5 hours this morning!

We nommed our way through half a packet of lovely Turkish Delight we had been given as a gift when we left Berlin. Realising sugar probably isn't the best idea for dinner, we pulled ourselves together enough to find a supermarket. As you probably know by now, we are trying to do this as cheaply as possible, so wherever we can we will try to save costs. For instance, we would prefer not to eat out twice in one day. One meal out is fine, and we love sampling the amazing food in each country and city, but to do so for 4 months would not only be costly but probably also disastrous for our waist lines. Besides, it's fun going into a foreign supermarket and trying to figure out what everything is!

We left with some cheese and bread for dinner tonight (cream cheese is great in this country, and they have this strange string cheese that we had for breakfast a few days ago), multivitamin juice, as well as some snacks for our bus journey to Camukkale tomorrow as that will be all day.

And so, it's time to pack again - honestly, and it's probably all my fault, as soon as we arrive it seems that everything comes out of all the bags. I thought I had packed logically and often I have - but in the moment looking for something I underestimate myself and make a mess instead. So, packing it is, some more Turkish Delight and then off to bed.

Until next time,
xx

No comments:

Post a Comment