We've been back in Istanbul for a few days now. Happily relying on our feet as our primary mode of transportation. It feels good to walk around. I'm going to post several local scenes that are self explanatory and add some of our impressions. Before I forget I want to mention cats. You know how I love dogs? Well the Turkish have a thing for cats. They're everywhere we've been. Not with tags and one home but like Hillary said about it taking a village to raise children, here it takes a village to take care of the cats. While we [View Full Entry]

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I took many photos from the car, most were blurred. Once we slowed down due to traffic I had some success of capturing people and traffic. We were doing fine car-wise until we approached Istanbul. Istanbul is huge and very confusing. We got very lost and thought we’d never find our way back to the hotel as we drove back and forth over and over again across the bridge linking Asian Istanbul to European Istanbul. We didn’t recognize the long names. We weren’t sure if the signs referred to areas, streets, or even towns! I couldn’t find our location on any [View Full Entry]

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The accommodations we found in Assos were pretty austere and uncomfortable so we decided that the next stop we would treat ourselves to a comfortable bed and hot shower. We were making our way back to Istanbul and not to be confused with the battlefield Gallipoli. Just a stopping off point on our trip back to Istanbul. We a chilly lunch at an outdoor café in Marmara Ereglisi and the waiter took pity on my shivering and wrapped me in a plaid blanket. [View Full Entry]

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After conferring with our Turkish hosts we decided to head north to Assos. Assos was founded in 8th century BC by colonists from the island of Lesvos. Under the rule of Hermeias, a one-time student of Plato, the city enjoyed great prosperity. Hermeias encouraged philosophers live in Assos and Aristotle himself lived there for about 3 years and married Hermeias‘ niece, Phythia. Unfortunately for Hermeias, the Persians invaded and ended up crucifying him, and forced Plato to leave. We spent the morning tromping around the ruins of the Temple of Athena. Before we left the village we [View Full Entry]

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Today was our last day in the Selchuk area. We enjoyed a relaxing morning, had one last lunch and one last stroll around town before heading on our way. We really felt at home here. Selchuk has a population of little more than 27,000 so it was very manageable and like all of our experiences, people were very friendly and kind. Big confession is coming. Perhaps we should have forgone our stroll. Anyway, we stumbled upon a wonderful little leather shop. Handmade leather jewelry, handbags, journals and enjoyed talking with the beautiful shopkeeper and her very affable friend. After we [View Full Entry]

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Continuing on south to the ancient town of Miletus, we were pretty exhausted but gathered up enough energy to scramble among more ruins. Miletus was a grand city in its time (700BC-AD700). Their theatre boasted a seating capacity of 15,000. The ruins of it are almost 2,000 years old. I have some photos of the ruins (theatre, Great Harbour Monument, and my personal favorite, the Nymphaeum (the great fountain)and an artistic rendition of what it was. We were totally beat and “ruined out” by the time we got to Didyma and briefly looked and made our way back to Selchuk for [View Full Entry]

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Today we headed for Priene and Miletus. Once important seaports, they’re both several kilometers from the Aegean because the river Menderes has been depositing silt and building up the shoreline. Note my referral of the Harbour Monument in Miletus. On the way we drove past Kusudasi and saw the beautiful vacation homes and cruise ships docked in the harbor. The Aegean looked wonderful, with islands just offshore. Priene is south of Selcuk, located on the craggy slopes of Mt Mykale. It was important around 300 BC. There we climbed a lot of steep paths and stairs. I forgot to me [View Full Entry]

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At our hotel we met and became friends with another American and her two boys. She moved to Istanbul a year ago and is teaching at a Turkish prep school. She is a fountain of information and her command of the language is amazing. Together we went to explore Efes and had a great day. Efes is remarkable. Not just the ruins (which are spectacular) but also the information that is readily laid out along the way. Other ruins we've scrambled around with guide book in hand. Here we had our guide book but also the clearly marked descriptive signs. The [View Full Entry]

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After a good night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast we headed for the town of little Sirence. The story goes that a group of Greek slaves settled here in the 15th century and called the village Cirkince (Ugliness) to deter others from following them. In 1926 a govenor of Izmir decreed that the name be changed to the more honest Sirence (Pleasantness). A century ago it was inhabited by Ottaman Greeks then during the mandatory population exchange the villagers from Salonica moved here. Ardent fruit farmers many fruit wines are available today for tasting and buying. Raspberry, peach [View Full Entry]

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Today we headed from Istanbul to Selcuk (pronounced Selchuk). It took us 2 ferries and most of the day driving. (Thank you Richard). I was a great navigator and fountain of information in that I read aloud from our Lonely Planet travel guide. The ride was easy and made the more pleasant by a chance encounter with a family run produce stand. They spoke no English, we no understandable Turkish yet it was a very agreeable visit. We bought some tomatoes and a melon and took many photos of them to send back once printed. We wandered around Selcuk a little, [View Full Entry]

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