Blogs from Aphrodisias, Aegean, Turkey, Middle East
October 5th 2011
Efesus Today we had to be up nice and early to try and get to Ephesus before the crowds. I'd have to say it didn't really work - I think everyone else had the same idea! Our hotel shuttled us to the upper gate (the main entrance is the lower gate) where there were already quite few coaches and minibuses. Apparently about 100,000 people visit daily at the moment. While it was painfully crowded at times, there were also lulls, and it was really good when the crowd cleared and I could get a picture that wasn't full of people! We bought our tickets and also hired an audio guide. We made our way around the tour groups and started to check out the various sights of Efes, of which there are many! It is a whole ... read more
October 3rd 2011
Today our main destination was Afrodisias. It was quite cool in the garden as we ate our brekky. We also handed over quite a large bundle of laundry and browsed the collection of tablecloths, cushion covers and other items they had for sale at the Venus. At 9:30 a minibus arrived to collect us for our trip. There were a total of ten of us in the little van. The last two on were a young Korean couple, and we were one seat short. The driver pulled out a little folding stool for the guy to sit on. Didn't look too stable so we offered to squeeze up in the back row so that he could squeeze in. Lucky they were both quite slim! Off we went on our journey, which took about 80 minutes, back ... read more
February 19th 2010
I know this is a travel blog, but I am not entirely comfortable with it simply being a list of places visited and sites seen. Really, the best part of travel are the things that happen along the way to those sites or simply absorbing the day to day life of the place you have immersed yourself in. So on that note, let me start this entry with some thoughts on our experiences/impressions of Turkey so far. The people we have come into contact with are passionately proud of their country and its history, and are anxious to share this passion. A passing comment on the beauty of the countryside generated a heartfelt thanks in response from a beaming citizen. It is also a very family-oriented society that loooves children, and one that looks out for ... read more
June 17th 2009
I found a new road surface today, something to add to gravel, rock, and the rest. Tar. It is going to be fun trying to get the tar off the bike when I get home, For now I am not going to worry about it. For once we got to go riding without the luggage which is nice, the bike copes well with the luggage but it was good to leave it, and the windshield behind for a day. Most of the ride was fun, apart from the short bit of roadworks and tar, and the urban highway around Denizli. Urban highways are never fun, but are often necessary to get to places. The rest, the vast majority of the ride out to Aphrodisias was on open roads winding through pretty hills and some stunning mountains. ... read more
March 19th 2009
From the Temple of Artemis to the Temple of Aphrodisias. Just a short drive from Ephesus , this ancient site was merely a stopover on our way to Pamukkale. Dedicated to the Goddess of love, Aphrodite, this Roman city southwest of the cotton castle is set in a glorious plain. Almost begging for attention, this destination was hardly expected to be a sacred site for historians and art lovers. All too often, the travel brochures on Turkey cite the ruins of Ephesus, the wondrous travertine pools of Pamukkale or the surreal landscape of Cappadocia. I admit I have not even come across any reading materials regarding Aphrodisias, its temple ruins nor its School and Museum of Sculpture. Excavations here begun only in 1961, so the ruins are still "refreshingly uncommercialized" and undisturbed by "re-assemblies" or reconstructions. ... read more
September 5th 2007
A rolling landscape of golden hillsides, rocky ridges and tall, green cypresses was flying past my window in streaks of sheer beauty. It was another lovely day, but I couldn’t really remember the last time it hadn’t been. My bus was filled with several interesting people, all of us bound for the ruined city of Aphrodisias, about an hour from Pamukkale. When we boarded the bus that morning our driver had informed us that there was not going to be a guide and that our ‘tour’ only included transportation to and from Aphrodisias - Not being overly fond of tours, I was very happy about that. We had been on the road for nearly an hour when, across a lovely green valley, I spotted an ancient wall of huge stone blocks. Behind the wall I could ... read more
March 11th 2007
11. mars Ünye-Karsiköy På søndag var det grått oppholdsvær og medvind. Formiddagsetappen førte oss tıl Çarşamba i ganske godt tempo på god vei. Underveis passerte vi flere av områdets typiske hasselplantasjer (nøtter og kirsebær er blant de viktigste jordbruksproduktene herfra). Både hassel, gullbusk og enkelte modige kirsebærtrær blomstrer allerede, halvannen måned før artsfrendene hjemme. Etter en temmelig god kebab (hei til Pondus!) snudde vi ryggen mot Svartehavet og fulgte et regulert vassdrag innover i landet. Veien ble merkbart dårligere vedlikeholdt og mindre sykkelbar. En kjapp stopp i Ayvacik for å fylle vannlagrene ble litt mindre kjapp enn planlagt, siden vi ble vennlig beordret innendørs for å drikke te og varme oss på en sinnrik varmluftsvedovn som hevet inneklimaet til badstulignende forhold. Veien videre mot Amasya, som vi hå... read more
April 29th 2006
This was a very special day. We started with a visit to Mary’s House. It is believed she came here with John after Jesus died. There is a lovely chapel there. From here we went to Ephesus, the best preserved and most visited site in Turkey. Wow could they build cities back then…it was enormous and so much has been rebuilt. It must have been a city to behold when it was in full swing 3rd century BC to 6th Century AD. We then met Michelle, Mark’s sister who drove us to her home in Bodrum. ... read more
April 28th 2006
Pamukkale is where there are the ruins of Hierapolis, The temple of Apollo and the Necropolis. There are so many old ruins in Turkey from many, many centuries. We walked in the hot calcium pools which are often photographed. They were very impressive, although not as full as we had expected. After leaving here we visited Aphrodisias, the city devoted to the Goddess of Love. Again these ruins were immense but very well preserved. Our guide was a fountain of knowledge but had to restrain with the intimate details of some things due to young listening ears! At last we had a great lunch near Aphrodisas! We drove to Kuakas from here . This is a city on the west coast that many cruise ships dock at. It is on the Aegean Sea. This was to ... read more
June 2nd 2005
In my opinion one of the most beautiful sites of Turkey. A beautiful serene environment with hardly any people, which adds to the beauty of it. It has the largest stadium of the ancient world which houses more than 30,000 spectators!!!! Magnificent!... read more
