Selcuk and Ephesus

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We flagged down the bus and had a mammoth bus ride to Selcuk. There was so much to do in this area. Our first stop was the Basilica of St John. There was no one else there and it was a really impressive site with a great view over the valley. St John is said to have visited this area twice, once with the Virgin Mary and again to write his gospel. It is thought that the 4th century tomb houses his remains, so the 6th century Emperor erected a magnificent church. Most of it was destroyed in earthquakes and has been restored.

On the hill below is Isa Bey Camii, a mosque built in 1375. It was a lovely peaceful place with the main prayer room covered in Turkish carpets.

The main attraction here is Ephesus which is an ancient Roman civilisation and apparently the best preserved classical city in the eastern Mediterranean. The sights were amazing and some of them were really well preserved - dating back to the 1st century BC. Walking around the site made us wonder what will be left of our civilisation in 2000 years.

Later in the day we headed to Sirince for wine tasting and dinner. It was a gorgeous little Greek town, surrounded by hills of peach, grape an apple orchards. We went around the town taste testing the local wines - raspberry, pomegranate, blackberry and peach. We then went to a lovely little place up on the hill for dinner. The old couple who owned the restaurant were so cute and had been married for 62 years. They did not speak any English so that made it more interesting. We watched the lady prepare gozleme, a savoury pancake, filled with spinach, cheese, potato and meat. We had heaps of red wine followed by homemade baklava. All this for only 8 lira (4 pounds)! Needless to say the food in Turkey is delicious.

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