Ephesus - "City of the Gods"

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Ephesus or Efes “City of the Gods” was once one of the most politically important cities of the Eastern Mediterranean and processes some of the best preserved ruins of the Greco – Roman era.

We have traversed south, from Gallipoli, to Izmir and then east to the small town of Selcuk. The home of Efes and the Basilica of St John (St John is believed to have travelled to Efes with the Virgin Mary, where it is suggested this is where she lived out her remaining days). Oh and January is Camel Wrestling season - I’ll leave that one for you to figure out.

From Gallipoli to Selcuk is about 6 hrs by bus.

Selcuk is a pleasant town and here we are staying at Homeros Pension for 3 nights. A very friendly place with quite a number of different nationalities staying. A good chance to catch up on what is happening in the world and also tips on other places to visit and stay.

Ephesus provides a spectacular landscape of ruined theatres, marbled streets and temples. Once sporting a population of over 500,000, it was a major port which drew vast visitors (much like today – something like 10,000 people visit Efes, on average, every day) to sample its theatres, baths, brothels, temples, public toilets and one of the largest libraries in the world.

Dating back to pre-10th century B.C. Efes, in pre – Hellenic times, was the cult centre of Cybele, the Anatolian goddess of fertility, but by the 2nd century B.C. it had become capital of the Roman province of Asia & renamed Diana.

To spend 3 or 4 hours strolling through these magnificent ruins has been a true and fascinating delight.
We then walked back into the township, about 25 min., stopping for the occasional cay (cup of tea) before heading back to the pension.

The next day finds us heading up to the Basilica of St. John. This is where St. John is reportedly buried.

Today we blow the budget; Mum & Dad should receive a package in about a month and a half. Not real sure where the carpets will fit in the caravan, maybe the annex. We have also been to a travel agent to help with the next leg of our journey.

Our plan is now to travel to Pamukkale, then on to Goreme (Capadoccia region in central Turkey) before flying back to Izmir and travelling south to Marmaris to catch a ferry to Rhodes (Greece).

Lets see.

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