The Sites of Ephesus

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Well, since my little stay longer in Ayvalik not much has happened. The road from Ayvalik to Bergama was quite nondescript and flat (don't mind a bit of that truth be told) which meant I got in to Bergama town around 3ish - just in time for a little afternoon tea of baklava and sweet black tea. It hit the spot but was way short of my wonderful baklava experience in Ayvalik. But it did give me the energy to continue my search for the Athena Pension which, thankfully, was quite well signposted and was run by a very congenial guy, Aydin.

Bergama is known, amongst other things, for the ruins of the ancient city of the kings of Pergamon. A city that in its heyday, boasted a population of 150.000. As ruins go, Bergama was more impressive than Assos, which was more impressive than Troy, which was more impressive than Alexandria Troa. Needless to say I was impressed. Aydin kindly offered to drive me up to the hole in the fence on his scooter, thus avoiding a) a taxi ride b) a long walk to the entrance c) possibly paying. Sounded like a plan to me and riding through the old town of Bergama on the back of a scooter through tiny, steep streets was also quite an experience. Thanks Aydin!

Although it wasn't too early I did have the lower half of the site all to myself which was wonderful. That is ofcourse until the security guard approached me and asked for my ticket. There really was no point lying as he also indicated that he had seen me come through the fence. So, I just shrugged my shoulders. He then said he would come with me to buy a ticket and was most obliging waiting for me until I had finished viewing the outstanding mosaics that were only discovered in 1990.

The walk up to the ticket office involved Ismail (that was his name) explaining some of the sights we were passing and also teaching me how to count to 10. How novel - a security guard who doubles as a tour guide. Ofcourse, when we got to the ticket office the busloads of tourists coming in for a day trip had already descended on the site. I didn't know it then but this would be a sign of things to come...

Next day I was Selcuk bound - by bus that is. All went quite smoothly from Bergama to Izmir. The trip cost 8YTL (the lira and the dollar are almost one to one) which was good and no one asked extra for my bike - bonus. The trouble started in Izmir. Well, not trouble exactly but it wasn't totally smooth sailing. It involved a little bit of negotiation as the bus that went to Selcuk was a mini-bus and previous experience showed me that the baggage compartments on these were able to hold a couple of backpacks but not much else. Here we go...

"How much to Selcuk?" I asked
"18 lira" the reply
"You've got to be joking! There is no way I am paying 18 lira when I only paid 8 to get here!"
"Yes lady but no room for bike. Must go on bus. If go on bus cannot collect more people. Must pay for this"
"Well I'm not paying 18 lira"

You get the picture. It kind of went back and forth like this for quite some time and then they were trying to rush me and get my baggage off so they could leave on time. I held my ground. Told them I would catch the next bus if need be but gave in at 12 lira. There we then were. Me and my bike, sharing the back seat of the minibus.

At Selcuk the touts descended on me like vultures. "Please lady, I have nice room for you. You come with me". All were quite aggressive and I had to put them all straight by waving my arms and saying "Can you please all give me some SPAAAAAAAAACE". Space was granted but only for as long as it took to put the front wheel back on, straighten the handle bars and put the baggage on then it started again. I finally managed to get rid of them by riding off which is to say I could only get peace and quiet by going away.

I stayed the first night at the ANZ hostel. Not a totally pleasant experience. The dorm room was in the basement so it was dark. There was no fresh air and there were too many rules for my liking for instance silence after midnight (which obviously only applied to the people paying because the family who owned it continued making noise well after 12am), free internet they say (until you find out it if only for the first 15 minutes), free ride to Ephasus (if it fits in with their timetable). I checked out the next day and ended up staying at the Homeros Pension instead which was wonderful. Oya, my adopted sister, provided lots of entertainment and made sure I was always well fed and watered. Thank you Oya!

Ephasus. What I can say about this site is that it is THE premier tourist destination in Turkey after the Sultanahmet area in Istanbul. It has been a long, long time since I have travelled anywhere in absolute peak tourist season and I have to say, that as large, well-preserved and impressive the site was I was more blown away by the amount of people. In it's day, Ephesus boasted a population of 200,000. I think it was still having its day. It was absolutely heaving. Lots of people had been bussed in from their resorts in Kusadasi. Some were sporting t-shirts from the Celebrity Cruise they were on. It was just a little short of a stampede and have to say, it did rather spoil the experience a little. However, it did make for fascinating people watching with the very worst of tourism on show. One couple, the woman in particular, was running around the site in her espedrilles, short shorts (read display of butt cheeks!) and halter neck tops. Great for the beach, or an evening stroll in Bulgaria but Turkey? I know its a secular country but still...

As I write this I am not actually in Selcuk. I have moved on from there but not at breakneck speed. I am in Aydin. There is nothing really in Aydin. No one comes to Aydin unless they're in to figs (or olives). I came to Aydin to escape the heat. After having a such a long break between riding it is very difficult to get back on the bike and totally exhausting to do so in this heat. Because there is nothing here it means that I am currently booked in to a hotel that I am paying more than I would like to for but, at least it got me out of the heat. It does however smell strangely of mothballs. The bonus though - it has a TV in the room! Can't wait to check out some Turkish game shows...

So this is where I leave you. I am heading to Pamukale but dare say that it will take me another couple of days to reach my destination. I plan to head off early when it's not so hot but honestly, by 9, I'm already wet from sweat. Am doing my best to keep hydrated but it's hard. Have I said that already? A man I met here in Aydin who helped me locate the hotel (I would never have found it otherwise tucked away in a little lane) told me it got to 35C today. Ugh.

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