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Published: October 22nd 2007
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Less than a two hour boat ride from Samos, we arrived in Kusadasi--a cute town full of knockoff shops and affordable restaurants. The meager number of tourists offered us great shopping deals but we used some restraint knowing that istanbul was the true mecca of merchandise. A 2 hour ride to the small town of selcuk sits less than 10 minutes away from the ancient city of ephesus ruled by the romans among other civilizations roughly 2000 years ago. The ruins here paint a vivid picture of what it must have looked like. The massive stone streets and pillars still remain and much more access is available than many sites of ruins we have visited. When we asked why this is..the response was simply "this is turkey, not greece." The Celsus library was impressive along with the Temple of Artemus.
In selcuk, we participated in the ancient pastime of the turkish bath, which was quite an experience!The baths in selcuk are frequented by the locals and are no-frills but it allowed us an authentic experience that was highly memorable. Uncertain at first of how things would work, we entered the domed, cave-like chamber wrapped only in what looked like a
hand rag. We showered and layed out on the large slab of hot marble in the center of the room gazing up at the steamed and cracked dome ceiling. You completely relax your body for 15 minutes before being ordered over and scrubbed, scoured and exfoliated by a large, HAIRY man who too has an office attire of a simple towel wrapped around the lower region. These guys took the job seriously and acted as if they were sanding stone down.. (we're talking layers and layers of skin removal) and then moved on to the next hot stone 'station' where another man sudsed us up with a vigorous massage and endless bubbles. The suds and marble makes one feel like a salmon being filleted as they rotate, twist and scrub the days dirt away. we recovered from this experience wrapped in a mass of towels sipping apple tea. It was also in selcuk that we met Atmet--a young, ambitious man that we enjoyed getting to know. he ran his family's restaurant and rug/scarf/clothing/pillow shop across the street. we managed to eat at their restaurant and visited their shop four times in the two days we were there! thanks again Atmet!
from selcuk we took an overnight bus to Istanbul and upon arrival found a nice hotel just minutes from the famous grand bazzar and blue mosque. istanbul was a big change from many of the recent cities we've visited as it was extremely 'americanized' with multiple McDonalds and Starbucks and we found ourselves welcoming a little taste of home. that said, we also loved the turkish food--each day we indulged ourselves with freshly squeezed grapefruit/ pomegranate juice and donor kebabs from the street vendors--yum!
we spent hours in the grand bazzar looking at the goods--primarily leather goods, handmade rugs and scarves. the blue mosque and surrounding mosques were lit up and in full swing in observance of Ramadan. Ramadan is the largest and most blessed muslim holiday, lasting an entire month which is a time for prayers, worship and fasting. evenings were spent in celebration with friends and family in the parks with live music and many festivities.
we found it extremely unfortunate that the exact week we were in istanbul the US congress decided to accuse the turks of genocide against armenians (from 1917--yes, almost 100 years ago!). the us/t as well as accusations our military
was doing little to stop terrorist attacks by the PKK on the turkish border. Turk relations were a bit sour and there were demonstrations/mild protests and cnn news reporters throughout the city. however, even during this time, we agreed that the turkish people were the most helpful, giving and pleasant people we have met in all the countries we have been in! a warm, embracing culture with a high standard of ethics and morals!
Twenty nine countries and almost a year later, we are back in the US! We are thankful to everyone that has followed our adventures and offered words, emails and comments of encouragement throughout! it was nice to always have a piece of home with us! there are so many stories that we haven't been able to publish on our blog and we are very excited to get caught up with everyone! This trip has taught us more than we thought possible about so many fantastic cultures! the opportunity to travel by car though europe and see the lesser well known sites was a truly an experience that we would highly recommend. exploring other parts of the world by ships, trains, busses, bikes, helicopter, horseback, camels,
underwater and endless miles on foot allowed us to see sites that have changed our image of the world. a heartfelt thank you to all the people that have opened their lives, families and homes to help fully immerse us in their worlds. we can only hope that our new friends will be able to come visit us in the US someday and let us give back for what has been a life changing experience!
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Melody
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So glad you are home
Hey kids....you did a great job with your travel blog! Thanks for putting so much effort into it. We have enjoyed seeing pictures and hearing pieces of your adventure. Can't wait to hear the rest of your stories Most of all.....I am grateful that you made it home safely after traveling to so many counties around the world. Love you both, mom