Selcuk

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Leaving Istanbul, we crossed the 'official' continental line from Europe into Asia, so this is the first entry from Asia. We arrived into Selcuk on a beautiful sunny day (no, I'm not joking) at 8:00am after a fairly sleepless night and checked into our hotel, the Paris Hotel. Not quite as upmarket as it sounds but still perfectly comfortable and the first time we've been treated to a private room.

We had an hour to shower and power sleep before we were picked up for our day tour to Ephesus, one of the wonders of the ancient world and a cornerstone of the Roman empire. Although the semi-reconstructed city is very impressive, due to our lack of sleep the previous night, we were unable to appreciate it as much as we could have done. As the hours wore on and the sun got stronger, we began to flag and were relieved when our guide, Aisha, told us we were heading for lunch. At lunch, we sat with Milton and Ginger, an American couple in their early fifties. Adam and I had absolutely no reason to get on with them; the age difference, our different opinions on religion etc, yet strangely, we all got on extremely well and this warmed something inside of me. Basically, they were just top people!

After our lunch break, we went to see how Turkish carpets are made at a 'cultural centre' which is basically exclusively for the tourists, although it was very interesting to see the local women weaving away. This was followed by Turkish tea while the manager of the centre tried to sell us some of his wares - the cheapest starting at aroung 300 US$.

After the carpet showdown, we were faced with a decision as to whether we wanted to go to see an archaeology museum or whether we wanted to go and see the Virgin Mary's house. The group was split and it was Adam and myself, together with the lovely American couple, Milton and Ginger who drove up a mountain to visit the house of the virgin Mary. This is a small, isolated house, now being used as a chapel in a very quiet and lush setting. It is allegedly where the virgin mother spent the final years of her life and is a destination of holy pilgrimage for Catholics.

After a knackering day, we returned to our hotel and chilled out with a few beers which turned into a bottle of vodka and then a trip to one of the bars in town. We finally hit the sack at around 2am.

The alarm woke us up bright and early in order for us to pack and eat the included breakfast before checking out of our hotel. We were supposed to be picked up at 08:30, but the bus didn't arrive until after 9:00, putting me in a real strop. As we drove the 3 hours to Pamukkale, the weather rapidly deteriorated, turning into a thundering downpour with lighting thrown in for effect. As we arrived into Pamukkale, we could see the famous calcium deposits at the top of the mountain, making it look more like a ski slope.

We arrived at the Pamukkale Hierapolis and with the rain still belting down, decided not to get off the bus, but just to stare at the numerous gravestones out of the window. The next stop was Cleopatra's bath. Rumoured to have powers which make you more beautiful, the bath is full of submerged Roman ruins with water from a natural spring and a temperature of 38 degrees. We spent a good while relaxing on the fallen Roman columns and chatting away that we lost track of the time. We changed quickly and then had to run all the way down the calcium mountain - barefoot and in the pouring rain. As the calcium is white in colour, you are not allowed to walk down in shoes, and by the time we hit the bottom, I had numerous cuts and scrapes on my feet in addition to being soaking wet.

Neverthertheless, we managed to make our bus, just, and after a couple of hours, the rain cleared up and I was able to enjoy the beautiful, deep sunset along the very picturesque route to Fettiyeh. The road snakes in and out of the mountains, often being trailed alongside by a babbling brook, with added hair-pin bends for more excitement.

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Photos

Ephesus
Ephesus

Ephesus2
Ephesus 2

Ephesus Amphitheatre
Ephesus Amphitheatre

Virgin House
The House of the Virgin Mary

Cleopatras Pool
Cleopatra's Thermal Pool

Comments

[Nina]

hello stranger!
not sure if Im meant to be saying hello this way, but anways...hello! glad you're having such an amazing time. sounds like no sleep, lots of alcohol and dodgy buses are the themes of your travels. loking forward to meeting up once you touch british soil. see you, nina xxx