Izmir day 2

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Izmir day 2

The hotel breakfast was adequate. Bread, cheese, tomatoes, boiled eggs, olives and so on so pretty much the regular. No coffee, but we fixed that soon enough.

Izmir archaeological museum is nothing spectacular, but pleasant enough. There were a few nice pieces, the mosaic was good. Most of the really good stuff from Izmir province is in Istanbul, London and Berlin. The rest is in Selcuk. There is a Hellenistic bronze of an athlete running - probably the best piece in the museum.

After the museum we grabbed a taxi up to the Kale (castle). The views were great. But thre is not much of the castle left. They are excavating the cisterns as there used to be a complex water distribution system.

We walked back down as there are steps so you don't have to go round and round as the vehicles do. This was interesting as it took us through non tourist areas where people lead their daily lives - a culture in which we hope to become totally immersed i the not too far distant future although Izmir is urban and Selcuk, really, quite rural. Those in Selcuk who do not work in the tourist industry are mostly agricultural workers.

We found the agora which is still being excavated. It was very interesting. They have done a lot of work on the stoa which is quite spectacular. It is huge. Water still runs through the channels made for it.

We then headed for a large green area we had spotted from the castle. This was a bit of a disappointment. It's where they have the big exhibitions so, whilst there is some parkland, it could be more inviting. There is a small funfair and a lake with swan-shaped pedaloes and very loud music. We sat for a while then headed back to the hotel where we managed to find internet.

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