Day 7: Kusadasi (Ephesus)

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October 2, 2009

Fortunately in Kusadasi Turkey, the cruise ships can dock without tendering. This makes it much easier to get off the ship and starting doing stuff. We easily found our guide from Trans Balkan Tours for a day long tour of the nearby sights. Our driver, Hassein, showed up with a nice mid sized car and the four of us took off for the home of the VIrgin Mary.

Although still contested today, most believe that the Virgin Mary lived about 15 km away from the town up in the hills at this small rock house. It had fallen over long ago but had been rebuilt to look like the original. There were 50 or so tour buses already there at 830 in the morning but surprisingly they kept the line moving and we were in and out in under an hour. The house was very small with a beautiful statue of Mary in it. There were also gifts from some of the recent Popes who had visited the place over the past 50 years or so on display within. We passed a wall where a lot of people had written prayers on tissues, tea bag packages and any other scrap of paper and tied them to one another almost covering the wall for 50 feet. Judy, of course, added to the collection before we left.

Our guide Mehmet turned out to be very knowledgeable, had a great sense of humor and most importantly patience in dealing with Judy. ;*) Our next stop was the highlight of our tour, Ephesus. It is remarkably well preserved despite the two or three million tourists that visit it each year and the overall age of the place. It was not nearly as well roped off as sites in Athens and we were soon climbing all over stuff and behind walls with Mehmet to see the good stuff. The Celsus library was the highlight of the day though. The facade of the library even after thousands of years is still impressive. We checked out the echo in the 25,000 seat amphitheater that is still in use today. We also took the obligatory picture seating on the toilets of the latrine that are still there today. Back in the day, you would sit with 20 or so of your closest friends and go about your business. IN the colder months, slaves were used to first sit on the colds marble to warm it up before it was used by a citizen. All in all it was a pleasant two hour visit to Ephesus.

Our driver was right outside the gate as we exited and headed off to visit a leather shop. They had some nice stuff but we just bought me a couple of much needed new belts. Next stop was lunch at a buffet on the edge of town. The food was very tasty and filling. We had some salad, beans, couscous, pudding and a drink with our guide. Next up was a ceramic shop as Judy had been looking for a plate for a while now. This place did not disappoint. There was a brief demonstration on how the products were made with Judy even getting in on the act and shaping some clay herself. Then it is into the shop with our 6,000 pieces on display. We spent an hour in there trying to find the perfect plate for her and finally did.

Just near the town center is the Basilica of John the Evangelist. Back from Patmos, he died in Ephesus and is buried here. The remains of a once magnificence church are around the tomb. Also nearby is a baptism pool with stairs to walk in and out and lots of urns and broken columns. The view from this place is great overlooking the valley and the Temple of Artemis as well. There is only one column standing of the temple. Much more impressive was the nearby mosque with it's unusual twin domes.

Our tour was ending so we drove back into town bypassing the carpet/rug place. After settling our bill and tipping our guide and driver, Judy set off for the bazaar to find some gifts for the girls. She gave the shopkeepers a run for their money and came away with a few gifts for Christmas I suspect. The cruise terminal was across the street and we were back on our ship in no time.

Following a day at sea we will arrive in Israel.

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