Blogs from Kusadasi, Aegean, Turkey, Middle East - page 2

Kusadasi, Turkey Nautica arrived in the Turkish port of Kusadasi to find a huge Royal Caribbean cruise ship already docked and towering over us. By the time we tied up at the pier two more cruise ships entered the port, not as large but adding to the expected crush of tourists. Most tourists come here to tour the ancient city of Ephesus. I could have done the same but chose instead to join a group of 7 others in a small van to visit other sites that would be less likely over-run with the waddling masses. First we drove to see the ruins of a Greek city named Priene. It is several miles out of Kusadasi and has to be reached by a steep climb from a small parking lot. The climb was well ... read more

It is all a mixed bag - the excitement of travel to exotic destinations and the reality of the journey - finding lodging (some hotels completely different than depicted on their website and having to forfeit our pre-payment), the noise of big cities, catching a sunset that a Marin teenagers across the world from here, locals, tourists and ancient ones alike would marvel at, traversing our route by bus, tram, metro, taxi, boat and foot, the time it takes to get around, getting lost going from place to place but eventually finding our way, old train stations serving as hubs to pass through one another's lives. And sometimes a friendly innkeeper, who at the end of the long day of travel arranges at 10:00 pm for a Hamam to wash it all away and leave us ... read more

Kusadasi, Turkey is the port from which you travel inland several miles to visit the ancient city of Ephesus. Other cruise ships have joined our trek and so the fellow travelers with their buses are with us as be sightsee. This is our second trip to this partially restored Greek city, the first being last year in a driving rain storm. Rain accompanied us this year also but with no wind and better conditions. Wandering about these Greek/Roman remnants of a thriving, rich city is an amazing lesson in early civilizations. The most interesting remnant is the communal toilet with side by side holes in marble seats and running water flushing below (privacy didn’t come to fruition until the Victorians). The partially restored “Terrace Houses” have wonderful artwork in wall paintings and inlaid flooring. The gift ... read more

Monday May 13th, 2013. Kusadasi, Turkey. Kusadasi is located on the western coast of Turkey. It is a resort town that attracts tourists from all over the world. The area was first settled by the Leleges in 3000 BC and subsequently has had a rich cultural history. Many ancient ruins can be found relatively close to the town; the most important being the famous Greek temple of Didyma, the Amphitheatre, Ephesus and Artemison which is known as one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. We awoke this morning to find that it was tipping down with rain. We hadn't planned to do anything in particular today (having done all the ancient sites before) but had thought that a boat ride around the local islands would be nice - but not in this weather. We ... read more

We were on an organised tour for this day - Kusadasi is in Turkey. One of the main attractions there is the huge number of Greek and Roman ruins found there at Ephesus which is a gloriously reconstructed city. Lots of rubble I say.... sorry but am not a lot into the history or seeing so much of rocks etc... but do appreciate that others do. There was also remains of the municipal baths and a brothel. One area which I found fascinating was the communal toilets where you could sit next to many people .... not my idea of privacy. From there we went to a carpet making factory where everything is made in the traditional way and quite fascinating to watch. We saw how the silk was taken from the cocoons and spun ready ... read more