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Published: June 27th 2010
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Storks Nests!
cheeky things nesting on top of the town's aqueduct Arriving in Selçuk we waited patiently at the bus stop for our 'ride'. When an old, beaten up car zoomed at breakneck speed through the car park and came to a halting, handbreak stop I pulled Phoebe closer to me and looked the other way. Out came Tom (although I'm sure that's his English name) who said he was here to take us back to our accommodation. Despite the crazy driving (which did tone down once we were in the car), our host Tom was a really nice guy. As we drove through Selçuk he pointed out all the main features of the city, including an aqueduct built during Roman times that runs through the town and serves as a nesting spot for storks who build their huge nests on top of the pillars. I immediately thought of Disney movies and thought the storks looked almost out of place doing their own thing instead of delivery babies to expectant mothers.
We were basically in Selçuk to see Ephesus. I didn't really know much about Ephesus, other than that it was an ancient, once very important Roman city that was now a collection of well preserved ruins. And before I knew
One of the Angels in the Ruins
Every now and then you come across something that's still well preserved that, all I knew came from my Catholic primary school education, which was that the letter in the New Testament 'Ephesians' was written by St. Paul (although this is apparently now hotly disputed) for the people of Ephesus. Well, these things seem like more than enough reason to go and have a look, so in the lead up to visiting Turkey, I frequently reminded Nick that this was one spot I'd like to see.
Nothing quite prepared us the the onslaught of crowds! People were EVERYWHERE, and I suddenly started re-appreciating Jordan and Syria all over again. Luckily, we had bought a huge bag of fantastically delicious (and cheap!) red cherries, so whenever it all got too much we would sit down on one of the old rocks somewhere and munch away. We did a walk around the huge amphitheatre which has been the scene of many gladiator battles and also of a famous riot that was started by the towns silversmiths. The silversmiths made a good living making silver statues of Artemis and Christianity and St. Paul had effectively put the silversmiths out of business. So St. Paul was chased right out of town and headed for the
The Magnificent Celsus Library
Surprisingly not as packed as the rest of the place safety of Macedonia. While walking around the amphitheatre, all of a sudden the atmosphere changed slightly, the crowds quietened and a man strode towards centre stage. He then proceeded to break out into song! It was all for a bit of fun, but this man had a particularly good voice, and it carried beautifully right up the amphitheatre, just as it was designed to (see video!).
The Celsus Library was the most beautifully restored of all the structures, and certainly looked very impressive from afar. A group of Turkish architects and as many as ten thousand labourers had worked for 10 years rebuilding it in the 60s and 70s, ensuring it was as close as possible to the original. It's a pity more care wasn't taken with some other parts of Ephesus as some of the reconstructed walls and paving had all sorts of odd bits mixed up in them.
Ephesus was once the site of one of the seven ancient wonders of the world; the Temple of Artemis. However this was destroyed more than once and there's now little to see - though even that we didn't manage to find! The heat and the insane crowds didn't
One of the Statues Guarding the Library Entrance
There are four statues sitting in niches of the library facade. They represent wisdom, knowledge, intelligence and valour. help our enthusiasm for further exploration, and when Phoebe at one point announced “I'm all ruin-ed out!”, we decided to sit down and enjoy some ice-cream together before heading back to Selçuk.
The following day was market day, evidenced by all the people walking down our street carrying armloads of fresh veggies and fruit. Having enjoyed our cherries so much the day before, we headed down and got ourselves another half kilo, plus some strawberries, and some peaches. We were in fruit heaven! After a few purchases we pulled ourselves away, knowing if we did stay we'd end up with more than we could eat. There was also a delicious array of nuts and Turkish Delight (which is actually quite yummy in Turkey - unlike the versions I've had kebab shops in Australia....and similar in New Zealand so I'm told).
The next day was yet another long bus ride, this time bound for Canakkale, which was a good point from which to visit Galipolli, a compulsory destination for any antipodean.
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britt
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thanks so much for the postcard Ruby has taken it to school to show everyone and i have now subscribed to your travel blog. great photos and love your comments, must admit very jealous its freezing here and has rained for 24hrs. we are still knee deep in our rennovation of the shop and Ed starts school next term so busy busy.