Off to Ephesus and Dining by the Sea

It was an early morning this morning with good reason... we were going to Ephesus an ancient Greek and Roman city. It's a huge tourist attraction so it was key that we get there before the bus loads of tourists started heaving their hoards into Ephesus.

Mete is great guide and explained so much to this amazing city. I don't know what I was thinking but I was not overly well prepared for this adventure... I forgot my hat and water but managed to tough it out without too much of a problem. We enterer through the main area and was able to see where the Roman bath was as well as the temple where the fire of Olympus was kept.

Down the hill from that was the hospital, with the serpent and the front gate. Down the main road was the wealthy people homes... and of course you can only see those for an additional fee. Which I forked over just to be out of the sun. As it turned out to be a peak at how the rich folks lived and see the beautiful ways they decorated their homes and the amazing mosaics.

We then headed down to the library. It was so beautiful and amazingly restored. One of my tour-mates had been hear 40 years earlier and the library was just rubble on the ground.

We then headed to the amphitheater that held 24,000 people. We exited through the gladiator entrance. That hall was super eerie, you could almost feel the fear still seeping through the walls.

From there we all piled into the van and headed to one of the best lunches we have had. It was super delicious baked pita with stuffing, absolutely divine! We then visited the Artemis' Temple or rather the rubble remains of the temple.

Then the very long haul van ride to Ayvalik a nice town on the Aegean Sea. First order of business was dinner. My roommate and I headed out together to grab a bit to eat and we decided to try out Kumpir or basically a fully loaded baked potato. Turkey appears to LOVE their carbs! I think I've had more white bread in the last two weeks than I've had in the last 10 years.

I'm writing this post from the restored Ottoman mansion we are staying in tonight. The views from the terrace are beautiful and even though it's nearly 9pm the weather out here is an absolutely perfect temperature. Not too hot and not too cold.

Tomorrow we are off to Troy!

 

Posted with Blogsy