We arrived at the Selcuk bus station around and were greeted by the typical hoard of pension touts that can be found at most stations in Turkey. After the overnight bus journey we were anxious to find a place to get our heads down. We decided to follow one of the touts and take a look at one of the guest houses we’d read about in our guidebook. We ended up staying for three days.
So much of travel is about meeting other people – travelers and locals alike. Sharing perspectives on the world, discussing life, travel, politics,… beer. The Australia New Zealand Guest House had a great atmosphere. Breakfast and dinner were included in our “room rate” and we spent a good amount of time drinking apple tea (or cold beer) and socializing with other travelers on the roof top terrace. It’s probably the most relaxing place we’ve been on this journey so far.
We weren’t completely lazy while in Selcuk. The Roman ruins of Ephesus (Efes) are a short walk from town. We spent a day admiring the ruins of this ancient Roman capitol of Asia Minor. The city has been beautifully restored and is truly breathtaking. The amphitheater, marble road, public baths and toilets and, my favorite, the library, date back 2000 years (plus or minus.) Mark’s favorite was the sign to the brothel. A rather intricately carved image of a woman and a footprint pointing in the right direction. (They weren’t very coy about it, were they?!) The extent of just how advanced the Roman civilization was is incredible. The working sewage system, advanced architectural methods and the strategic layout of the city makes it appear that life wouldn’t be all that different from today’s modern world.
We also had the opportunity to visit the Efes museum which houses many of the artifacts, artwork, and statues found in theEphesus site. Particularly interesting was the exhibit on the gladiator graveyard. Archiologists had discovered the graveyard a few years back and were able to determine many of the gladiator’s causes of death. (Most of which appeared particularly painful.) The little boy in Mark, fascinated by the “noble Gladiators” came out while we were in the exhibit and I imagine he could have spent some more time there if the museum hadn’t kicked us out at closing time.
Tomorrow we will drag ourselves away from our comfy guest house and head South to the tourist town of Marmaris where we will hopefully be able to catch a Ferry to the island of Rhodes in Greece. This week is Ede… the end of Ramadan, so schedules are proving to be a bit random due to the holiday.
