4 Gobblers: Ephesus, Turkey, 7/13/13

This was probably the best day yet on our cruise. Perfect!

We got out to the port entrance early (the port is Kusadasi - pronounced Kushadase) around 8:20 a.m. and saw our guide, Melissa waiting with an "Ephesus Shuttle - Diane Milburn" sign. :)

Melissa is from Izmir, Turkey, but lives in Kusadasi with her husband now. She's young and bubbly and never stops smiling. Hearing that we're from Virginia, she says she knows two things about Virginia: George Washington and "Apple Festival" - "Apple Blossom? Winchester?" LOL! Too funny!

She took us to our shuttle - an 8 person Mercedes van with two 3-person bench seats that face each other in the back. Nice! I seriously thought this was going to be a bus tour - that's what I think when I hear the word "shuttle". What a nice surprise that it will just be our family and a private guide! Our driver, Arjen, is friendly, but doesn't speak much English. Melissa, on the other hand, speaks terrific English (and has never been abroad!)

We start on our way to the House of the Virgin Mary. It is said St. John brought Mary here after Jesus' crucifixion and lived in a house which is buried beneath the stone building here now. It is very small, but there is a peacefulness about it - very spiritual. Of course, since we beat all but one bus to the area, we were practically alone. (Melissa said her clients typically wait one to two hours (or more at times!) to get into the House. We walked right in. Amazing. She and Arjen said, "Mashallah" - our version of "Thank God" and/or "knock on wood." We said it all day.

The Baptistry - there are steps at this end to go in and be baptized.

The House of the Virgin Mary.

Looking inside at the altar.

The side of the house.

A natural spring.

The wishing wall where thousands upon thousands of little pieces of paper are placed.

The view on the way down from the house.

Our next stop was the ancient city of Ephesus. This place is truly unbelievable. They have been excavating here for almost 100 years - and this is the 3rd city of Ephesus as it changed locations because of the silt buildup at the port. What happened to the other cities? What else is buried in this area?

Built in the 3rd century B.C., this was the second largest city in the Roman Empire, with a population of 250,000 people at it's peak. Julius Caesar, Marc Anthony and Cleopatra, St. Paul, and possibly St. John and the Virgin Mary came here. The terrace houses, library, and great theater, among other sites in the city, are definitely not to be missed. It was pretty hot, so there wasn't much dawdling at any of the sites. Even with the umbrellas Melissa provided there wasn't much relief from the heat. We were roasted.

The State Agora (market). Can you see the red clay pipes near the bottom right? The city had a water system!

See the clay pipes?

A game carved in the marble.

A bull carving at the small theater.

The Odeon - the primary meeting place of city council, but music and theater was also performed here. It used to be covered.

Where does this go??

The Prytaneum - the office of the leading government dignitary.

Remember this in the Vatican Museum?

We saw at least 21 cats while in Ephesus - most of them asleep.

Daniel with the Nike Frieze.

Temple of Domitian.

Melissa and her umbrella.

Processional Way -

Temple of Hadrian.

Public toilets.

Mosaic tile along the sidewalk.

Inside the Terrace Houses - the biggest puzzle in the world.

Ancient wallpaper.

The Basilica - within the Terrace Houses.

Ancient graffiti - a gladiator.

Library of Celsus.

The tunnel of love - the way from the library to the brothel.

The Public Agora.

The Great Theater - you don't need speakers here!

Daniel is in orange at the bottom. We could easily talk to each other.

Clare trying to keep cool.

There was a little ancient entertainment near the exit of the city.

Melissa took us to a carpet store for lunch, a weaving demonstration, and a sales pitch. Lunch was terrific! Lots of yogurt-based dips (according to Melissa, Greek yogurt was not created in Greece, but in Turkey), bread, salad, seaweed salad, grilled chicken, sausage, potatoes, and rice. (Turkish beer, too! :)) (Yes, I ate some of the chicken and sausage. I haven't had any meat since last September, so I was a little worried how my stomach would react - it was fine. Clare was even more worried - she hasn't eaten meat in about 5 months. I told her, "When in Rome..." We didn't want to offend anyone by not eating what was placed in front of us!) Arjen taught us how to say "thank you" in Turkish - "Tea-sugar-a-dream". Melissa said Clare looks like she belongs in Turkey - dark skin and eyes. (She said Clare needs to come back - she has two brothers. ;-))

We learned about the silk-making process, how the rugs are created - saw how the knots are tied and how long it takes to make a rug, and the different types of rugs (which kinds are better and how to tell.) Even with the little sales pitch at the end, I felt it was a great experience.

We learned how the silk is removed from the cocoon.

First, the cocoons are soaked in warm water.

The threads are lifted out with a brush.

"I know a lot about silk."

The demonstration.

Daniel really liked the feel of this rug (and got his grubby hands all over it.)

Our next stop was St. John's Basilica. This is another excavation site. This is were St. John's tomb is (apparently) placed. It's a bit difficult to see how huge this place was when it was in one piece - the ruins are extensive. There was also a lot of "recycling" from here - taking marble from this building to build a mosque, etc.

Daniel, a little tired and hot, I think.

The ruins of the Basilica.

The entrance.

Storks have made their home on one of the columns.

Melissa telling us all about the Basilica.

Tom might have spent time here had he lived back then (the treasury.) :)

Daniel had to try the baptistry out.

These large vases held wine.

An old mosque next to the basilica.

The view.

Marble stepping stones.

Another kitty.

We still had time, so Melissa took us to a ceramic pottery store. There was a demonstration of the pottery wheel and both kids had the opportunity to try to make something. Clare made a great little bowl. Daniel made a great little ... uh ... abstract something. We also had little cups of Turkish coffee. Hmm... I'm not sure how I feel about that stuff. The items for sale were beautiful (especially downstairs where we had another sales pitch.) Of course, we didn't buy anything.

What a pretty bowl. :)

A little Turkish coffee.

What a lovely... um... bowl?

No, wait! Here's what I made! :)

After this we were truly exhausted. Melissa offered to take us to a leather factory, but we politely refused. We went back to our ship and said our goodbyes. We definitely had a WONDERFUL time with Melissa and Arjen. She taught us so much about Turkey and the wonderful culture there.