Wanderlust: Turkish Delight (Part Four)
Man, this is taking forever. I am determined to finish this series of posts before the one year anniversary of the trip! Let's see, where did we leave off? Ah, yes, Ephesus. Probably the hottest and busiest place in Turkey.
It was the first stop of the day, however, getting there earlier meant nothing for avoiding the crowds or the sweltering heat. The sun radiated off of all of the ruins and right back at us. It is definitely a place you can get burned very quickly.
The ruins of Ephesus start at the beginning of what was once the town. There is a small amphitheater and then a stone street heading down the hill and surrounded (at one time) by the luxurious homes of the wealthy and privileged. There isn't much left to look at; the rusted pipes they once used for plumbing, some mosaic flooring here, a column there.
The house that is most intact is actually what was the community bath house. This is where everyone would come to use the bathroom. They built a fountain of sorts in the middle of the room to help minimize the noise. Talk about getting to know your neighbors!
At the bottom of the hill lies the shining gem: the Library of Celsus. The library was built by a Roman senator's son and named for him. It housed 12,000 scrolls at the time it was finished, around 120 AD. The library and all its books were burned in a fire that was started after a devastating earthquake. All that was left was the facade, which was destroyed by another earthquake sometime in the Byzantine era. The facade was recreated during the 60s and 70s and is considered to be historically accurate.
After leaving Ephesus we headed out to Kusadasi with a quick stop at the Temple of Artemis first. There really isn't anything left of the temple so I used that time to shop for last minute souvenirs before we left Turkey.
The hotel at Kusadasi was arguably the nicest one we had stayed at in Turkey. It had a large pool and a view of the Aegean Sea from the balconies. It also had probably the best dinner buffet. There was insane excitement over salad dressing being available.
After dinner we all loaded up and headed to the outdoor bazaar for some drinks. While the rest of the tour was dancing it up in an Irish Turkish bar, Melissa and I went for drinks at an outdoor bar with live music. The guitarist was playing Johnny Cash and was actually not that bad!
The next morning we said goodbye to Turkey and boarded the ship for Greece!
It was the first stop of the day, however, getting there earlier meant nothing for avoiding the crowds or the sweltering heat. The sun radiated off of all of the ruins and right back at us. It is definitely a place you can get burned very quickly.
The ruins of Ephesus start at the beginning of what was once the town. There is a small amphitheater and then a stone street heading down the hill and surrounded (at one time) by the luxurious homes of the wealthy and privileged. There isn't much left to look at; the rusted pipes they once used for plumbing, some mosaic flooring here, a column there.
The house that is most intact is actually what was the community bath house. This is where everyone would come to use the bathroom. They built a fountain of sorts in the middle of the room to help minimize the noise. Talk about getting to know your neighbors!
At the bottom of the hill lies the shining gem: the Library of Celsus. The library was built by a Roman senator's son and named for him. It housed 12,000 scrolls at the time it was finished, around 120 AD. The library and all its books were burned in a fire that was started after a devastating earthquake. All that was left was the facade, which was destroyed by another earthquake sometime in the Byzantine era. The facade was recreated during the 60s and 70s and is considered to be historically accurate.
After leaving Ephesus we headed out to Kusadasi with a quick stop at the Temple of Artemis first. There really isn't anything left of the temple so I used that time to shop for last minute souvenirs before we left Turkey.
The hotel at Kusadasi was arguably the nicest one we had stayed at in Turkey. It had a large pool and a view of the Aegean Sea from the balconies. It also had probably the best dinner buffet. There was insane excitement over salad dressing being available.
After dinner we all loaded up and headed to the outdoor bazaar for some drinks. While the rest of the tour was dancing it up in an Irish Turkish bar, Melissa and I went for drinks at an outdoor bar with live music. The guitarist was playing Johnny Cash and was actually not that bad!
The next morning we said goodbye to Turkey and boarded the ship for Greece!
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