Our next hop is to the hot springs of Pamukkale. We take a public bus from Antalya. The buses are clean, comfortable and timely. When we got on the bus, the attendant gives each of us a cup of ice cream! Then along the way, comes along with an offering of drinks and snacks! Each seat has it's own video screen for watching movies or a live cam from the front of the bus to see the scenery! The bus stations seem more like airports with nice restaurants, shops and comfortable seating.
We are greeted by our driver for the next couple of days. He takes us to our hotel in Pamukkale town. The hotel is nice but seems like it is past its heyday. We are the only ones there and it all seems a bit weird. We enjoy the large pool, the hot baths, take a walk, pick black berries from the balcony of our room, watch as a sheep herder coaxes his flock of about 10 sheep from across the street to next to the hotel. Definitely a dara, dara afternoon. The next day, our driver comes back with our guide and we go up to the hot springs. There are small ones in one of the villages that leave red deposits since it is higher in iron. The main springs leave white calcium deposits. The entire mountain is white with deposits. There are Greek and Roman ruins at the top as well. This is a popular place for tourists to come to soak in the baths. People watching is incredible. Many young people with beautiful bodies posing for photos, others wearing bikinis who don't add to the beauty of the scenery at all. The area where people can walk is limited so not to destroy the natural formation. Even then, one must take off their shoes.
After soaking up some sun and splashing a little in the healing waters, we continued on our way to Kusadasi, on the Western coast of Turkey. It was about a 4 hour bus ride with a rest stop in the middle. Our hotel is across the street from a walk way along the water. The view from our balconies and the roof are great. We are right in the area where the cruise ships dock. In the morning, we discover 3 large ships at the dock. But in the evening, the ships are gone and we enjoy watching the sun set on the Agean. We have dinner at a restaurant overlooking the water and happen upon an outdoor acrobatic show on our way back to the hotel.
The next morning, our guide meets us and we go to the ruins of Ephesus. This is the first time since Istanbul that we have really been in the heart of heavy tourist traffic. Even though there are lots of people, the site is large and can absorb many people. It also gave it a bit of a busy hum like I'm sure existed in its heyday. We start at the top of Ephesus (Efes in Turkish, which is also the name of the national beer) Even though the city started as Greek, most of the current ruins are Roman. Efes is unusual in that it has 2 agoras or arenas. The smaller one is used for politics and the larger for commerce. There is a temple to Isis so the Egyptian traders would have a place at the end of their route. It was built with granite from Egypt. The main street was marble and lined with columns and statues. The heads could be exchanged when a new merchant or dignitary came to town and was to be honored. Hadrian's fountain had beautiful freizes. The most dramatic and beautiful is the library which was next to the market. We finished the tour with the largest of the theaters. It held up to 25,000! The stage area was white marble.
From Efes, we continued to what is believed to be the last home of the Virgin Mary. It is believed that when Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians he brought Mary with him. The house is high on a hill and easy to hide.
Our guide took us to a leather outlet where they, of course, gave us tea and a runway fashion show of their products. We were a hard sell and really not interested. Andy got out the easiest with saying that he was looking for an Indiana Jones type of jacket and since they didn't have one of those, he wasn't interested. Since we had time to kill before going to the airport, it was at least a comfortable, air conditioned place.
From the leather outlet, we went back in time to the ruins of the Temple of Artemis which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. At one time it was on an island but now it is in a marsh. Only one of the 127 original columns remains and that one has a nest of storks resting on the top. A gaggle of intimidating ducks guard the path. At least it is off the tourist path and we can imagine the grandeur in peace.
There is still several hours before we need to be at the airport to go back to Istanbul. So, our guide takes us to another rug place. This time, Melodie isn't as successful at resisting the rug temptation. She buys a beautiful small one. Still more time so we go to one of the pottery co-ops. This is more our style and we end up doing quite a bit of last minute shopping.
We are met at the Istanbul airport by our original driver. It is nice to see a familiar face and recognize things as we drive to our hotel. Our last night in Turkey, we have another wonderful, relaxing dinner at the restaurant on the roof of our hotel. Enjoy some Raki, the anise flavored Turkish liquor and then back to pack up our bags.
A wonderful trip with the family. Memories that we will all treasure.
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