Oct 1, 2012 - Le grand site archéolo de Ephès à Selçuk

Lundi 1er octobre- Exploration du site de Ephès Levé tôt ce matin, nous voulons arriver sur le site archéologique d'Ephèse à l'ouverture vers 8h30 afin d'éviter les groupes et la chaleur. En pleine saison tourisque, 15 000 visiteurs par jour parcourent le site! Mais aujourd'hui, on est en saison basse, la moyenne baisse à envirno 3 000 visiteurs. La ville d'Ephèse fut fondée il y a plus de 8 siècles avant Jésus-Christ.  La Cité fut envahie plusiers fois par plusieurs peuples.  Le site actuel est la troisième ville reconstruite par les grecs...

Sep 30, 2012 - En route vers Selçuk par la côte sur la mer Égée

30 septembre - Alaçati, Çesme et voyage le long de la côte vers Selçcuk   Un déjeuner typiquement turc composé de tomates pelées, concombres, miel,  fromage (genre Feta salé), confitures variées aux fruits, un oeuf cuit dur, pain frais et évidemment du thé (çay). Un délice de fraîcheur en bouche. Nous prenons la route pour Çesme (prononcer Tchesmé). On est dimanche et on s'aperçoit qu'il y a plusieurs cortèges à pied et en voiture à travers les villages. Au début nous pensons à des mariages ou des victoires de l'équipe de foot locale, mais...

Apr 18, 2011 - Selcuk - Day 1

Leaving Canakkale behind, we arrived at the Izmir bus stop from an overnight bus ride that was about as fun as a it could be with a woman throwing up from motion sickness all night. I left Cynthia with all our belonging at little sitting area where she was planning on getting some sleep. After being throughly confused,

Apr 4, 2011 - Selcuk/Ephesus

A free morning! We slept in a little bit and did not have to pack and rush out of the door! After a good breakfast on the roof-top we wandered over to the St. John Basilica, what is left of it! Here is the tomb of the apostle John although the body was never found. They suspect that it was taken somewhere else sometime in the middle ages. It must have been a magnificent building. History tells us that after Jesus was gone, John took Mary, the mother of Jesus into his house and looked after her as he promised Jesus. They moved to Ephesus...

Apr 3, 2011 - Bursa to Selcuk

We stood ready at 8.30 am and walked to the bus stop. The city bus came right on time and drove us to the bus terminal. There we had time to buy some snacks for on the way. Then we boarded our bus which would be our “home” for 7 hours. The bus left exactly on time at 10.00 am. This bus was very comfortable and provided better service than the plane! We had personal TV screens, air conditioning , and very good seats. A “bus attendant” came through the bus regularly with free water, juice and snacks. He even wore a bowtie! We had several...

Sep 24, 2010 - Romans, Greeks and Tourists

Dear Family and Friends When I started writing this entry I wrote that it would be a quick entry because I thought I was a bit underwhelmed by this part of Turkey. Having written quite a bit I realise that is not the case and that I had things out of proportion somewhat which is the advantage of writing a journal. We flew from Cappadocia to Izmir on the Aegean coast and then travelled about an hour south to Selcuk. It is a small and pleasant town which just manages to hang onto having an existence in its own right and not be totally...

Jun 12, 2010 - Then to Selcuk

Another long bus trip to Selcuk – was supposed to be on a local bus but are lucky to still have our mini bus. The country side now mainly olive trees, citrus and stone fruits. The coast line when we follow it is stunning. The hills very rocky and the orchards have quite a bit of stone in them. We ocascionaly see trucks full of fruit leaving the paddocks. On our arrival at Selcuk the bus takes us straight to the beach – yet another torquoise blue sea, high density of salt and just beautiful. The usual chairs and umbrellas line the sand – of...

Feb 9, 2010 - Ready, Set, here comes a new town

Feb 9 Tonight bus to Antalya, Southern Turkey Today up and ready to enjoy my last day in Selcuk. Walked to what remains of Artemis, 2 pillars. Tried to imagine what it would have been like to have lived thousands of years ago. Also found a few little friends hanging around the pond. Not too far from the pension is Isa Bey, a mosque. Isa Bey is currently under construction, but one can only imagine how beautiful it will be once again, when the restoration is completed. Next to Isa Bey is St. Jean Basilica, spectacular. It is a maze of...

Sep 25, 2009 - Ephesus

I woke up early tired from staying up late the night before. I had a tour booked for Ephesus. It was absolutely amazing. I have seen some ruins, but this was the biggest set of ruins i have ever seen. It was incredible. I spent a few hours there taking pictures and talking to the people on the tour. After Ephesus, we went to see the Virgin Mary's house. It was just a one room hut on top of a hill. The best part of it was driving up and seeing all of Ephesus and Selcuk from up above. Next we saw the Artemis Temple, which is one big...

Sep 24, 2009 - I'm in Selcuk

I had trouble sleeping last night. I had this live turkish band playing right outside my room until well past midnight and I was stressed that I would never talk English to anyone in Turkey as I was headed south. I took the 6:30 am bus to Kazmir so I had to get up very early. I fell asleep for a little while and when I awoke. I saw sitting across from me a mother with child. I didn't think much of it, but I glanced at the child and noticed that the kid had six fingers on each hand. Not that I think there is anything wrong with this, but it...

Aug 23, 2009 - Turkish Bath, Cory's version

Ok, I’m not quite so wordy as Elaine but will put down in print my version of the traditional Turkish bath. Elaine and I had taken a few hours off to head to the local beach for a little sun and relaxation and I hadn’t realized how much sun I had actually soaked up. While I wasn’t quite at the “don’t touch me stage” I was a little tender, especially the rapidly thinning solar panel on the top of my head. I wasn’t too worried, as I had read up extensively on the “Turkish bath”. HA I had had occasion to watch an Anthony Bordain travel show...

Aug 23, 2009 - Turkish Bath, Elaine's version

After our day of touring yesterday we decided a little bit of relaxation was in order. We headed off to Pamucak beach and enjoyed some time on the beach reading our books and enjoying the warmth of the sun. After a quick nap Cory and Elaine got ready to go to their Turkish Baths. The experience was quite different for each of them, so I am going to let them describe it in their own words. I really had no idea what to expect, but thought having a Turkish bath would be part of the Turkey experience. We had read up on it from the information...