Retired Nomads - Part 2 : Kusadasi, Turkey

Kusadasi, Turkey – Mar 29

Due to stormy seas we arrived about an hour late. We were amongst the first off the ship and were met by our guide Ertunga and were led to our spacious van where driver Khaled was waiting for us. Despite the shortened day, we had plenty of time to see everything.

We started with the House of Virgin Mary, the place where she is believed to have spent her last years. It is recorded that St. John brought Virgin Mary to Ephesus after the death of Christ and that a small house was built for her on Bulbuldagi Mount. On July 26, 1967, Pope Paul VI visited the House of Virgin Mary and declared it one of the pilgrimage centers.

sail into port

entertainers at the port

drive to Ephesus

Ephesus House of Virgin Mary

House of Virgin Mary Shrine

no photos inside - photo under glass outside

spring

Tom checking out the messages other people have left

Next, we went to Ephesus where we spent a couple of hours. It was a very impressive site. Ancient Ephesus has been a religious center of the early Christianity in ancient time– Apostol Paul and Apostol John stayed and preached in Ephesus. We saw the extensive ruins including the Odeon, State Agora, The Prytaneion, Domitian Square, Hercules Gate, The Fountain of Trajan-one of the finest monuments in Ephesus, temple of Hadrian, walked through the Curetes Street, Celsius Library-was the third largest library with the capacity of 12,000 scrolls, The Gymnasium, The Grand Theatre-most magnificent structure in Ephesus and The Arcadian Way.

We also visited the Terrace Houses section of Ephesus. They are “the houses of rich”, where the oldest building dates back into the 1C BC. There were fine mosaics and frescoes and we saw the famous heating system thru clay pipes.

drive to Ephesus

arrival at Ephesus

there were lots of cats and a few dogs

me in the back - it was windy & cool

me, Cathy & Tom - original street

who's cold?

Tom & Cathy, Greg in black

she was biting I'm glad I had my gloves on

original street with mosaics

sewer

community toilets

yes, they are that close together and it was considered social, and people sat there for a long time talking

the street that ends at the Terrace Houses

The Terrace Houses - where the wealthy lived

marble walls

floor though plexiglass

Library of Celsus

inside the library

The Achaic-Clasical Settlement and the Sepulchre Street

The Great Theatre

We had some free time to shop at the end. (yes, token magnets and a small plate were purchased)

The guide asked what we wanted to do next and I said lunch. He took us to a wonderful family-owned restaurant where we chose 3 different mezes and two mains to share. We got a couple different yogurt-based mezzes with eggplant and something else that I don’t remember and one with artichokes. For mains we got the lamb skewers and the spicy meat balls. Very lovely lunch. We all ordered Turkish tea after the meal. Some got the freshly made juices that were quite tasty as well.

lunch

bottom line of sign says "to see our olive oil dishes please look at you inside the refrigerator"

all cooked to order

2 yogurt dips & marinated artichokes

roasted tomato

lamb kabobs

spicy meatballs

Turkish Tea

We had time after lunch to visit the Basilica of St. John and The Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders on the Ancient World, a famous temple built for the goddess Artemis, known as Diana in ancient world. The Basilica of St. John was a basilica in Ephesus. It was constructed by Justinian I in the 6th century. It stands over the believed burial site of John the Apostle. It was modeled after the now lost Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople.

Gate of Persecution - my group going in to see Basilica of St. John (ruins)

Gate of Persecution

Tempe of Artemis down below

Tomb of St. John

Temple of Artemis

White Stork nest on top of pillar

No one was interested in visiting the rug shop so we went back to the ship. We had about an hour to shop and wander around the area. 4 of us went looking for Turkish ice cream, but they were all closed. It was cold and windy today, so not surprising. We then split up and we went for baklava, but there wasn’t much to be found. We did buy some in one shop, but it wasn’t nearly as tasty (or inexpensive) as the box we got in Dubai.