Several friends and family members have told me that Turkey is a destination I
should add to my list of countries to visit. On top of those recommendations, a few of the passengers on board
had started this trip by spending a few days in Istanbul. They all said that it is quite an amazing city and that they had a blast. So, I was eagerly looking
forward to our stop in Kusadasi.
Because of the expected heat, we had an early 7:30 AM departure time. The
tour guides hustled the hungover party zombies onto our buses and we headed out of the city into the
countryside. We lucked out with our tour guide, Oz, whose enthusiasm was
infectious. He showed great pride in his country and was eager to share his
knowledge about the history of Kusadasi, the discovery of the Virgin Mary’s
home, and the ancient Roman city of Ephesus.
First stop, the Virgin’s home. I admit I was a
little disappointed to learn that it is unknown if this is the historical home of
the Virgin Mary. From the
official
website:
"The modern history of the Virgin Mary's House is
unusual. It was "discovered" in 1812 by a German nun, Sister Anne Catherine Emmerich, who never traveled away
from her home.
Sister Emmerich, an invalid confined to bed, awoke
in a trance with the stigmata
and visions that included the Virgin Mary and Apostle John traveling from Jerusalem
to Ephesus. She described Mary's house in detail, which was recorded at her
bedside by a writer named Brentano.
Emmerich described a rectangular stone house, which
John had built for Mary. It had a fireplace and an apse and a round back wall.
The room next to the apse was Mary's bedroom, which had a spring running into
it."
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| The "alleged" home of the Virgin Mary near Ephesus |
Regardless of whether this is the actual home in which the
Virgin Mary spent her final years, it has become a pilgrimage site for both
Christians and Muslims. As such, there is a reverential feeling about the
place, not to mention the lovely gardens and views.
One of the more touching
moments was coming upon the prayer wall, which was draped with pieces of cloth
and paper onto which people had written prayers and wishes. I became a bit
emotional upon seeing the sheer number of wishes attached. This sight touched
even the more cynical people in our group – you know who you are….
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| Wish / Prayer Wall |
Our next stop was down the hill in Ephesus. Our tour guide
brought us in through the back entrance in order to avoid some of the traffic
from another large ship that had also arrived this morning. I looked around me, and was just a bit underwhelmed by these ruins.
It was more a tawdry collection of mismatched columns with a smallish amphitheater than
the remains of one of the best preserved Roman cities.
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| The back entrance of Ephesus: Ho Hum.... |
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| Oz - Our tour guide |
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| Some Columns - continued ho hum.... |
After a bit of
orientation about the city, Oz took us around the corner and I was gobsmacked!
It was easy to imagine the sheer magnificence of the city at its height. The
main street was paved in marble with columns all along the street, which would
have supported a wooden roof to shade pedestrians. Temples to gods, emperors,
and governor lined the street. The history geek in me went nuts.
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| Main Street, Ephesus |
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| Temple along the main street |
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| Another temple with a carving of Medusa over the door |
Half way down the street is the entrance to the terraced
homes, which have been excavated and are in the process of being preserved. It
would appear that life in Ephesus was actually rather nice. Of course, these
were the homes of the rich and powerful, but nice nevertheless. I was
particularly impressed by the mosaics on the floors that looked a bit like area
rugs.
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| Mosaics in the terraced homes located just off main street |
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| A Roman home: Note the wall paintings |
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| Close up of the wall paintings (early Roman wall paper) |
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| More floor mosaics: Looks like a hallway runner |
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| I want this - it would look stunning on my concrete floor.... |
After the terraced homes, we hit the main attraction - the
remains of the library and the main amphitheater. Superb!
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| The remains of the Ephesus library |
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| Where in the world is Glenn? |
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| Ephesus Amphitheater |
Completely loaded on history, we settled back into our
comfy air conditioned bus for the ride back to the port. Oz had one more "treat"
for us – a visit to a Turkish rug outlet. There we learned the differences
between silk, cotton, and wool rugs, about the industry, and that Turkish salesmen are among the most persistent on earth. My lord, used car
salesmen have nothing on a carpet salesman.
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| Bling! |
Once out of the maze of carpet showrooms, we were on our own
for a few hours. As Jay and I walked past a jewelry shop we were greeted by
another smiling Turkish man, who was eager to show us his silver jewelry. Jay
and I both declined, but the man was very persistent. Although we were not in
the market for any bling, I bought a silver ring, John bought a ring for his
mom, and Jay bought an exquisite necklace.
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| Lunch! |
I am not sure if it was the
merchandise, the salesmanship, or the freely flowing alcohol, but we were now
suitably blinged out and hungry. We asked the jewelry shop owner if there was a good
restaurant. He responded, “My cousin, he owns kebob shop. I take you
there.”
Oh my goodness. Great food,
great service, and free wifi. It was heavenly.
As we left the kebob shop, I asked the restaurant owner if there were
any Turkish Baths near by. His response “My cousin, he works in Turkish bath. I
take you” was music to my ears.
Jay headed back to the ship while John
and I headed deeper into the city in search of a new experience.
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| This it the place |
The bath
itself was a great experience. First you undress in a little cubicle and wrap
yourself in a flimsy cloth - a bit like a tablecloth. Then you are escorted to the steam room for a nice
relaxing sweat. After about 15 minutes, John and I did a bit of exploring until
we found a hairy little man in a similar cloth who was assigned to bathe us. In a cool
down room, he exfoliated my entire body, lathers me with a huge sponge,
and poured buckets of water over my soapy body to rinse it clean. Once we were
all sparkly, we were sent upstairs for an oil massage accompanied by a bit of singing. Afterwards I was refreshed and relaxed. I
think I would love having that done everyday. It was delightful.
Exfoliated, lathered and oiled, we headed back
to the ship to prepare for our Disco themed tea dance. After such a long day of
touring and the upcoming evening of partying, I was looking forward to a day at sea to relax
by the pool.
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| Leaving the port of Kusadasi |
Next stop: The Disco Party!
