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DAY 11
Found out this morning our hotel last night had 17 tour groups check in and check out again this morning... No wonder the queues were so long! Breakfast this morning was probably the worst so far, with empty platters where the hot food should have been, so cold rolls and coffee had to suffice today.
Today we follow the valley of the Menderes River to Ephesus, home of the Greek philosopher Heraclitus and, later, the capital of Roman Asian Minor.
Driving through fields of cotton, tobacco, corn, pomegranate and strawberries and we're told that Marlborough cigarettes use Turkish tobacco.
After a 2 hour drive we stopped for toilet facilities at a local produce store which sold Turkish Delight, figs, sesame seed treats, peanut brittle etc. Izzet said the quality of produce was really good here so I bought a couple of boxes of Turkish Delight (rose & double pistachio) and a pkt of peanut brittle.... Which is now all gone, sorry kids ;)
Interesting facts along the way:
Turkey has the 17th largest economy in the world and 8th largest in Europe.
There is a large Turkish population in Melbourne.
Turkish single men aged 30-40 will not be granted visas to visit Australia, due to the fact that most will not return.
1% of Turkeys economy is in leather goods.
Next stop is Ephesus - one of the greatest ruined cities in the western world. A Greek city was first built here in about 1000BC and it soon rose to fame as a centre for the worship of Cybele, the Anatolian Mother Goddess. It was under the Romans that Ephesus became the chief port on the Aegean. Most of the surviving structures date from this period, but only one eighth of the area has been excavated and more is still occurring. The city played an important role in the spread of Christianity. Walking through the streets gives you a sense of what life must have been like. It's a shame most of the statues have not survived. We saw the Library of Celsus, the Theatre, the Temple of Hadrian, the Gate of Hercules, the Commercial Agora, the Odeon and the Colonnaded Street.
After leaving Ephesus, we travelled up the hill to the place considered to be the last home of the Virgin Mary.
According to the Bible, the crucified Jesus asked St John the Evangelist to look after his mother, Mary. John brought Mary with him to Ephesus in AD37, and she spent the last years of her life here in a modest stone house. The house is located in Meryemana, 6km from the centre of Ephesus. The chapel was rebuilt upon the original foundations that have been determined to date as of the 1st and 4th centuries. Part of the building is of the 7th century and the last restoration took place in 1951. Here we got the opportunity to write a wish and place it on the Wishing Wall, which we both did.... And no, I'm not telling you my wish!
On the way to the hotel we stopped at a leather goods shop. First we sat through a catwalk of some stunning designs and then went through into the showroom. Current prices were in $US + a 40% discount. It was hard, but I resisted the urge to buy, and now regret it somewhat :(
Next stop was a photo opportunity of the St John's Basilica Temple, an Ottoman Mosque, Ottoman Baths and a column marking one of the seventh natural wonders of the world, which has been re-erected.
Finally we arrive at our hotel - Crowne Plaza Izmir located in Turkey's 3rd largest city and the regional headquarters of NATO. The hotel faces the Aegean and has a US submarine permanently moored out front as a museum. The entrance is grand and by far the best of the whole trip. The room is lovely also, with a rear sea view, all the amenities plus tissues (only the 2nd to have provided this) and a kettle. I got really excited when I saw an ironing board and iron in the room YAY, and if you don't believe me, ask Aleisha!!!! Before dinner we went down to take pics of the submarine and took a short stroll to the local mall (which wasn't very exciting).
Dinner tonight was really peaceful as our group were the only ones there, which made a nice change from yesterday. Aleisha has had a few tummy problems this trip and tonight it got worse for her, so she skipped dinner. Our tour guide noticed she was missing at the table and rang our room to check on her - which I thought was especially nice.
Another early one tomorrow (to beat the peak hour traffic, we're told) .... Up at 5:45 .
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