Wednesday, September 21st - Kusadasi and Ephesus, Turkey
Well, the dawn came up like thunder today (figuratively, that is; the weather continues to be perfect). We were awakened by an unexpected text message on my iPhone at 3:30a and then another at 4:20a. When Trevor (our butler) rang the bell with breakfast at 7:20a we struggled from our bed; we had to be ready to disembark for our bus ride from the port for our tour of Ephesus by 8:00a.
When we awoke we were berthed stern-in in the Turkish port city of Kusadasi (pronounced: "Kushadasi").
Berthed next to us, bow-in, was the Holland American cruise ship Noordam. It was so big I couldn't get far enough away to picture the whole thing. With 1,924 passengers, this ship is nearly three times as big as our Voyager!
Wolfing breakfast, we appeared on time and were assigned to bus #15 for our half-day tour of the ruins at Ephesus. We made our way to our bus and met today's guide Odann whose English and sense of humor were impeccable. And his knowledge (he's been leading such tours for fifteen years) was complete.
The bus drove 40 minutes or so to the city of Ephesus (where, you may recall Paul brought the word of Christ to the Ephesians who weren't all that thrilled to hear it). On the journey, the bus traveled on the "silk highway". If we'd gone a bit further on this highway, we'd have been (eventually) in China. This was the road that Alexander the Great and his 25,000-man army traveled in 335BC. It was paved even then.
When we arrived at Ephesus we had a wonderful walking tour of the ruins and their current (ongoing) state of restoration. The archaelolgists carefully assembled the buildings and provided concrete replacements for the missing pieces -- but the colors were close to the original granite and marble so the restoration looked fine.
Odann here handles a length of pipe some 5,000 years old; part of the water movement system the Ephesians used to have running water in their homes.
Rather than trying to describe the ruins, the pictures give you, well, the "picture":
Odann kept us together for the most part. There must have been 300 tourists at the site when we were there:
The crowd made it tough to keep people out of my frame, but I did my best:
Yes, this is exactly what you think it is. The marble must have been cold most of the time:
The centerpiece of the restoration to-date is the Library of Ephesus; we're told 20,000 parchment scrolls were housed here many centuries ago:
Playing just outside the Library of Ephesus was a string trio:
The juxaposition of these ancient ruins and classical music in the air was just right.
Everyone knows that there are three kinds of columns, distinguished by their capitals (tops), right? Everyone knows? Doric, Ionic and Corinithian. Well, the Ephesians came up with a unique combination. Left to right: Ionic, Corinthian, and Combination:
Here's the amphitheater; it's too fragile to walk in, but Barbra Streisand and Yanni both held concerts here some years ago:
On the way out to the bus, of course we had to pass through an outdoor shopping area; the general principle of "exit through the gift shop, please". I loved this sign (truth in advertising):
Ephesus has been a cruise highlight (so far).
After our walking tour, we reboarded our bus to return to Kusadsi. After walking for hours (not my favorite activity) over uneven surfaces (DEFINITELY not my favorite activity), I was glad to see good old Bus #15 again:
It was not by coincidence that we were dropped of at a giant shopping bazaar just a ten minute walk from the ship. We were offered a rug-making lecture that Gael decided we didn't need to see (since shopping was nearby). This young lady was weaving right out on the sidewalk:
We spent an hour or so meandering narrow streets filled with people who wanted our money.
We bought little; Gael isn't a fan of the "come, let me drag you by the arm into my shop" approach to selling. We returned to the ship for a late lunch and, on the way, I got this shot of a fortess on a harbor island:
Since I'd lost the entire Athens day (09/19) last night  , I had to rebuild it. But two beers at lunch made a nap a higher priority so I didn't get started until 5pm or so.
We'd planned dinner with the Coopers at the Compass Rose and ran into the Giffords as we arrived so we made it a (rowdy) six-top and closed the place down.
Above, Kathy and Tom Cooper from Tyler, TX
Above, Bill and Phyllis Gifford from Carlsbad, CA
While there was a soprano singing tonight, we drank our way right past showtime and eventually closed down the restaurant. They weren't actually vacuuming around our chairs, but it was a near thing.
Back to the suite where I finished (finally) the words and pictures for 09/19 leaving no time to document our Ephesus tour until tomorrow (late).
We decided that we really love Turkey. For one thing, they sorta like the US and Americans. Even with a 90% Muslim population, they decided no Sharia Law and pretty much everyone goes along with that. So thieves don't have their hands amputated, they just go to jail for six months or so and are released to steal again. But it's more humane (I guess..)
Tomorrow at 7:45a we'll be ready to start our tour of Santorini, Greece, an all-day affair so there won't be anything up on this site until late tomorrow our time.
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