Ephesus...

On the last of our three days in Selcuk, we finally made our way to the ruins of Ephesus.  We were told that if you wanted to see proper Roman ruins, that you had to visit Turkey, and these didn't disappoint.

The only downside was that we went on a cruise ship afternoon, so it was PACKED with tourists.  Not that Sam and I weren't tourists...but these were "tourists" of the worst kind!!  Rude, pushy, no regard for anyone but themselves...UGH!  They all traveled in massive packs of people which forced you to play a little game of keep-away...always just trying to stay slightly ahead of the mob so you could get a proper picture or a good unobstructed look at something. 

But back to the sights...Ephesus is huge! It contains the largest collection of Roman ruins East of the Mediterranean and only 15% of the site has been escavated.  It was incredible! Whole sections of the city, it's streets, aquaducts, temples, even the toliets...

The two most impressive sites that have been "restored" are the Library of Celsus...

and the Roman Theater...

Given that theaters were typically built to accomodate 10% of the city's population, you can really start to get a sense of ust how big of a city Ephesus was in it's time.

We rounded out the experience with a trip to the Selcuk Archaeological Museum, who's collection far exceeded their small space.  It was truly a fascinating step back into history.

Ruins, Ruins, Ruins...and a Little Eden.

The morning after Gallipoli we set out to see the famed city of Troy (Troya). It's one of those thing that you feel you just HAVE to do...I mean we all have read the Iliad or at least know the story.  Well, there not a lot left in good old Troy, but it was still someplace that I am glad to say I have been.  What remains that were still left where tough to visualize as Troy had been destroyed and rebuilt at least nine different times.  There would be sections where what you were looking at was Troy 1, then switches to Troy 4, etc. 

(This photo shows where they marked each "version" of Troy in this one hill...this is why it was SO HARD to really follow the ruins.)

They did have a giant replica of the Trojan Horse though...so...that was nice!

Quick aside - you know what really sucks about travel?  The travel part.  The cheapest way for us to get from A to B was by bus and it seems aside from sleeping, the one thing we did for the longest amount of time was ride in a bus.  For two guys over 6" and over 2 bills (although Sam is looking much trimmer these days)...it got a little old. But there was always the "pay-off" at the end of the ride and that usually made it worth it.

After Troy, we moved south on to Selcuk by way of Izmir (quick over night stay in Turkey's third largest city - we saw the bus terminal and a whopping city block!).  We found an entry for a hostel called "Atilla's Getaway".  It sounded good, private rooms, cheap and had a pool.  What we got was so much more.  Private room, private bath, breakfast AND dinner every day, internet, bar and of course that pool!  It was like this little resort and all for just $25 a night!  To make it even better, the family who owned the hostel were terrific and so incredibly accommodating.  It completely blew away my perspective of a hostel.  We stayed three days and it was a great home base for the rest of our sight-seeing, two really unique places - Heiropolis and Ephesus.

Sam and I decided to go to Heiropolis while in Istanbul.  We were getting out tour squared away for Gallipoli and I kept staring at a photo on the tour company wall.  It was of these rolling, pure white cliffs with people swimming in them.  I have never seen anything like that terrain before so we asked where that was and decided at that moment we would be making a stop.  Turns out those cliffs are covered in calcium carbonate that settles out of the natural spring water.  It was said that bathing in this water would help to cure a wide array of ailments, including arthritis.  Unfortunately, during a tourist boom in the 70's and 80's, much of the pools had dried up and now there is a limited area where visitors can wade in the water, but it was still a beautiful site none-the-less.

This was also the site of the ancient city of Heiropolis.  To this point, some of the most complete set of ruins I have been too.  Walking through the amphitheater, bath house and temple, it was easy to transport yourself back in time.

(amphitheather at Heiroplois)

But while Heiropolis was truly impressive, it was nothing like we'd see in Ephesus...

Gallipoli...

After three days in Istanbul, it was time to move on.  So we jumped on a early bus and headed west toward the Aegean Sea.  Our first stop would be Eceabat, a costal city along the Dardanelles (Straight of Canakkale), upon the Gallipoli Peninsula. This area for centuries has been of great military signifigance as whoever could break through the straight would have a clear path at capturing Istanbul.  You can still see the fortresses that guarded the mouth of the straight even today.

Most of the peninsula is now a national park, commerating one of the most bloodest battles during WW1.  It was here that a nine month campaign by British forces (along with New Zealand, Austrailian and Indian soliders) against the Ottomans resulted in over 400,000 casualities and close to 120,000 deaths.

Our tour through the battle site was sobering.  When you look down from the high ground it's hard not to see troops landing at the bay and slowing making there way along the rocky terrain.  How much tragedy had to occur here?!

(view from ANZAC Bay)

(view back down to the bay on the high ground)

What makes the sight even more moving is that it celebrates the heroism and sacrfice of both Allied and Ottoman solider.  These men died together and are honored together.  It was a stirring experience that helps to remind all about the devistation of war.

Istanbul, not Constantinople...

Look kids...Hagia Sophia...Blue Mosque...okay now how about a beer!

That was our Istanbul experience in a nutshell. ;-)  We'll maybe it wasn't JUST like that...

Istanbul is truly a wonderful city, with literally history around every corner.  For a travel novice like me, also a very easy city to start in.  Staying within the Sultanahmet area one has all the major destinations within walking distance and it's very "english-friendly".  So much so that there where times when sitting on a patio, enjoying an Efes, that I had to remind myself that we were in fact in Turkey.  Of course, that was until I was awoken by the 5:30 am call-to-prayer.

(the Blue Mosque at night)

For all the time spent on the Sultan hostel patio, we got a lot accomplished and still managed to see a good deal of the major highlights.  The Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia where spectacular as was the Istanbul Archaeology Museum.  We also spent one mid-day walking to the Spice Bazaar and then getting "lost" in the labyrinth that was the Grand Bazaar - which got so discombobulated that we ended up seeing maybe a little more of the city than we originally planned.

(Sam & Michael in front of the Hagia Sophia - "Wanna buy a hat?")

The two things that just continue to stand out from Istanbul are truly world's apart! 

The first was seeing a whirling dervish "performance".  What I did not understand prior to attending was that this was a religious service, performed by monks of the Mevlevi Order.  It was fascinating to watch!

(Dervishes - photos were allowed, but not flashes)

The second was part of our all-nighter (come on, why wouldn't we stay out past the morning's first call to prayer?).  All we were looking for was a place where we could eat outside of the Sultanahmet area.  The Lonely Planet book suggested the Beyoglu area, so why not give it a try.  The book did nothing to prepare us for what we experienced.  We got out of our cab and decided to go down the alley in front of us...and we emptied into a street that was literally wall-to-wall humanity.  We had stumbled into the Nevizade Sokak, one of the most famous eating precincts in Istanbul. The street was heaving with people and it went on for well over a mile.  I will never forget the look on Sam's face as we pressed forward, our senses literally assulted.  It wasn't just the main street either as down every alley that fed from the street was packed with patio bars and restaurants.  We eventually found a few places, caught our breath and had a beverage or two.  As we made it back to the main street about 2 hours later, it wasn't nearly as busy but I will never forget that scene!

We Stop this Blog for this Important Announcement

Dear Gentle Readers,

I have received a number of e-mails in the past day asking if we are doing fine in wake of the terrorist attacks in Istanbul's Gungoren community. CNN reported that seventeen people were killed and 150 injured in Sunday's blasts. We are fine and were no where near the area that was bombed.  Though we were in Istanbul earlier in the week, we are currently in the Canakkale region which is five hours away along the Aegean coast. 

Reports have not identified the group responsible for the act but in discussions with a few locals, it is their belief that it is tied to the recent group that tried to overthrow the government two weeks ago.  The act of violence targeted a traditional Turkish neighborhood and not the tourist areas, which is why they thought it was tied to the internal struggle with the current administration. The people seemed resigned that these types of acts will continue in the future.  Since they were involved in the tourism trade, they were concerned how these acts plus the recent attack on the US Embassy would impact travel and Turkey's bid to enter the European Union.  Only time will tell. Interesting times for the people in Turkey.

Back to your regularly scheduled blog.