My first impression is how friendly everyone is! Josh had to run off to get some money from an ATM for our visas and all the airport personnel in this section were laughing together and sharing apples, which they also insisted I partake in too (how nice!). We went with Monique to arrange the car and headed on our travels. We took a backward way so the trip was a bit longer than expected but I didn't mind at all since it saved us from having to bus all the way back to Izmir and then onward.
Once we arrived, I immediately felt like this may be too "beach-resort" for me but the town is still lovely and that is just a first impression. There are shops, restaurants, bars, and people milling about everywhere and the place is obviously busy with night life. We found a simple hotel called Otel Center : aptly named as we have a view of the ocean and are in the center of all the liveliness. Of course we were starving so we roamed around for a bite to eat, both of us strongly insisting on having Turkish food. We found a delicious place where I had chicken kebabs and Josh had lamb chops. The meal was great and the owner even helped us out with a few Turkish words! It is one thing to read them out of a book, but something very different to try and pronounce them properly!
After dinner we were both bursting with food and had ancy legs from the long day of travel so we went for a walk on the beach. They have a gorgeous promenade along the entire beach lined with benches, little cafes, and you can people watch or laugh at the stray kittens playing. We stretched our legs and planned our trek to Ephesus the next day.
We woke up early (too early for the wild sleep I had with honking horns and the heat all night- but Josh slept fine of course) to get to Ephesus before the heat of the day. Our continental breakfast doesn't start until 8 am unfortunately so we had to wait until then to leave and then we caught the wrong dolmus. We don't exactly get to Ephesus early and the heat reaches 34 degrees celsius but we aren't complaining coming from Iceland and Holland!
Ephesus was instantly amazing. It is one of the best preserved classical cities in the Mediterranean and about 18% of the city has been unearthed for the public to see. Most of the ruins are from the 1st and 2nd century BC although there were earthquakes that often destroyed parts that had to be rebuilt. It is awe inspiring to see and the history is overwhelming with the different rulers throughout each period of time.
We thought we might get a guide but that proves too expensive for our backpacker budget so we opt to get a guide book from the museum and have a go at it ourselves! I am so glad we did it that way because on the few occasions we heard a guide speaking (okay, eavesdropped would be more honest), they didn't seem to be that knowledgeable and we liked going at our own pace. At one point, we heard a guide misinform the people about which street was Marble Street!
Walking around Ephesus was breath taking. The ruins are so well restored that they transform you into a different time and you can almost see a picture of what life was like then. The book we bought was great for me since I am not a very visual/abstract learner and it had pictures of the ruins today with an overlay picture of what it looked like then! I could imagine the people going to the Grand Theater for a play about the gods, shopping at a spice store on Marble Street, and sharing rumours at the latrine (see photo below) while sitting next to their neighbor. I don't know what it says about me but I found the latrines endlessly fascinating!
We poked around for about four hours (I have heard you can do Ephesus in an hour and a half but that must be a joke!) until we were too weary from the sun. I really wish I could describe the experience better but I feel that words are inadequate. I will say, however, that Ephesus was a major highlight and will probably remain one throughout our trip!
We returned to the hotel by Dolmus which is a minibus of sorts that goes around all over the place collecting people for a low price. These drivers are fabulous! They are so friendly and helpful that even if you get on the wrong bus, they will track down the proper one for you to get on. Everyone in Turkey has been so friendly! The word friendly keeps coming up as a running theme but there is no better way to describe the people. Everyone makes an effort to speak to us, even when they have little English and we have only five words of Turkish and who knows if we are saying them properly lol!
I have fallen in love with Turkey, and this is just the beginning! Kusadasi does seem a bit touristy (ironic, I know) but if you avoid a few key spots, it is really a very vibrant and welcoming beach town. Tonight we walked around, poking our heads into the bazaar shops, and saw the most gorgeous sunset. We walked out onto a pier that led to a fort of some kind with excellent views of both the city, and the ocean around. The views really let us take it all in and it is spectacular! We enjoyed what we thought was more of a local area for dinner and excitedly planned more of our itinerary. I can hardly believe that this is just day one! :)
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