It was Republic Day today in Turkey, a milestone celebrating the official start of the modern Republic of Turkey 92 years ago. Turks are very proud of their country, and that is partly evidenced by the Turkish flag appearing almost everywhere you go - in addition to the obvious places, we've seen the flag on cliffs, dangling over a small highway on a telephone wire, waving at the top of pretty much every small peak - pretty much everywhere.
It was time for us to check out one of the most important historic sights in Turkey today - the ancient city of Ephesus. The difference between Ephesus and the other ruined cities we've visited (Olympos, Xanthos, Hieropolis, Aphrodisias) was the obvious attention it has drawn over the years from archaeologists and restoration crews.
The amphitheater was the biggest we've seen - with a third level that rose above the standard two levels. It also had a really clear view to the old road that would have led to the sea. The Aegean and a nearby river used to meet right at the foot of Ephesus, but over the course of the life of the city, the bay silted up and the coast line moved west to its current location at Pamucak beach.
We sat in the seats for a while, doing some people watching. It was pretty hilarious seeing people come onto the floor of the theater and clap, stomp their feet and sometimes belt out an attempt at an operetic note.... One guy even yodelled! We also watched a couple try a "really cool photo" of the wife running and trying to jump and click her legs in the air to one side. Unfortunately, white women also cannot jump, and it was just painful watching them do take after take on Center stage, apparently oblivious that they were being watched by a hundred people or so. People watching is so fun....
The featured item at Ephesus is without a doubt the fully restored facade of the Library of Celsus.
The amazing building shows what can be done at important archaeological sights with a lot of money and expertise. Most of the pieces used in the restoration were the original thing. The process of restoration was outlined on diagrams around the building. Amazing.
I can't get over the colour of the sky in these pictures - it actually looks photoshopped!
The statues on the lower level of the facade were in great shape. Most of the damage to all of these important historical buildings in Turkey were caused by major earthquakes over the years as Turkey lies in the middle of a bunch of fault lines.
Walking around the restored cobbled streets of the city was amazing. Nowhere else did I get a real feel for the ancient city streets... With the number and length of streets excavated and restored here, you got a real feel for the layout of the place. Still, only 15% of Ephesus has been excavated, so there are plenty of opportunities for budding archaeologists for years to come.
The girls were also pretty enthralled with the dozens of cats that were posing all over the ruins. Man, Turkey has a crapload of cats - they are absolutely everywhere.
After a couple of hours of exploring, we got back in the car and headed out in search of a place for lunch. Our property manager had told us about a cute little town on the other side of Selcuk called Sirence (see-ren-chay), and Beth made what we have dubbed the "overstatement of the trip" by supposing that since it was a National holiday the village may be quiet and restaurants potentially closed.
As soon as we crested the hill and saw the beginning of the village, we were pleasantly surprised with the flourish of activity. The narrow main road was packed with people - 80% Turks and 20% tourists. I could barely get the car through the throngs of poeople as a I searched for a parking spot. We ended up having to drive right through the village in order to find a spot to park.
The town of of Sirence is special. The architecture is very Greek looking, the streets go from cobbled to rock hewn alleys, and everywhere you went were cute little restaurants and shops. First priority was lunch and we picked a good one.
I had the coldest beer I've had in Turkey (Efes of course) in the frostiness mug.... Yum.
We split a bunch of stuff, including Kofte (meat balls)...
...and the local favourite, cheese and spinich Gozleme. Kind of a thin, naan tasting bread.
All fed, we had our happy campers back with us!
Look at this place...it was so picturesque!
We walked and walked. The place wasn't too big, but it had a few nooks and crannies and alleyways that wound up and down the hill. In a trip full of superlatives, I'd say this was one of our favourite little towns.
I loved all the little open air kitchens in the restaurants, it makes the whole restaurant more connected with the seating area and brings a greater degree of "home" to the eateries. Layer a few restaurants right on top of each other and the whole place turns into a big social experiment.
I keep checking these pictures of Beth to see if she snuck off and bought a new scarf, but I'm pretty sure she.... Yes, this one was not new.
Wait, unless she bought one with the exact same colours and pattern.... Damn, there must be an app to track these things?!?
It seems like we can't pass a pomegranate juice stand without the kids begging for a bittersweet combo of freshly squeezed pomegranate and orange juice... Maybe pomegranates have nicotine in them too....
We stayed in Sirence for quite a bit... The place deserved it. Miraculously, we did not buy any scarves or anything else for that matter. I think we're finally getting shopped out on this leg of the trip [Editor's note: ha, wait until tomorrow!]. When we got home, Beth retired to the sunny deck on top of our little house for a little shut eye and the kids and I went in search of some veggies and gelato.... Not necessarily in that order.
The kids are still in full-on "restauranteur" mode, so they insisted on whipping up appetizer plates for us and serving us drinks.... The horror!
We ended up staying up on the deck until the sun went down. What a great day. We are really loving our time here in Selcuk and we still have another full day here to explore tomorrrow.
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