Selcuk

The trip from Bergama to Selcuk took about 4.5 hours in mini buses with a change at Izmir. These smaller buses are a bit more our speed than the flash intercity coaches!

Our hotel in Selcuk was cheap and fairly cheerful, if a little unusual on the cleaning front (post-clean there was no toilet paper or bath mat, but we were left a mans singlet in their place). We took advantage of the swimming pool at their other hotel a couple of times; it was lovely at the end of the day and had a fantastic view over the city.

We decided to take things a little more quietly on the ruin-front in Selcuk, so spent the first morning wandering around the city. We saw the Temple of Artemis from a distance; it was one of the seven ancient wonders of the world, but is now a single column.

We stopped in at St John's Basilica, site of St John's tomb, and continued to a nearby cafe with good coffee and milkshakes. In the afternoon we caught a local mini-bus to Pamucak, a beach about 7kms out of Selcuk. It is sandy with shallow, calm, warm water and was almost deserted. Perfect!

The ruins of the ancient city of Ephesus are amazing; particularly the striking facade of the Library of Celsus, which reminded us a little of the treasury at Petra. There also some terraced houses that are still being worked on, but have incredible mosaic floors and painted walls. They give some idea as to how the other half lived in Roman times. Eleanor and Leo put on a 'show' (ballet) in the huge 20,000 to 25,000-seat theatre for a small crowd of maybe 10, of whom only Adrian and I were really paying attention. Still, it is early days for them on the big stage!

We could (and hope to) visit Ephesus again in 15 years or so and see so much more; it is still actively being excavated and only 18% of the city has been uncovered so far. I have a new appreciation for archeologists who undertake such painstaking work to uncover and understand these sites, then they are faced with a larger-than-life incredibly complex jigsaw puzzle to piece together. They must be exceedingly patient people.

A class of school boys were at Ephesus interviewing tourists on their experiences of Turkey. Between us Adrian and I were asked questions by about five groups who didn't seem at all concerned that we'd already been interviewed, so the data will be skewed with a few extra kiwis all saying exactly the same thing.

On our final day we took it in turns to visit the local museum that houses many of the statues taken from Ephesus. The museum is small, but interesting and includes three versions of an amazing statue of the Goddess Artemis who was worshiped at Ephesus. While Adrian was at the museum Eleanor, Leo and I revisited the little cafe for more coffee and milkshakes to find the owner had a toy room with a big box of blocks. A real treat for children who love building (and breaking) towers.

After lunch and naps, we took another trip to Pamucuk for more swimming and playing in the sand. A very relaxing way to spend our last afternoon in Selcuk.