Kusadasi, Turkey

Wednesday November 18th
We arrived early at about 8:30 in Kusadasi, Turkey and took a very short taxi ride to out hotel. The lady who owned the small hotel was very welcoming and we had tea on the rooftop terrace and then our room was ready and we were able to take a short nap before exploring for the rest of the day. The lady at our hotel gave us a small map and a bit of information about the town and we headed out for the day. Our first stop was getting something to eat. Being on the coast I wanted to have some seafood and we found a nice little place with tables and chairs right near the harbor and we each had a delicious fish sandwich with salad. There were a couple cruise ships in that day so we ventured further from the stores right at the harbor and found the Wednesday market the lady at our hotel had told us about. We browsed through the market, enjoyed the nice weather and Tim got a nice sweatshirt jacket which was good because he had left his hoodie sweatshirt on the place from Rome to Greece. After shopping we walked along the coast and then out to an area known as Pigeon Island. There is a small harbor like walk way that leads out the island that has an old fortress on it. On the way we picked up a few Efes beers at a mini market and drank them looking out over the water and looking back towards the town of Kusadasi. After Pigeon Island we went back to our hotel to regroup and grab a light jacket and we watched all the lights come on in the city from our balcony and enjoyed the rest of our Efes beer. We went back down into the town and the cruise ships had already left so the town was not very busy which meant the choices for dinner were somewhat limited. We found a nice place that seemed to have a lot of locals eating there and so we ordered an Adana kebap, spicier meat and Cop sis… small sticks with meat served with tomatoes and lettuce. It was quite smoky at the place so we took our dinner to go and ate it on our balcony!

Thursday November 19th
We had breakfast on the rooftop terrace of our hotel and then headed into town to catch the dolmus (mini-bus) that would take us to Ephesus. Well at least it took us almost all the way there, the dolmus drops you off at the end of the road that leads to the entrance gates. It was about a ten minute walk from where the dolmus dropped us off until we got to the ticket office and entrance to Ephesus. It was a good thing I had Tim with me and he could speak Turkish and it helped out the couple that was on the bus with us from one of the cruise ships in that day. On the walk into the park there was a dirt road that veered off and a random guy in the field there told us it was a short cut, we started to take it and then the guys from the cruise ship was a little unsure, the guys walked ahead and indeed it was a shortcut! As soon as we entered the park there was a show going on near one of the ancient amphitheaters. It was a reenactment of a parade and gladiator battle. Ephesus is the remains of an ancient town, we walked along the stone and marble roads, viewing a great amphitheater, library, fountains, baths, and other remains of houses along the way. After our visit we made our way back down the dirt road to the major road where the dolmus would pick us up and take us back to Kusadasi. While waiting on the side of the road, this stop actually had a bench for us to sit and wait we saw some cows in a field. A long time ago Tim told me that the cows in Turkey “moo” fast and higher pitched than the ones in the United States, well I never did hear one of those cows “moo,” so I guess I’ll never know. We also met a guy from Ireland while waiting for the bus, he had traveled here because dentistry work was incredibly cheaper in turkey versus Ireland and he needed to have all of his teeth either replaced of repaired. On our way back Tim had another conversation with some of the locals, they were surprised to hear him speak Turkish and he explained his story again. At the end of our bus ride we asked how to get to the main bus station so we could get our tickets for our next journey and without hesitation they took us right there and with no charge at all! I know that if it wasn’t for Tim’s Turkish language we would not have been treated so well in some cases, not that we would have nee treated badly but we would not have gained as much help. After getting our tickets we hoped on another dolmus to the beach to watch the sunset. We found a nice little place along a kind of boardwalk that had tables and benches and food and drinks to order. We shared a late lunch and two Efes as we watched the sunset and then put our feet in the water! Back in town I did a little bit more looking around in the shops and found the Turkish puzzle ring I had been searching for. The ring was too big at first but the shopkeeper had it sized down for me in just thirty minutes which gave us enough time to get Tim a much needed haircut before we visited more relatives the next day. The name of the barber shop was Filiz, which is Tim’s sisters name and it also happened to be the barber’s sisters name as well. The barber cut, washed, blow dried and even styled Tim’s hair. At first he was smoothing all the hair down towards the front of his head and Tim explained that he liked it up instead and so the guy gave him a Mohawk. It was really funny! We enjoyed our last dinner at a place above the fish market by the harbor, had another great view and ate Kofte (Turkish meatballs) and Tavuk Sis.