Today we are back in Turkey at the seaside town of Kusadasi. We had a private tour booked and when we got off the ship, once again, there was a gentleman standing there with our name on a sign…yeah! We headed off to the van and today we also had a driver – a tour guide and a driver! Kusadasi is the town where the ship docks but we were headed off to the Roman ruins at Ephesus. Ephesus is one of the best preserved Roman towns anywhere. It was one of the 7 Asian centres mentioned in the Bible and so is also very important for Christianity as well as archeology. The tour, led by our guide Inan was informative and fascinating. Once again the weather cooperated – it was about 29C and very pleasant.
We first drove up this massive mountain on a very steep, winding road. At the top of the hill is a house that many believe is the last home of the Virgin Mary. Mary came with St. John to Ephesus as he started the local Christian church. We quickly toured the small house and lit some candles.
Next stop was the ruined city. A series of incredible sites waited for us – amazingly well preserved terrace houses, a massive amphitheatre (and a smaller one) and the Library of Celsus (check Wikipedia for details). Everywhere we turned there were more incredible examples of the resources and technology these people possessed thousands of years ago. We learned, among other things that the Romans used silk ropes to cut the huge stones.
Our next stop was a leather shop where, believe it or not, I bought a leather coat and Joanne bought nothing! I needed a new coat anyway, honest… but the funniest part had to be the fashion show. This rather large store and manufacturing facility employs runway models to show off their latest fashions. So they did a show, just for the 4 of us. It was more than a bit surreal… it was all I could do to not burst out in laughter. As the show progressed 2 of the runway models came and grabbed Scott and Shannon and next thing you know they were coming out wearing cool leather jackets. The look on both of their faces was priceless.
Then we were off to a carpet demonstration and back to the bazaar near the boat. Joanne bought a purse and a few souvenirs, and we set sail for Santorini.
We first drove up this massive mountain on a very steep, winding road. At the top of the hill is a house that many believe is the last home of the Virgin Mary. Mary came with St. John to Ephesus as he started the local Christian church. We quickly toured the small house and lit some candles.
Next stop was the ruined city. A series of incredible sites waited for us – amazingly well preserved terrace houses, a massive amphitheatre (and a smaller one) and the Library of Celsus (check Wikipedia for details). Everywhere we turned there were more incredible examples of the resources and technology these people possessed thousands of years ago. We learned, among other things that the Romans used silk ropes to cut the huge stones.
Our next stop was a leather shop where, believe it or not, I bought a leather coat and Joanne bought nothing! I needed a new coat anyway, honest… but the funniest part had to be the fashion show. This rather large store and manufacturing facility employs runway models to show off their latest fashions. So they did a show, just for the 4 of us. It was more than a bit surreal… it was all I could do to not burst out in laughter. As the show progressed 2 of the runway models came and grabbed Scott and Shannon and next thing you know they were coming out wearing cool leather jackets. The look on both of their faces was priceless.
Then we were off to a carpet demonstration and back to the bazaar near the boat. Joanne bought a purse and a few souvenirs, and we set sail for Santorini.
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