Honeymoon - Day 8 - Ephesus amd arriving in Akyaka
We woke up around 8AM to be at the tour company by 8:45. I woke up to the sound of woodpeckers, I thought. When I drew the curtain, there was a giant stork's nest across the street with a momma stork and 3 really chirpy and adorable baby storks. They don't "peck" on the wood, but they make a very similar noise when they open and close their bills quickly.
The complimentary breakfast of the hotel was pretty sweet - the regular kahvalti spread with olives, cheese, veggies, crusty fresh bread, honey and jams. We also could order an omelet or fried eggs, and got Turkish tea or coffee / kahve. We ate quickly, dropped the luggage at reception, and rushed to find No Frills Tours, so we wouldn't be late. Turns out it was two doors down from the hotel. Ha.
On the bus, we were introduced by the No Frills owner, Nimet (Australian accent), to our tour guide, Yesrah. Before sending us off, he gave a few words of warning: do not buy Turkish Delight boxes at Ephesus (they are stuffed with 1 piece of delight and all styrofoam, then packaged and shrink wrapped and you will be sad to open it when you get home); he also said not to buy any "ancient coins," as they are just regular coins that have been beat up and soaked in chemicals to erode a little. Then he repeated the reason we chose this tour in a way that totally resonated with us because we have experienced all of the different ploys of salesmanship here: The reason they call it No Frills Tours is because it is the only tour that will not take you through a carpet shop, souvenir shop or restaurant. You buy things on your own, eat on your own, support the local businesses you choose - not something owned by the tour company, their cousin, their sister, etc. Every single place (except for Deniz Seramik in Goreme) has followed up any sale to us with, "If you need ___, see the shop across the street/upstairs. that is owned by my ___. He will give you a good price!" No thanks.
Then, we were on our way. A five minute (or less) drive to the Temple of Artemis. By 10 AM we were standing at the site of one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. All that remains is a swampy area that has 2 columns in (both reconstructed sort of haphazardly from mismatched column remnants by back-in-the-day archeologists). Built around 800BC, it was built to honor Artemis, goddess of a lot of things (protecting homes and cities, but also we heard hunting and fertility). You really had to use your imagination to "see" the grand temple that was flooded, rebuilt, burnt (by Herostratus around 356BC in an effort to put his name down in history - success), rebuilt, razed, rebuilt. It was discovered in the late 1800's by a British explorer, who excavated the ruins and brought them all back to the UK.
(In the 1930's, Ataturk decided that excavated ruins should all remain in the country. Since then, there was been much slower progress in excavations. It is estimated that only 15% of the ancient ruins have been unearthed, but there are few relationships to expedite the work.)
We then drove three minutes to see the former port city of Ephesus (now it is about 3 miles inland due to shifting geography and earthquakes). Ephesus was so moving and awe-inspiring. I can't recap all the interesting history that we learned and I stopped taking photos to just take in the views. Any "summary" would be inadequate, except to say that humans are so inquisitive and curious and industrious, it is a marvel (and it creates marvels to behold).
It also makes you question our own purpose for existing. These people did exactly what we are doing today - innovation, socialization, politics, commerce, trade, luxury, poverty, slavery. They recorded things in scrolls and had huge libraries, there was a hospital across the street from a pharmacy in town. I was surprised to see that - even back then - there were statues to honor female community leaders like doctors, and to see that a male leader could build a temple to honor his gay lover! I mean, we are barely getting to this point today. But to what end? Several thousand hears from now, several dozens of earthquakes or natural disasters from now, will some civilization that has just "started over" be excavating our lives.
After Ephesus (~2 hours; I could have stayed for more!), as promised, no carpet shops or souvenir stands. Back on the bus and another 5 minute drive to the Museum of Ephesus. We were inside for about 30 minutes, seeing all of the artifacts polished and on display. I'm glad we wandered the huge expanse that was the town before we went to the museum. It is so much more impressive to see these things in the open air and to walk through the town, the market streets, the homes, and then see the objects of daily life up close and cleaned up.
It was funny to me that hundreds of people (and cats!!) were sitting on the marble steps, playing with metal fixtures, casually leaning on ancient columns, even eating Pringles on these thousands of year old marble constructs in the open air at Ephesus. Yet, put them in a museum setting and we didn't even dare to breath on the sculptures or touch the glass cases.
Again, as promised, no pressure on what to eat for lunch. The whole group split up and we found another lokantasi style place in the tiny town of Selcuk for lunch. Similar offerings of stuffed eggplant or peppers, fresh green beans stewed with tomatoes, different kinds of baked meats, rice, etc. We split a large platter and did some planning - decided that we would skip the House of the Virgin Mary. We continued the conversation on the couches at the hotel. We spent an hour or so deciding whether to go north to Bozcaada (sleepy fishing town that is supposed to have cool atmosphere and great seafood), or south to Bodrum (fancy resort town) or to some other seaside place. We asked Erdal, the hotelier, where we should go. "How about Akyaka?" he suggested. We googled it and looked it up in the Lonely Planet. Bingo - south about 2 hours, small village, locals vacation there (20% foreign tourist, he said), and close to an airport that flies to Istanbul directly (Dalaman airport). Take the highway (D-550) through Mugla ("moolah"), then Ula, then to Akyaka. So, we got in the car and headed out after booking a room in an "apart" (rooms have a kitchen).
We stopped for dinner at a roadside joint. No one spoke English and they politiely sneaked peeks at us the whole time. For a place on the side of a dusty mountain road, the construction of the place was really modern, looked new and clean - it looked like the clean, glass store front of a big car dealership. But then people ate outdoors (almost all of the time in this country) under the big canopies. Instead of cats, chickens were clucking around in the "dining" area. We ordered some kebab and I tried a drink called "ayran" that is basically the yogurt drink that grandma used to make at home and ferment under the kitchen sink (literally) when we were kids. This was cold, refreshing, tart, and had a bunch of bubbles on it (from the fermentation process?). I don't know but I LOVED it and read later that it is good for you because it has active bacterias in it. Yum.
We arrived in Akyaka in the early evening, checked in to a simple but very clean room. The town swelled our hearts - tiny village, lots of seafood, boats, beautiful beaches, windsurfing, Turkish families, and all al fresco dining. We sat on the streetside at Gulyabez, a balik (fish) restaurant, and just drank raki (anise flavored liquor that is mixed with water). We watched motos, cars, lots of dogs, some cats and families stream by for an hour or two. I wanted a snack after a while, and we found a waffle cart and ate it while shopping for nothing at the little stalls. Walking the town takes about 15 minutes. Finally, we had a quick and tiny dinner at some place across from an anomaly of a place called "Poison Pub" and went back to the room.
The complimentary breakfast of the hotel was pretty sweet - the regular kahvalti spread with olives, cheese, veggies, crusty fresh bread, honey and jams. We also could order an omelet or fried eggs, and got Turkish tea or coffee / kahve. We ate quickly, dropped the luggage at reception, and rushed to find No Frills Tours, so we wouldn't be late. Turns out it was two doors down from the hotel. Ha.
On the bus, we were introduced by the No Frills owner, Nimet (Australian accent), to our tour guide, Yesrah. Before sending us off, he gave a few words of warning: do not buy Turkish Delight boxes at Ephesus (they are stuffed with 1 piece of delight and all styrofoam, then packaged and shrink wrapped and you will be sad to open it when you get home); he also said not to buy any "ancient coins," as they are just regular coins that have been beat up and soaked in chemicals to erode a little. Then he repeated the reason we chose this tour in a way that totally resonated with us because we have experienced all of the different ploys of salesmanship here: The reason they call it No Frills Tours is because it is the only tour that will not take you through a carpet shop, souvenir shop or restaurant. You buy things on your own, eat on your own, support the local businesses you choose - not something owned by the tour company, their cousin, their sister, etc. Every single place (except for Deniz Seramik in Goreme) has followed up any sale to us with, "If you need ___, see the shop across the street/upstairs. that is owned by my ___. He will give you a good price!" No thanks.
Then, we were on our way. A five minute (or less) drive to the Temple of Artemis. By 10 AM we were standing at the site of one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. All that remains is a swampy area that has 2 columns in (both reconstructed sort of haphazardly from mismatched column remnants by back-in-the-day archeologists). Built around 800BC, it was built to honor Artemis, goddess of a lot of things (protecting homes and cities, but also we heard hunting and fertility). You really had to use your imagination to "see" the grand temple that was flooded, rebuilt, burnt (by Herostratus around 356BC in an effort to put his name down in history - success), rebuilt, razed, rebuilt. It was discovered in the late 1800's by a British explorer, who excavated the ruins and brought them all back to the UK.
(In the 1930's, Ataturk decided that excavated ruins should all remain in the country. Since then, there was been much slower progress in excavations. It is estimated that only 15% of the ancient ruins have been unearthed, but there are few relationships to expedite the work.)
We then drove three minutes to see the former port city of Ephesus (now it is about 3 miles inland due to shifting geography and earthquakes). Ephesus was so moving and awe-inspiring. I can't recap all the interesting history that we learned and I stopped taking photos to just take in the views. Any "summary" would be inadequate, except to say that humans are so inquisitive and curious and industrious, it is a marvel (and it creates marvels to behold).
It also makes you question our own purpose for existing. These people did exactly what we are doing today - innovation, socialization, politics, commerce, trade, luxury, poverty, slavery. They recorded things in scrolls and had huge libraries, there was a hospital across the street from a pharmacy in town. I was surprised to see that - even back then - there were statues to honor female community leaders like doctors, and to see that a male leader could build a temple to honor his gay lover! I mean, we are barely getting to this point today. But to what end? Several thousand hears from now, several dozens of earthquakes or natural disasters from now, will some civilization that has just "started over" be excavating our lives.
After Ephesus (~2 hours; I could have stayed for more!), as promised, no carpet shops or souvenir stands. Back on the bus and another 5 minute drive to the Museum of Ephesus. We were inside for about 30 minutes, seeing all of the artifacts polished and on display. I'm glad we wandered the huge expanse that was the town before we went to the museum. It is so much more impressive to see these things in the open air and to walk through the town, the market streets, the homes, and then see the objects of daily life up close and cleaned up.
It was funny to me that hundreds of people (and cats!!) were sitting on the marble steps, playing with metal fixtures, casually leaning on ancient columns, even eating Pringles on these thousands of year old marble constructs in the open air at Ephesus. Yet, put them in a museum setting and we didn't even dare to breath on the sculptures or touch the glass cases.
Again, as promised, no pressure on what to eat for lunch. The whole group split up and we found another lokantasi style place in the tiny town of Selcuk for lunch. Similar offerings of stuffed eggplant or peppers, fresh green beans stewed with tomatoes, different kinds of baked meats, rice, etc. We split a large platter and did some planning - decided that we would skip the House of the Virgin Mary. We continued the conversation on the couches at the hotel. We spent an hour or so deciding whether to go north to Bozcaada (sleepy fishing town that is supposed to have cool atmosphere and great seafood), or south to Bodrum (fancy resort town) or to some other seaside place. We asked Erdal, the hotelier, where we should go. "How about Akyaka?" he suggested. We googled it and looked it up in the Lonely Planet. Bingo - south about 2 hours, small village, locals vacation there (20% foreign tourist, he said), and close to an airport that flies to Istanbul directly (Dalaman airport). Take the highway (D-550) through Mugla ("moolah"), then Ula, then to Akyaka. So, we got in the car and headed out after booking a room in an "apart" (rooms have a kitchen).
We stopped for dinner at a roadside joint. No one spoke English and they politiely sneaked peeks at us the whole time. For a place on the side of a dusty mountain road, the construction of the place was really modern, looked new and clean - it looked like the clean, glass store front of a big car dealership. But then people ate outdoors (almost all of the time in this country) under the big canopies. Instead of cats, chickens were clucking around in the "dining" area. We ordered some kebab and I tried a drink called "ayran" that is basically the yogurt drink that grandma used to make at home and ferment under the kitchen sink (literally) when we were kids. This was cold, refreshing, tart, and had a bunch of bubbles on it (from the fermentation process?). I don't know but I LOVED it and read later that it is good for you because it has active bacterias in it. Yum.
We arrived in Akyaka in the early evening, checked in to a simple but very clean room. The town swelled our hearts - tiny village, lots of seafood, boats, beautiful beaches, windsurfing, Turkish families, and all al fresco dining. We sat on the streetside at Gulyabez, a balik (fish) restaurant, and just drank raki (anise flavored liquor that is mixed with water). We watched motos, cars, lots of dogs, some cats and families stream by for an hour or two. I wanted a snack after a while, and we found a waffle cart and ate it while shopping for nothing at the little stalls. Walking the town takes about 15 minutes. Finally, we had a quick and tiny dinner at some place across from an anomaly of a place called "Poison Pub" and went back to the room.
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