Selcuk -Ephesus 28th- 30th May

From Fethiye the bus trip to Aydin was uneventful. Pamukkale bus line is the best of all the buses we have been on over the last month - non smoking drivers, clean buses and a bus host who gives out snacks/water from an aisle trolley. At Aydin we transferred onto our first train in Turkey- a line that goes to Selcuk and Izmir. Cost NZD$5 each. Our hotel was the cleanest, nicest we have stayed at. Even quieter than Cirali - no roosters.

It has been renovated by investors and run by staff who understand attention to detail, something of a rarity in Turkey.

The reason you come to Selcuk is the proximity to Ephesus, a ancient Greek city once on the Aegean Sea coast. It is no longer on the coast being 7km inland due to sea level rise some 7,000 years ago and silt buildup of the rivers from centuries of deforestation and overgrazing. The temple of Artemis was known as one of the seven wonders of the Ancient world. Ephesus has been ransacked many, many times over the centuries and infamous rulers such as Alexandra the Great, Mark Antony/ Cleoprata have passed through.

We walked the 3km to Ephesus coming in the bottom gate. Tourist are driven to the top gate in multiple buses to walk down the hill in the 27C heat to be picked up by their bus.

There was not too many at 9am thankfully. The onslaught is usually from 10am.

The Celsus library remnants.

Medusa as a centre piece on the facade of the Temple of Artemis

What was disappointing was that the latest restoration, with the assistance of Austria, the reuse of various marble/ limestone blocks, of what had obviously been a floor block with door holes for moving the great doors, were placed halfway up a 6m archway on its side!!
Granted civilisations pilaged from each other for centuries but you would think in 2018, when they restarted restoration, they could have taken more care.  The highlight for us was the restoration of what had been known as the terrace houses up a hillside.

Remnants of wall frescoes in a hillside house.

The terrace houses have a roof cover up the hillside so was very cool and quiet. The bus tourist do not tend to go in, a selfie photo in front of the library is their objective.

9am

11am...the dowhill tourists.

What was known as the Odeon for meetings in Roman times.

We walked back to Selcuk via peach, nectarine and orange orchards which was a delight. The town itself is small, only 38,000 people. Geared to feeding, housing visitors and servicing the hortculture hinterland.  Streets are filled with hort equipment and so many turkish eating houses.

Local butcher sausages hanging outside.

Storks are nesting, many with young chicks, on any high point in the town. You can hear the parents clicking away.

To our absolute delight we found a pizza store with vegetarian pizzas. After a month of doner, kebabs, skewers of "meat" of questionable age and history, being mostly dodged by us we have done very well.

Last day in Selcuk we will visit the museum then on a train to Izmir where we fly out of on Sunday morning to Geneva, Switzerland to start our cycling for two weeks.