Ephesus and Kusadasi

20 September

For us it was another day in 30+ degree temperature while it sounds like many of you are trying to stay warm against the snow. Today started with a 7.15 am departure and our first visit of the day was to the Virgin Mary's house 7km south of Ephesus. This is reportedly the house where she spent her final years under the protection of the Apostle John and where she died. It was a quiet and peaceful spot but once again the regular row of souvenir stands was apparent as we left the site and, surprisingly, it seemed to qualify to have its own police station.

We then travelled back down the hill to the Ephesus site and spent approximately two hours walking around the various parts of the ancient city. It was very impressive in terms of what still remains and gave some idea of what the city might have looked like. However, it was quite hot and very crowded (maybe this is what it was once like) but we would recommend visiting this place at a cooler and quieter time of the year to be able to fully explore.

Although the current site is quite a few miles inland, it was once built on a harbour (this is the street going down to the original harbour) and has had a number of incarnations as a city over about 1000 years.

We then had a demonstration of carpet making followed by the obligatory selling show but managed to leave without another carpet in our possession (that is not to say that we weren't sorely tempted by some of the beautiful rugs but just couldn't justify it).

The afternoon offered an optional tour or some free time so we chose to spend the afternoon with the other kiwi couple on our tour and walked into town and had a look around the local markets. It was only about 30 minutes each way and was quite pleasant on the way back as the weather had started to cool a bit (still probably mid 20's but more bearable).

Have just finished a relaxing dinner and getting ready to pack up for an 8.15 am start tomorrow. We head off in the direction of Pamukkale (where the thermal pools are) and stop at Hierapolis on the way.