For my birthday, Kelly joined me on a trip back to Turkey. This time we ventured to the west, to Ephesus!!!!
Ephesus is an ancient, ruined city located a bit outside the city of Kusadasi, in the middle of nowhere, really - and despite the lack of ANY other tourists, we did find a guy with some self-guided headphones!!
There was a huge amphitheater, which we wandered through a couple of times as we explored the large site
hee hee
While Kelly and I enjoyed being able to wander around anywhere... it was a little sad to see how little some treasures were protected. In fact, much of the ruins were flooded, including some mosaic floors ~
Yup ~ potties!
The other side of the amphitheater!
A view of the walled part of the city from afar ~
We also saw some artifacts in a small museum:
Some artifacts were... larger than life??? lol
One of the more moving sites I've explored: the Temple of Artemis. This Greek, colonaded temple was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. All that remains today is one of the columns ~
And I touched it!
If I were a bird, I might just select this site for my nest as well!
And back to the amphitheater of Ephesus!
Where I tried my hand at my own Greek opera!!!
Then we braved the hinterlands of the site, and trekked as close as we could to some of the ruins that were flooded ~
Getting back was not as easy as we thought it would be, since the mosque we had headed for was locked behind a gate. So, we either had to hike all the way back the way we had come, or make our way across these fields!!
The seaside at Kusadasi ~
While it had been cool in Ephesus, it was actually snowing in Istanbul!!!! Everyone was enjoying the rare occurrence - even throwing snowballs! It actually made for a very unique and picturesque backdrop.
One last museum before we had to leave:
A Hitite jug ~
Our last dinner in Istanbul. What so funny, you ask?
Yeah - that! lol The men here sure are friendly!
Ephesus is an ancient, ruined city located a bit outside the city of Kusadasi, in the middle of nowhere, really - and despite the lack of ANY other tourists, we did find a guy with some self-guided headphones!!
There was a huge amphitheater, which we wandered through a couple of times as we explored the large site
hee hee
While Kelly and I enjoyed being able to wander around anywhere... it was a little sad to see how little some treasures were protected. In fact, much of the ruins were flooded, including some mosaic floors ~
Yup ~ potties!
The other side of the amphitheater!
A view of the walled part of the city from afar ~
We also saw some artifacts in a small museum:
Some artifacts were... larger than life??? lol
One of the more moving sites I've explored: the Temple of Artemis. This Greek, colonaded temple was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. All that remains today is one of the columns ~
And I touched it!
If I were a bird, I might just select this site for my nest as well!
And back to the amphitheater of Ephesus!
Where I tried my hand at my own Greek opera!!!
Then we braved the hinterlands of the site, and trekked as close as we could to some of the ruins that were flooded ~
Getting back was not as easy as we thought it would be, since the mosque we had headed for was locked behind a gate. So, we either had to hike all the way back the way we had come, or make our way across these fields!!
The seaside at Kusadasi ~
While it had been cool in Ephesus, it was actually snowing in Istanbul!!!! Everyone was enjoying the rare occurrence - even throwing snowballs! It actually made for a very unique and picturesque backdrop.
One last museum before we had to leave:
A Hitite jug ~
Our last dinner in Istanbul. What so funny, you ask?
Yeah - that! lol The men here sure are friendly!
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