We woke this morning already in the port of Kusadasi, Turkey. After running across the ship for an early breakfast – yoghurt, fruit, and cereal today, after becoming thoroughly fed up with the novelty of cooked breakfast every day – we gathered in one of the on-board theatres to receive further instructions.
It turns out the tour bus parking at the port of Kusadasi is somewhat limited – therefore transfer buses for excursions take turns to park, and passengers are triaged by battle-hardened staff. I say this based on this mornings events, where we ended up helping direct a number of people in the right direction that either hadn’t read the ships’s newspaper, or listened to any of the PA announcements.
Our plan for the day took us first to Ephesus – the remains of an ancient Roman city – and then back to Kusadasi to explore the market and find something to eat.
The coach trip to Ephesus took about half an hour – which was filled with a wonderful local tour guide. I went into the visit almost blind, so read Wikipedia pretty much a page ahead of his story-telling for much of the journey.
Ephesus has been known about since antiquity – but earthquakes and landslides over the millennia (yes, millennia) had buried much of the city, and lost it to written history. Its re-discovery was made during the Victorian era when the wealthy hired teams to amass antiquarian collections of curiosities. Perhaps the most famous of these would be Lord Carnarvon, and his exploits in Egypt.
Following continued funding and effort over the last 130 years by sponsors and governments, the site of Ephasus has gradually re-emerged from the ground. It’s perhaps a little disingenuous to call it a “site” – it was a vast city of an estimated quarter of a million people.
The present excavations represent about 15% of the known city – with one particular marble paved road disappearing into the surrounding marshland towards what would have been the Temple of Artemis a couple of kilometres away – one of the ancient “wonders of the world”. For those interested in ancient history, Diana is the Roman equivalent of the Greek god Artemis. And yes, that is Diana the huntress, later of Themyscira in the comic books and movies.
All that remains of the Temple of Artemis now is a representative stone column made of mis-matched stones in the middle of marsh-land – the rest of it’s structure was smashed by earthquakes and repeatedly robbed in distant antiquity.
Highlights – for me – were the Library of Celsus – where Ephesus once stored the amassed knowledge of the thinkers of the day, and the Temple of Hadrian. I still find it incredible to think that the library once held original texts by Plato, Aristotle, Ptolemy, Pliny, Homer, Sophocles, and many more.
At the side of one of the exposed streets of Ephesus – inscribed into a marble paving stone – is a rather famous commercial advertisement. The marble slab has a footprint, a female face, and a heart inscribed in it – with the footprint (a left footprint) implying “turn left for the local brothel”. You know the old saying about sex being the oldest profession in the world?…
All good things come to an end, and after a few hours being fried alive by the mid-day sun, we re-boarded the tour bus, and made our way back to Kusadasi for tea and medals.
Kusadasi is unexpectedly wonderful – with countless shops offering to sell you all manner of goods from the known world. Literally anything, from anywhere – and none of it is real. One particular shop made me burst into laughter – with his main signage proclaiming “Genuine Fake Rolex” watches. The owner saw me laugh, and took it as an opportunity – half-running into the street to accost me.
We walked along the sea-front in Kusadisi to Pigeon Island, and explored the trees and museum atop the island. The museum houses a private collection of traders implements – scales and weights – from all parts of the mediterranean, Roman, and Persian empires going back through several millennia.
Back in Kusadisi we set out in search of a vegetarian restaurant my other half had researched, and found it in a quiet corner of a back-street. It is owned and run by a female chef known only to us as “Mantista”. The food was amazing – hand cooked and prepared for us by the owner. The online reviews were right, and we added to them.
The only thing that put me off Kusadisi a little bit – and it’s a purely cultural thing – is the tendency for shop owners to stand outside their shops and somewhat aggressively market to you as you walk by. It creates a tension I don’t like. I know it’s a “me” problem – not a “them” problem – and imagine I would get over it pretty quickly in time. It just pushes me a bit out of my comfort zone.
At the time of writing it’s heading towards 5pm local time – I think the boarding planks are being pulled in half an hour – then we’ll move away from the dock and manoeuvre back out into the open ocean.
Tomorrow we arrive in Bodrum, a little further along the Turkish coast. I gather it’s the first time this cruise line has ever docked in port there, so it will be interesting.
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