Odyssey Guesthouse Bergama

... a 6km walk to the site of the Acropolis - which sites at the top of the hill above the modern city. On the way we stopped at The Red Basilica - a complex that was originally built by Hadrian 2nd century) as a place of cult worship (with 8ft statues!!) then it was quickly converted into a Byzantine church which was destroyed in Arab raid and subsequently a small church (the first apocalyptic church ...

... nk there and they had got a tv out of the back room and set ıt all up wıth the satılıte and put on the football just for Ian so we sat and watched that wıth them Ian had a Rakı whıch ıs the tradıtıonal turkısh mens drınk ıts terrıble lıke Ouzo and Pastıche and he was so drunk after ıt fallıng over and snorıng wıth the party popper noıces agaın.

... hıs Englısh teacher who then spoke to Ian ın really bad englısh. Ian was sayıng that he was goıng to do great as an englısh teacher as at least he can actually speak englısh lol. So we went all the way back to the taxı place and pıcked up the englısh teacher and went off down some dırt tracks out of town. We got to thıs place now how to descıbe ıt best to look at the pıcs but ıt was 4 huts on a b ...

Why are we leaving gorgeous Ayvalik, our stunning guesthouse and lovely friends to go and see ruins I wonder as Tania harries me off to the bus stop.

Two hours later and having checked into a hotel where the owner admits "I am Gobi" (yep really) we trek uphill solidly for the next hour and it's 35 degrees plus. Perhaps this should be called schlepping to Asclepion.

However, the place was genuinely stunning and it ...

... The acropolis of Pergamon is the hill in the far distance--fading in the mist--in the right picture.











Now things got interesting. Coming back down into the village I . . . . Well, imagine the center of the village with streets in the shape of a capital H. Let's say I was walking up from the bottom of the right leg. At the intersection of the cross-bar stood a couple of people. I asked which way to Bergama, thinking ...

... really trying (struggling) to limit myself to my probably peculiar visiting experiences.

The first thing that pops into my mind is the view of the column bases in the snow. There was just something about their color and form in the harsh cold snow. The off-white color and wet carved forms, precise, yet softened by time . . . . I don't know, it just had a sensual appeal to me.

I thought ...

... on the importance of tourism. People here aren't sniffy about it being a second rate career for kids. Succesful tourism is about giving good service, making vistors feel welcome, taking the money and getting it into the bank - simple. The only school band that was absent from the parades seemed to be that from the Turkish school of Touts, Spivs and Associated Trades. One assumes that they must have sold their instruments to a gullible coach party as ...

... area is right by a rather large, and nice, store. Which was fine because I still have to buy gifts for my grandchildren and time is running out. I am rather limited in my selections since I always make a point of buying gifts that are made in the country. Finally I buy items that had been carved out of meerschaum - carved boxes for the girls and a carving of a lion standing on meerschaum that was left in its rough state for Tyler. Meerschaum is the German ...