Cenka Hotel Selcuk

... in France during the NATO conference in April and these were obviously government security and secret service. Never one to be shy, I left my group and walked right up to a Kalashnikov carrying soldier in full battle gear and asked him what was going on? He gave me the once over and said what sounded like, 'That's the Italian president, Napolitano'. Wow! So I then went up to a secret service guy and asked him. Same answer. I asked which one it was and he pointed ...

... He spoke all through the tour about the extensive history of the place with pride and passion.<br><br>The ruins are buried under layers of earth and this process whereby a thriving community gets lost over centuries by being interred is a mystery to us really. The quality of the stonework at Ephesus mirrored that we had seen in Greece and the expertise of the stone workers astonished us. Also the extent of the complex with its way down to what used to be the Aegean Sea until ...

... to Ephisus and took them from the ruins. Still, what has been rebuilt is incredible. I think it would have been very interesting to live in that town during its day.<br>After the carpet demonstration, where we learned that it takes 2 girls 2 years to make an 8x10 carpet, we headed back to the ship for some lunch and a rest. Then we left the ship again and headed to a nearby beach where we rented some beach chairs and hung out for a few hours.

... than in one of the overpriced and underserviced public restrooms outside the site.Inside the entrance immediately off to the right is the East Gymnasium and what's left of the Magnesia Gate, built by Emperor Vespasian. Rather than tap into your reserves this early in the game, head straight to the Upper Agora, specifically to the Odeon. To provide some context for your visit, the Upper Agora, also known as the State Agora, was the administrative center of the city and was constructed ...

<br> <br> Internet access has been hard to find in Turkey. I am now in Istanbul and finally have access to a decent computer. Now where to start? Turkey has been an absolutely amazing experience and I do not think a blog can do it justice. However, I will try as the sweat is already dripping down my face in our hostel in Sultanhmet.<br> <br> Ok, back to the beginning of Turkey.<br><br>Here is what I wrote in my journal the day we took the ferry from Samos, Greece to Selcuk, Turkey:<br ...

... will meet me at the metro station for the short walk. I leave my hotel here at about 6:45, and I should be in my apartment in time to go find some dinner. So, I'm praying that tomorrow goes off without a hitch. I've received grace upon grace on these travel days so far, not getting too impatient or frustrated with all the complications but finding ways to just embrace the experience. I pray that those graces continue to be granted.

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... charming fishing village about 45 minutes away from Bodrum by dolmus. The first day that we went there, we met Farouq, who told us about Rabbit Island. You can get to it by walking through the water at low tide, or by swimming across at high tide. He then proceeded to tell us about the fresh catches of the day, and invited us to come back for a feed of seafood. We walked across to Rabbit Island, then walked around the other side of the island and went for a hike before going back to ...

... Apparently Nike had to pay a massive amount to the Greek national archaeological Society (or something like that) to get permission to use it as their logo. And in this ancient city of Ephesus, who is carved into the gates of the city but the goddess herself! Who knew?! From Ephesus, I caught a bus out of Selcuk to my next stop which was about 3 hours south - a harborside resort town called Bodrum, most known for its crystal clear waters that make it especially suitable for scuba diving!

... Ephesus is widely regarded as one of the best preserved classical cities and is at the top of most agendas in Turkey. At one time, about 250,000 people inhabited this famous city. <br><br>The Great Temple of Artimis, one of the 7 Wonders, was burned to the ground by a crazy man the same night that Alexander the Great was born. After Alexander defeated the Persians in 334 BCE he visited Ephesus and offered to pay to complete the ...