Grand Milano Hotel Ayvalik

... few days playing cards with our fellow guests - Paul, Sally, Sam and Eleanor - hi guys and hope he rest of your trip was less strenous than that climb to Ephesus!<br><br>The weather was truly toasty which made the fact that the sea was icy a rather unexpected surprise. We'd taken a boat trip to explore some of the small islands lying off the coast and at the first swim stop we were itching to cool off in the beautifully clear blue waters - and ...

... the same approach. Then as a bolt from the blue... I was looking for the boat times and realised that the dock is are only listed as Marmara Island. Which is 20 km long and has four towns. Two are unlikely but the map suggests one town while logic suggests another. Looks like a tour of this mountainous island is in prospect. Gah why are things so difficult. Anyway I decide to go with Marmara. The rest of the day is spent faffing around.

... off in search of a pension but the road ended and the track didn't seem to go to a bigger place; actually it just seemed to go into the hills. So I rode around on dirt roads looking at holiday homes and wondering if they were pensions. Unsure I decided to head back to "town"; this is a small place ( and quite religious ). Later the penny dropped the ferry had taken me to Sarayler on Marmara island not Marmara town. So I'm probably about 12 km away from the Istanbul ferry terminal ...

... hard work. But mostly I slept. The TV has BBC world too so its slightly distracting. But ultimately its a loop and thus irritating. I also went for a walk around town and established that its modern without a lot of interest. It was definitely cooler today being merely hot. Aircon though makes it unattractive to go outside... So the day passed sleeping walking and on the net; maybe it was the buffet breakfast. Tomorrow I will do more... 15/06/09

Here just to remark on some minor events in the last several days. On Saturday I went for one of my hikes into the hills above Bursa. This time I took the metro to the west. It emerges to the surface out a way from the center and I could pick a station point to head upwards. As before, one need only follow the streets up (no, there is not a grid pattern around here) until they run out, and then likely as not there is a continuing path. Well, it wasn't a great hiking day ...

... both legs....right in front, so you get the best view....of course there are some drawbacks...like the battery powered air freshener that sends out a mist of some nasty scent every 7 min and 12 seconds. This goes on for about an hour or so until I can't take it anymore...I feel like I'm getting poisoned....got a headache....and then when I'm about to try to communicate a seat change, the bus guy turns it off...YAYYYYY!!! The only other drawback to this ...

... random questions for us. Although he couldn't explain why there was a headless snake lying on a rock... One of our scheduled stops was a carpet factory, partly informative, part sales pitch. We were shown how they remove silk from silk worms' cocoons, how the dyes are made from natural products and how the women weave the carpet. The owner gave us all homemade wine to butter us up before showing us fifty odd carpets. Suddenly, 15 sales ...

... times!!) we escaped the boat and headed for the nearest harbourside cafe'. We found an amazing place just before sunset that had beanbags on a deck over the water. Once on the beanbag it was impossible to get out so spent the next few hours soaking up the serenity over a couple of Efes Beer. Ayvlik has gone done in the top five seaside towns on the Aegean we have visited!! Unfortunately as time was limited we needed to up and leave for Selcuk.

... ruins at Hierapolis. Founded by the Pergamon King Eumenes II in the second century AD, Hierapolis was established for proximity to the travertines and their thermal waters, which was believed to have healing properties. It quickly became a famous center for health and art throughout the Mediterranean, and perhaps it even established itself as a honeymooning spot after Mark Antony and Cleopatra vacationed here following their wedding. Today, nothing remains to document their ...

... have any wrong ideas of my intentions. As I walked by they were setting up some tanks for obvious target practice at a wall of metal drums and tyres a hundred or so metres away. Only a few hundred metres to the rear and slightly to the side is part of the old buildings of Pergamum. Wandering into the Asclepsion means walking down a long columned street. At the end is another sizable theatre. To the left is a building designed as a direct copy of the Pantheon in Rome ...