Proteas Bay Pithagórion

... very nice.<br> As we drove back to the ship, many dozed as it had been a long day in the sun. The driver did something I'd never seen. He took a freeway exit and said yikes! There was too much traffic for him at this exit. And even though we were halfway down, he threw the bus in reverse and backed onto the freeway! It was terrifying, but no accidents. Whew!<br> So we loved Turkey and it's people. This would be a place to return to for sure.<br> Tomorrow, a sea day.<br>

... harbour became silted over seemed out of sync with the rest of Europe in its time of immersion in the Dark Ages. So much knowledge was lost or suppressed at that time by those who contributed nothing to the rational and wonderful development of the world. The civilisations that created places such as Ephesus and the Acropolis were so advanced and their writings and thoughts were burned in the large libraries they had created by the pagan ignorant and the Christian destroyers. How ...

... R100GS and invited me for dinner, beer and even to meet the entire family including the farm with dogs and cows! A night in such friendly hospitable company was a real rare experience along my worldtrip.<br><br>Continuing up north I was heading straight to the place to visit Efes or Ephesus. One of those beautiful, wonderful, magnificent and mindblowing must-see sights, everybody to set foot on Turkish territory must have seen. It took not more ...

... to resemble the original city.<br>Returning from our tour, we were taken into an endorsed carpet store where we were given a presentation on the methods used to extract silk from silk worms and then watched as they unrolled many incredible handmade carpets in front of us. <br>They then proceeded to serve drinks (including red wine) by carrying them over the carpets and handing them to us. We were astonished that they didn't care if people ...

... ruins to be shown when visiting the ruins at Ireon, without any extra charge.<br><br><br><br>I had no idea, so we went first to Ireo and I had to pay 3 euros and then I was asked to pay another 8 for Eupalinos tunnel.<br><br>I informed the man in charge that I am taking photos and insisted that I did not know and I was let free to be honest. I just paid the 3 euros at Ireo. But tourists going there have to know that.

... 20s) which. The views from the tops were breathtaking with the rugged Western mountains towering over the large fertile valley that sits behind Pithagorion. Following the path down from the hills we chanced upon an attractive monastery sitting among it's own copse of fir trees. It made an attractive finale to a great days walking. Even better though was the ability to stand under a hot shower for absolutely ages and wash out the aches and pains from this unaccustomed exercise.

... to a single collapsing column, but is among the seven wonders of the ancient world. Our guide was very knowledgeable about the history of Ephesus and it's not difficult to imagine this city in all of its grandeur. The Terrace Houses (dubbed the Ephesians' equivalent of Bill Gate's neighborhood by our tour guide) are magnificent two-story houses with original mosaic tile floors and colorful frescos on the walls. Following our tour ...

... 200,000, only the stone buildings and structures survived as ruins, including the Celsus Library full of literary treasures on parchment and papyrus, a stadium where gladiator fights were held, temples, and homes of the aristocrats.  This was where St. John preached and was buried.  His tomb is now located at the basilica. When the Roman Empire became Holy and Constantinople came to be, the Byzantine empire destroyed the Artemis temple and built the ...

... to abate so that we can head North before the heavy summer winds (the Meltemi) set in. One item of note is the number of Brit boats here similarly waiting for better winds. We moored next to Tony and Jan on Red Marlin, have found an excuse to share a few bottles of wine each evening and even hired a car between us for a fun day out touring Samos. All in all this has been a few weeks in which we renewed old friendships and made some delightful new ones as well. Hard life ain't it?

... to enter the park, butt he accessible road only goes part the way down the northern side, to give access to 4 beaches, then the rest of the road is restricted access for military coast guard (guarding against another Greek invasion??) and hikers. Never mind - the beaches are worth the entry fee alone - it really is a very beautiful part of the country. Tree covered mountainside leading right down to completely clear, blue, blue waters - we've never ...