Tusan Motel Selcuk

... to me was being able to see these ancient statues of Diana and going to see the remains of the temple. What was so grand, is no more. This ancient wonder of the world, 127 columns in total - grander than anything at the Acropolis in Athens - is gone! What the people of the city were so confident in and fought so hard for does not exist. Destroyed several times by earthquake and fire, rebuilt countless ...

... in English.

Walk up to a ruin and you're mobbed by people trying to sell you guides and postcards.

"Tip Boxes" are everywhere and are clearly marked in English.

You can even pay for things in Euro (however, the price is significantly hiked for those travelers).

What is NOT touristy about this? I have to wonder what the travelers who are looking for ...

... 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 ...

... my bike. The town was packed with tourists and dotted with stores that sold wine, soaps, olives, etc.
Sirince had an old name that translated to "ugly," to keep people away, but was eventually changed to mean "pleasant." It was known for being a wine making town and I intended to sample the offerings. After some glasses of melon, blackberry and pomegranate wine, I ended up in a popular wine store. The store owner kept smiling ...

3km (1 3/4 miles) south of SelçukA highlight of any visit to Turkey, Ephesus is one of the best-preserved ancient cities on the Mediterranean and a major player in the birth and evolution of Christianity. Allot at least a half-day for just an overview of the archaeological site and a full day for a comprehensive visit. In the heat of the summer, it's best to avoid the midday sun when the reflection off the stones becomes unbearable.The ancient city of Ephesus extends beyond the ...

... backgammon with a few of his friends. In addition to the kebab shop, he also runs the ANZ hostel, so we went to the roof terrace and he taught us how to play. Everyone in Turkey plays backgammon so we were excited to learn the game. We met Borat, Mehmet's friend who worked at the hostel as well. Borat is a shy teenager who does not really speak any english.

When we got back to the hotel, Sarah realized she had left her glasses in ...

... orchards. 7. Travelling on the bus, we noticed many beautiful boulevards dividing the highway, especially in the communities. 8. The landscape from Selcuk to Pamukkale looked a lot like Kamloops for the first 2 1/2 hours, then, like the foothills around Calgary with snow on the mountains. 9. Sunscreen costs about three times as much here, as in Canada! 10. The Turkish football fans drive around with their flag attached to the hoods, trunks, or roofs of their cars.

... is now a swamp. So one has to look through the rather large number of bugs and other creatures to see what it once was. Now this would have been a town to visit. It would have been fairly easy to get to for the elders and easy for Paul to leave from on his journey. My final stop was to visit the enormous Temple of Apollo in Didim, the modern city where Didyma was located. This temple had an oracle similar to that at Delphi in Greece ...

... and hard boiled eggs (always included in pansiyon prices) we have now cut down our choices to boiled eggs, bread and watermelon. 21 days of this same food and we solemnly swear never to eat another hard boiled egg again. This must be how contestants from the show Survivor feel about rice. It was a longer than anticipated walk to Efes, and we decided even before we got there that we would definitely pay the 2 Lira ...

... statues which symbolised the four virtues Justice, Courage, Wisdom, and Moderation. A little further on is the main attraction, the massive grand theatre which would have held 25,000 spectators, there to watch plays, concerts, or perhaps a gladiator or a Christian getting ripped apart by wild animals. And as we were sat at the top looking down from the dizzying height and wondering if ...