Ephesus and sunbathing. Yes, sunbathing.
Trip Start
Apr 16, 2006
1
23
39
Trip End
Jun 07, 2006
Kucadasi,
Turkey
Saturday, May 13, 2006
The bus ride from Pamukkale to Kucadasi was entirely filled with english-speaking tourists. Previously I had taken the Turkish bus, and I must say it was MUCH MUCH better. It was a fancy bus with a bow-tied waiter. This tourist bus was a mini-bus. And it had a waiter, but I felt sorry for him trying to go up and down the aisle.
There are really no trains in Turkey that run anywhere so everyone takes the bus, including Turks. The bus station in Ankara is overwhelming..
01 The crowds at Ephesus
. there are over 50 counters for bus companies to sell tickets, and often a counter will service 2 or 3 companies at a time. It's really shocking. Anyhow, there is a routine to riding a Turkish bus. First you find your assigned seat. Then after a little bit of driving, your waiter will come down the aisle to confirm your ticket. Then he will come down the aisle with a glass bottle filled with liquid and you are supposed to put out your hands. It's kind of like a liquid handiwipe, lemonscented, and he pours drops into your hands for you to rub together. They do this in shops and restaurants sometimes too.
After the liquid handiwipe, you are offered water. He walks down the aisle with a bottle of cold water and styrofoam cups. About 5 minutes later he walks down the aisle to offer tea or coffee. Depending on your order, he gives you a cup and either a teabag, sugar, and a stirrer, or nescafe, creamer, sugar, and a stirrer. Then in about 8 minutes or so he comes by to pour your hot water.
Next time he comes by to take your trash. If you want seconds, he will still take your trash. They do not reuse the same cups or stirrers.
Next he will come by and the people who want sodas
02 I tried to get a photo without people in it...
. Then about every five minutes he will repeat his walk looking for trash. Depending on how long your bus ride is, you may also be given some kind of snack cake or tea again. But even if the ride is only 2 hours, the routine follows everything I just mentioned.
They are very nice on the buses about making sure you get to the right place, and that's a key thing. They don't just ignore you, they ask exactly where you are going and will even help you hail a cab to get there. All in all, it's a really pleasant experience.
I met an American woman today who said, "Well I would NEVER ride a bus here. That is just a horrible thought! Disgusting! I would far rather take a train." From what I hear, the trains here aren't a very good experience in comparison so I guess she'll find that out for herself.
Anyhow, today I toured Ephesus which was great. It was very crowded but it is really huge. It didn't feature the peace and beauty that Aphrodisias does, but it's really an amazing site. The ruins are incredible.
03 Guess what this is... Part #1.
I would say hands down among the best Roman ruins in the world, even with all of the tourists.All I can say is that Alexander the Great really got around, though. Seems like every place I have been so far on this vacation was a place he spent some quality time trying to take over the local temples. He died when he was only about 35 so he was obviously a very very busy man.
My hotel in Kucadasi is really cool. I like it a lot. After touring Ephesus I sunbathed by the pool for a while. I know that may shock some of you but I have a little bit of a tan from Egypt still, and I've lost enough weight that my bathing suit actually looks pretty good right now. So why the Hell not. It felt good to actually have sun to bathe in after the rainy days of last week.
That's it for the moment. Uploading photos started to be a little more difficult so until I find a place where it is easy I will have to just keep them on hold for you.
Next... on my way to jet through Greece!
