Selcuk
Trip Start
May 05, 2008
1
42
97
Trip End
May 09, 2009
Selcuk was an excellent introduction to Turkey. We had the good luck of a chance meeting with a Dutch lady on the boat, which took us to a pension she knew well, and which in retrospect was probably the most wonderful location we stayed in in all of Turkey, complete with antique furniture, good food and charming hosts. Selcuk used to be a sleepy little town a few decades ago, but was transformed by the tourist boom which capitalized on its location right next to the ancient city of Ephesus. Ephesus, or Efes as it is known by the locals, is one of the best preserved major cities of the Classical era in all of the Mediterranean, and it is quite famous for a biblical chapter also being named after it. We visited an array of ruins, in and around Ephesus, of which we particularly remember the 25000 seat theatre, its beautiful library and the remains of several huge churches. A treat for a historian-architect couple. But we had the most fun in our pension - the people we met there were very interesting and one night we were treated to a free show by a couple of American musicians from New York who were there to study Turkish classical music. Virginia was even dared to do a belly dance to the music (as were all the ladies present), of which task she acquitted herself most admirably. Overall, the few days we spent here were a fair bit of fun.
