I awoke early in my hotel room in Pamukkale. I went up to the lounge area to sample the traditional Turkish breakfast that I have had every morning: cucumber, honey, olives, bread, butter, bologna, and cheese. There was a tour group staying at the hotel and one person cornered my at the buffet line.
She told me how great the tour has been and how she has done tours to Thailand and China with the same company. Her only complaint was that sometimes there was no place to eat that looked westernized and safe. I instantly lost track of the conversation until she learned I was from Michigan and said that there was a person in her group from Michigan. As she turned to call them over I slipped away, wolfing my bologna sandwich down as I descended the steps.
I caught a bus back to Denizli where I would connect for a 3 Hr bus ride to the city of Sulcuk near the western coast. The attraction there is the ancient Roman city of Ephesus.
On the way to the first bus I saw this interesting site
It was a cement truck that was driving down the road while the cement was flowing freely out the gate in the back. No one else saw the comedy in this. Then I looked to my left and saw this
It was some Asian boy with a hand mirror working on his makeup. No one saw the comedy in this either.
I eventually got to Sulcuk and caught a short ride to the ruins of Ephesus.
Ephesus had a population of more than 250,000 Romans in the 1st century BC, which served to make it one of the largest cities in the Mediterranean world. The city was famed for the Temple of Artemis (completed around 550 BC), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Emperor Constantine I rebuilt much of the city and erected new public baths.
I thought this was an interesting sign outside the main entrance
I did not hire a guide, rather chose to walk the football sized area myself. I ran into this guy at the main entrance. I did not want to disturb him but he seemed to enjoy me handling him
It is amazing how well preserved some of these structures were. Below are 2 images. 1 is the current ruins and the second is a drawing of what it looked like originally
The most amazing thing about this place was that it was protected by cats! They seemed to be the guardians who were given the honor and responsibilities a few thousand years ago. I imagined them as modern Thundercats! Who watched the visitors and made sure all remained behind the ropes.
Here is a shot of the bathrooms. And you thought standing next to someone at the urinal in a public restroom was uncomfortable
The library is the main attraction
How so much of it remained intact is mind-boggling. I am sure there was some restoration but it was an incredible site to be sure.
Below is a description and images of the grand theater
And more images of the cats putting on a recreation of the fights to the death that went on for the pleasure of Roman spectators.
A nice shot of the whore house below. Not much has changed compared to the ones I frequent, I mean have seen, in Detroit.
More randomness
Below s the symbol that represented the hospital
I caught a bus back to Sulcuk and had about 6 hours to kill before my overnight bus to Istanbul would leave. I went to a separate bus station to buy my ticket and was accosted by a stranger who said he wanted to sell me a ticket to Istanbul but I had insulted him by ignoring him and buying from someone else. My first inclination was to tell him to Fuck Off because I was so tired of getting hounded by people every 5 minutes, but then I realized it is never a good idea to make enemies in a foreign country. I apologized and moved on.
I sat outside a couple bars and checked out the menus off a couple restaurants.
I settled on this place under a Roman Aqueduct and ordered the sampler plate called Karisik Izgara or Mixed Grill
It was quality. I still had 3 hours to kill so I headed back to the Bus station. Another reason why I did not want to piss that guy off earlier was that I left my bags at the bus station and the security seemed to be rather lax.
I found some guys playing some cards and drinking tea and asked if I could join them.
This gave evolved into a sort of UNO /Dominoes game
I must have had 20 glasses of apple tea with these guys. They were intense. The games were pretty basic, but I dared not ask to play as who knows if I would make some weird move and slander their wife, God or dog in the process. I boarded the bus and hoped to be in Istanbul by daybreak.
Until Tomorrow
