Two Continents in a Day

Tuesday, 3rd April

This is Joan giving Nicole a small respite from blogging (she's been working really hard at it for the last week and a half):

We had an early, rather rushed start to the day, since our tour to Ephesus was leaving from Kusadasi port just after 7:15. We did still manage to tuck into the breakfast buffet, however! Our Turkish guide--a rather handsome Richard Gere look-alike--spoke non stop on the way there. He gave an interesting insight into the Turkish economy (agriculture based), history and culture (straddling the east and west) and standard of living.

The first thing that struck me about Ephesus was it's very beautiful location, in the middle of the mountains. Only a small part of the city has been uncovered and restored, but even this is very impressive. Our guide showed us a very well preserved road that shows the grooves made by chariots. We saw terrace houses, the incredible Celcius Library and an amphitheater. We also glimpsed the remarkably engineered sewer system, a public toilet where (as the guide said) you sat cheek to cheek with your neighbor, and what could possible be the first Roman advertisement (for a brothel!)

Celsius Library

Brothel to your left

On our return to Kusadasi, we were led like lambs to the slaughter to a carpet shop, plied with Turkish refreshments and shown a wonderful array of carpets. We resisted the urge to buy one.
However we were lured into a leather shop. Ashlyn said later: "I realized our mistake the moment we walked in there." When Nicole asked what mistake that was, Ash replied: "Walking in there." Suffice it to say that I am now the proud owner of a genuine Turkish leather jacket!

Back on board, we had hamburgers for lunch and then Ashlyn and I went for our manicure. Ash chose a cute gold polish and was rather pleased with the result.

Next island on the itinerary was Patmos or as the islanders refer to it "the sacred island or Jerusalem of the Aegean." As the place where John wrote Revelations, it is an important place of pilgrimage especially for Orthodox believers. Our guide here was a slightly befuddled man called Constantine, who kept repeating information and even had us waiting 10 minutes for a bus that was already there. He was however rather passionate about the island and the "very beautiful and precious things" as he kept referring to them, and eventually his enthusiasm rubbed off on us.

Befuddled guide

Our first stop was the Monastery of the Apocalypse, built around the cave where John supposedly wrote Revelations. We had to walk down 43 crowded steps to get there. Nicole hasn't been feeling well the last 2 days, so it wasn't so much fun for her.

Entrance to the cave

Then we drove to the top of the hill and the Monastery of St John, built in the 11th century. Seeing the old chapel, with frescoes dating from the 16th century, was impressive. The best part was the little museum, however, which contains extremely old manuscripts and documents, written on leather parchment. Incredible! Much of the monastery is off bounds, given that it is still a working monastery, but by the end of the afternoon the crowds had left and we wandered around taking some photos--nice!

View from top of hill

Photo shoot in the Monastery

Back in the port of Scala we browsed through the little shops and then decided to have a sundowner at a buzzy little taverna. It took an eternity to place an order since the waiter kept walking across the street for a smoke break. We had a ship to catch so we got a little hot under the collar, but a small bottle of local red wine soon had us in the chilled island mood!

The kids were tired of eating (!!!) and tired, period, so they went to sleep, while Roy and I squeezed in a light dinner. It had been a busy but really lovely day.