Ephesus, Take 2

Since our last experience of Ephesus was in 100+ degree weather, several buses and taxis, and hoards of tourists, we thought we'd try something new and go when it was cooler, take the train, and avoid the crowds. Turns out, that was a brilliant experiment! (I will try to keep all of the minute details to myself and just give you an idea of our brilliance. But don't hold your breath.)

Chris had a day off *gasp* on Friday, so we got up, took the bus to the train station, and $6 were on the train for the hour ride to Selçuk, the town closest to Ephesus. Pleasant and cheap transportation, it doesn't get better than that! Our hotel was a 2-3 minute walk from the train station, so that was convenient as well. Right after checking in, we headed for St. John's Basilica and the Castle/Citadel on the hill.

St. John's Basilica was built by Justinian in the 6th century over the tomb believed to be St. John and in place of the more modest church that was already there. The Basilica was in the shape of a cross with the tomb in the center where the cross intersects. It is perched on a hill, just below the castle, and has magnificent views of Selçuk, Ephesus, the temple of Artemis (or what remains of it anyways-more on that later) and Isa Bey Mosque. It is considered a holy site, and thousands have made a pillgrimage there, including a Pope in 1967. We took lots of pictures, you can see those later.

At the bottom of the hill is Isa Bey Mosque. After interrupting (accidently!) two teenagers "talking" behind the mosque, Chris went in to take pictures while I stayed outside because I had forgotten anything to cover my head. Soon this man approached me and asked why didn't I go in? Before I could even respond, he told me that head covering wasn't a problem, shoes weren't a problem, come in! He then introduced himself as the imam of that mosque (!) for 25 years (he's now retired) and said he would give me a tour. So in we went, met up with Chris, who was coming out, and got a special presentation. Later, Mustafa wrote our names in calligraphy and told us to come and see him if we needed anything else while we were there. What an absolutely wonderful man!

So, yours truly was hungry by this point. (I know, what a surprise, right?) We walked for a bit and stumbled upon the restaurant that had been rated #2 on tripadvisor.com for places to eat in Selçuk, Mehmet and Ali Baba Kebab House. One of my students had also recommended it. The owner, Mehmet, was absolutely awesome, and although they had a very limited menu, it was divine! We ordered gözleme, chicken kebaps, and köfte. YUM! Afterwards, we ended up staying and chatting for a couple hours while drinking numerous cups of tea.

We were pretty tired afterwards, so we went back to the hotel and took a nap. We woke up hungry.

Dinner was at Ejder Restaurant, just down the street from our hotel. The owner, also Mehmet, does all of his cooking from fresh ingredients and cooks them over charcoal while we watch. Chris had adana kebap, I had suşi kebap, and we both had mercimek (lentil) soup. That was honestly the best mercimek soup I've had yet! Mehmet said it was "Mommy soup" and I believe him! He introduced me to eating green chilis along with the soup, as well as raw onion, green chilis, and bread together. We had a really great time in a lovely atmosphere, and I think I'm doing pretty good for not going on too much about the food, yes?

The next day we had intended to go to Ephesus, but when we were at breakfast, the owners of the hotel (brothers) told us they were planning a special luncheon for their mother, and would love it if we joined them. Because it was right in the middle of the day, that put a crimp in our Ephesus plans, but because Ephesus would be there tomorrow and this luncheon was a one-time thing, we put it off until Sunday and went to the Ephesus museum instead.

Wow. Some awesome stuff. Look at the pictures.

We also stopped by the market that they have every Saturday. Basically a huge bazaar, spread out and nice and airy. I like the Hatay bazaar, but I must say, this one was awesome. Bigger, more space, fewer people, more stuff. It had it all.

Lunch at Mehmet #1's again. More gözleme. More chatting. I liked him better and better, he's hysterical. When we left, a street vendor had started to do an impromptu demonstration of his vegetable slicer, and was attracting all the neighbors! Mehmet just sat back and grinned.

So, we went back to the hotel to go to this luncheon. When we got there, people were milling around, but no one seemed to be eating, so I figured we must have come late, although that didn't seem to be a problem. Jimmy, one of the brothers, got us a plate of food, sat us down, and then wandered off to talk with his family. We began to realize that we were the only hotel guests there, the only ones eating, and I started to feel a little awkward. But that was NOTHING compared to how I felt when one of the women in the other part of the room suddenly decided it was time to pray. Women covered their heads, and ten minutes later they were still going as Chris and I stared at each other and whispered, "Should we finish the food? Should we leave? What should we do? What is going on?" When it appeared that it wasn't going to end anytime soon, we quietly snuck away. After getting down 1 flight of stairs, I busted up.

Nap time again.

Then dinner time. And it was time for round 2 at Mehmet #2's restaurant. (Hey, he had a huge menu and we weren't finished trying new stuff! Or finished with with that divine soup.) This time, Chris ordered the suşi kebap and I ordered the mixed grill, which consisted of lamb cutlets, beef kebap, chicken kebap, and a small steak. Just as we were settling in and talking, two couples came in. When you're used to being the only ones in the restaurants, it can be surprising to realize that there are more people in the town! They turned out to be from the US and one couple was celebrating their 25th anniversary, so we got to celebrate with them. Mehmet even ordered (in secret, of course) a cake with their names on it, and picked some flowers from his garden out front. We all had a wonderful time and exchanged contact information. (After this trip, I came to the conclusion that Chris and I need business cards.)

Wine on the rooftop terrace, pictures and chatting with Jimmy some more, and then off to bed!

Ephesus is MUCH cooler (literally and figuratively) in the spring before the tourists come than in late July and early August! *Note: the sun is still lethal though- I have a crazy sunburn, and it's only March! This must be a record!* We had time to wander and see things we hadn't the energy or stamina to before, and this time we had enough money to pay the extra entrance fee and see the terrace houses. SO WORTH IT! That was, by far, Chris' favorite part, and probably mine too. While we were there, we met another American who is living in Ankara at the moment. We followed him around for the rest of our time there, bugging him to take pictures for us. Gene was a good sport though, and when we found out we were on the train together on the way back to Izmir, he put on a good face. Maybe he's just a good faker?

Train trip back was more crowded, and then we thought we were in the right place for our return bus (right across the street from where it dropped us off, yeah?) but apparently it takes a different route back, so we ended up taking a cab. Not the best ending, but a great trip. And now that we know Selçuk is only an hour away by train and we know people there, I have a feeling that we will be going down there for the weekend more frequently.

So, my post is only short story length, not novel. Progress is good.

Chris, if I've forgotten anything, feel free to add it in. But in your own post, this one needs to stay the length that it is, otherwise it'll be novel length as usual :)