Tonight, as I sit down to recall and blog the day I feel like I've been on a two day journey instead of one - it was packed with adventures. We pulled into Kusadasi Turkey early this morning. Looking out from our deck the architecture and the feeling ae different, beautiful like the Greek Islands we've been to, but you knew you werent in Greece.
We started out early this morning on our tour. Our guide's name was Eti - and I dont think it would be possible to have had anyone better give us an introduction to Turkey. Eti is an art history professor - she shared her knowledge of archeology, religious history, mythology and the culture with us in this radiant fashion that immediately had me in love with this place.
Our first stop was Meyemana, the house of the Virgin Mary. It is believed that after the crucifixion, St. John took Mary to this house and it is from here that she ascended to heaven. Silence is requested as you pass through the home itself and by the beautiful altar and it is truly a moving experience. After you pass through Mary's house, you come to a wall with several faucets that flow with water from the spring there that is believed to be holy and can provide healing etc. People were filling their water bottles, taking drinks etc. At the end of the wall you saw hundreds and hundreds of tissue paper with messages and wishes written on them. Like the Western Wall in Israel, people write their prayers, hopes and dreams and secure them to the wall. There was such peace in this place - it was a great way to start the day.
Our next stop was Ephesus, called the showpiece of Aegean Archeology. Ephesus used to be an important commercial port city about 2000 years ago. Now however it is not on the water at all - centuries of river silt being deposited one layer after the next combined with earthquakes buried the city structures. Only about 40 percent of the site has been unearthed at this point and its estimated that it will take centuries for the rest to be done. Ephesus was built both by the greeks and also the romans depending on the time. It was at times incredibly affluent, more than could be imagined, at other times the occupants were impoverished. Each civilization left its mark on this amazing place. We started at the top of Ephesus - everywhere you look there are artifacts, huge columns, and buildings. The road down the city was and still is all marble and the sidewalks mosaics. There is also a beautiful temple dedicated to Hadrian and a block down from that it was believed that there was a brothel. There were even public latrines - all out of stone. As we continued along we were lucky enough to be able to visit one of the ongoing excavations. This was believed to be the houses of the very wealthy - complete with frescoes, mosaic floors, room after room and multiple floors. It's difficult to remember to close your jaw as you go through these rooms watching small pieces of marble be put back together to form walls and floors. To see what were opulent homes with kitchens and even indoor plumbing. Our tour continued down the marble streets down to the Library of Celsus - a gorgeous two stories of columns. Next onto the Theater which had capacity to seat 24,000 people. It's totally impossible to describe the sheer awe of the entire site - especially when you consider that the two huge hills on each side are just covering up even more of the ancient city.
As if that wasnt enough, our Turkish experience continued with lunch at the Kismet hotel. We sampled local turkish dishes including eggplant, cracked bulgar, grape leaves and a lot of other things that I wish I knew the names of - each better than the next and leaving me with the intention of picking up a good Turkish cookbook before I go home. As part of our lunch we were treated to a performance of traditional Turkish dancers - what a great performance. I found it interesting that the roles of the men and women dancers differed with the women being more regal and subdued while the men were the entertainers. Seriously a huge treat.
Next stop one of the largest Turkish carpet manufactures where not only were we given an education in the different kinds of materials (cotton, wool and silk), we also learned about knot count and weaving types, but treated to turkish coffee as we learned. When we started we sat around this large room with a bare floor and by the time the presentation was over there must have been 30 carpets covering the floor and each others. Silk carpets actually change color depending on the direction you look at them in, and the Turkish tribal pattern carpets have striking similarities to some Native American tribes.
You'd think by that point we would be falling over - we pretty much were, but our tour was over so we now had our first opportunity to hit the Kusadasi Bazaar. One street after another of beadwork and textures; silks and glass; leather in all incarnations. Every merchant talks to you trying to get you to come in and spend money. Going in to a shop and coming out with nothing could be a challenge for some. We practiced our bargaining skills a bit in anticipation for the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. I think it can get a bit overwhelming. It's hard to know what you've seen, what is a good price, where you've been - but its just so much fun! So - was there yarn you ask? Well the answer is no - Eti told me that the yarn stores were really only in the very residential areas not for the tourists - we just didnt have the time to get there but she assured me that I would find yarn in Istanbul.
Back to the ship for a bit of a rest before heading off to Signatues for dinner. Signatures is the Corden Blue Restaurant on the ship. We had to make reservations when we got on board and its the kind of menu that you cant make any substitutions on. We were seated with a really nice couple that coincidentally we had sat across from on our tour earlier today. We had lots to talk about so dinner was fun. The food was beautifully presented and in true French tradition they even bring all the meals under silver domes and uncover the all at the same time. Yes I know - totally pretentious, but it was fun anyway.
Back to the room to collapse - another amazing day that is best seen through photos (which are all making their way up to flickr each day) We head back for our final day in Greece and then back to Turkey and shopping mecca.
Best comments today both from our guide Eti
- "in the spirit of Carpe Diem (Sieze the day), you never stand in the same river twice"...Ok so I take this as a good reminder to stay in the present, even when you are getting lost in things that are ancient!
- "If someone accepts a cup of coffee from their host in Turkey, in return they owe their host 40 years of friendship" (This is a lovely thought - although perhaps its a reminder to think twice about who you offer coffee to!!!)
Tomorrow Mykanos!