Kuşadası & ephesus
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kusadasi &
We arrived at our seafront hotel in Kuşadası at sunset. Staying two nights at the Ilayda Hotel. A very nice business style hotel in easy walking distance of many shops and restaurants, and right across the street from the water.
our Kuşadası hotel
dinner at kazim usta
As always, when we arrived, Taylan gave us some options for where we might go to dinner. Then, of course, we almost all went with him and our driver to the restaurant he said was his favorite -- Kazim Usta. It was right on the harbor and the specialty was seafood.
Even when there's a menu, in Turkey it's common to pick your exact fresh fish, either brought to your table on a tray or at the fish counter. When I saw the beautiful Red Snapper, the man at the counter said," This will be good for three." So I recruited two more friends to share. And that's how it works.
This was a really fun dinner with many mezze to share with the table and great Turkish white wine.
tour day 12: ephesus
when the only shadows are yours and a brown dog's...the day is off to a good start
There were plenty of days when the "Let's Go!" time was early by my vacation clock, but we ALWAYS got to sights before the herds arrived.
There has been a village or city here in Ephesus since the 10th century BC, ruled by the Greeks, the Persians, Alexander the Great, the Egyptians, and finally, the Romans. Christians associate the city with the apostle Paul who lived here in the first century for a few years, until his preaching against idol-worship made it too dangerous for him to stay.
Curetes Street is this main street leading to the famous landmark Library of Celsus. There were elaborate mosaic sidewalks, and the street was lined with shops, monuments, and fountains. This was a rich city.
hadrian's temple
sidewalk symbol in front of a christian shop
the great theatre seated 25,000
the public latrine...about a dozen
terrace houses for the super wealthy overlook curetes street. best view in town.
excavating ephesus is a multi-country effort and less than 15% complete!
curetes street, leading to the celsus library
celsus library
This library is the landmark building in Ephesus. Originally built in 117 AD, as a tomb for the governor, it stored 12K scrolls in cupboards and niches.
It was damaged by earthquakes, but the facade has been reconstructed from original pieces.
and this is us!
and some ephesian cats
the afternoon was free for the ephesus museum or exploring Kuşadası.
And the evening was for our festive farewell dinner.
tour day 13: Ephesus and onward
our tour ended after breakfast, and most took the tour bus to izmir to the airport.
a few lucky travelers caught the ferry for nearby greek islands.
