Selçuk is located in the İzmir Province in Turkey. It is a highly visited place in Turkey because of its proximity to the ruins of the Ancient Greek city of Ephesus/Ἔφεσος/Efes.
All in attendance: Kristen and David
In the morning we took the metro from our hostel in Athens to the airport. As is common, the nicest metro in Athens by a long shot is the one used for service to the Airport. There we had a bit of a turn around where we derp through security before we checked our bags but it was a minor blimp on our way to Turkey.
We flew with Pegasus Airlines and arrived at 13:45 at the Izmir airport. It was off to the adjacent train station after a quick snack on a flaky pastry for a short ride to Selçuk. Our first train experience was in every way superior to our latest train experience in Greece. Stops were announced - verbally and on a screen, chairs were spacious and comfortable, the train was clean and on time.
When we arrived in Selçuk, there were hoards of people at the station in frantic pursuit of tourist to come to their hostel/hotel/restaurant/tourist shop.David and I had not booked any accommodations in Turkey - preferring to play it by ear.
Most notable are the incredible giant storks which are everywhere you look. They build these giant nests on high up places (ruins and curious poles which look constructed only to fulfill the purpose of holding giant nests). Inside you can see tiny bird heads poking out from time to time. it's astonishing everytime an adult bird decided to lift off. My camera's zoom was not strong enough to capture an image that gave the correct prespective on the giant size of the bird so I just ripped off a video of them I found. This was the first of many incredible surprises.
We wandered around the small town, going up a "Love Street" just for its name when we passed Mehmet and Ali Baba Kebab House. There we met Mehmet, the owner, who was overzealous about his kebab shop, tours he could offer us in Fethiye and directed us towards a nearby hostel called ANZ Guesthouse. We stayed in their basement 16 person dorm, which wasn't so bad because there was never more than 4 people there during our stay. I expect for it to be pretty bad in the summer months though.
Peaking into Turkish candy stores and gawking at the rainbow coloured lokum, looking into leather bound shoes, Turkish rugs, fancy tea sets and wooden backgammon sets. We took a peak at the İsa Bey Mosque and some nearby town ruins before getting something to eat.
That night we went to Mehmet's Kebab House where we ate the mulberries which were cascading down his trees and ate a delicious lamb dish. We met a few other travelers (one of which was even couch surfing in Mehmet's house!) before going exploring to bed. Apple tea (and all teas) were free and Narguilé was too.
Unfortunately, things got bad for David that night because he spent the better part of the night turning his stomach inside out.
We rested for the most part of the next day since David was feeling the churning of recent food poisoning and didn't head out to Ephesus until the afternoon. We walked there from Selçuk along the mulberry tree covered paths, hiding from the hot Turkish sun.
Highlights here include the Library of Celsus, the most iconic ruin, and a giant theater.
We skipped the House of the Virgin Mary and the Temple of Artemis because of a high apathy, a sick stomach, hot heat and seeing enough ruins for the day. I ate again at Mehmet's, this time Meze (A bunch of small dishes) including a delicious stuffed eggplant. Mehmet even arranged my food in a sun for me.
The next morning we took a bus out of Selçuk and continued towards Pamukkale.
Things I learned:
- Storks live in Selçuk
- Ants in Selçuk have crazy long legs
- Salah is broadcasted through loud speakers throughout the town
- Everything is almost the same on the Turkish keyboard except for the "I" which is an "İ"
Typing a password is a bitch if you don't realize it
- The scale of the Greek ruins in Turkey - wow!
- Turkish Apple Tea and Roasted Eggplant
- How Hospitable Mehmet was
- Mulberries which were "free from sky"
- "STOP" in Turkish is "DUR"
