Yesterday morning there was a Ladies’ Coffee and the new marina manager came to say hello and to field some questions and concerns. He managed to soften everyone (about 15 of us) up by having the bar serve really good cake and tea though earlier we had bought our own coffee. He only succeeded somewhat because there were several concerns about the cleanliness of the marina and the small boats that help get the yachts into their berths. And the wifi is too slow. Now is the transitional period which is the most crowded; new boats have come and the wintering boats haven’t yet left. Soon it will be less crowded and the trash won’t be full to overflow in the small bins. There are lots of and huge bins for glass but small and less frequent bins for general garbage.
In the afternoon Randal and I went for an hour walk up the small "Blue Ridge Parkway" like mountain behind the marina. It was lovely, the main difference being you can see the Mediterranean. The road kept going but we turned around not sure who actually owns the mountain. We saw lots of honey hives and what looked like the remains of circular stone somethings about two feet high. Have to ask someone what they are if I ever get up for the organized 7:30 am walk.
Have to ask what’s happening to my poor Sox.
Here is the last of the Ephesus emails. Then I can show you the strange and wonderful Pamukkale.
Ru
Ephesus Part 3
When we left ancient Ephesus it was close to 2 pm and I was starving! Thankfully I’d eaten a gigantic Turkish breakfast of bread and cheese and more cheese and strawberry jam and tea. But that was at 7:30 in the morning, so by 2 pm, no ancient Turkish artifact interested me more than some kind of Turkish food. Lunch was provided by a carpet wholesaler as an inducement to look at the carpets. Our guide Jem told us he had no choice; he had to take us to two commercial venues on the tour, the carpet showroom and a leather showroom but we could leave as quickly as we could get everyone back into the van. As it was, lunch was leisurely, really good, and everyone was interested in seeing carpets though no one bought any. The leather showroom was also tempting but not on a whim during a quick stop at the end of our tour.
The ladies who prepared our lunch.
Out small tour group included people from around the world.
One of the men was from Zimbabwe but was working in Dubai. Three were German and spoke some English but I heard our guide speak to them in German. One couple was from New Jersey though they were originally from Europe. It was a nice compatible group and the younger men helped me finish my potatoes, rice and fried cheese rolls.
Starters included lots of salads and bread.
I had a glass of the white, light Turkish wine. We also had chicken and potatoes and fried cheese rolls and rice and more vegetables but the salads and bread were my favorite parts.
The yarns are colored with natural dyes which supposedly last longer than artificial coloring.
One of the women who has trained for years to make these rugs.
Rug connoisseurs….. Michael and Randal
Over the door to one of the showrooms is a blue glass evil eye to ward off evil and also a gourd
The carpets are beautiful and we’re looking and learning and if we can ever agree on one, maybe we’ll buy it.
After lunch we went to the Ephesus Museum which was quite good. Here are a few of the photos.
I liked these displays that show how they reassemble the statues. This is called the Polyphemos Group, 1st century B.C.
Emperor Augustus and Livia
“These were found broken in a room on the eastern side of the Basilica located on the northern side of Upper Agora, in Ephesus. This room was used as the Ceremonial Hall of the Basilica and then demolished during the Early Byzantine Era, at which time many statues like these….were broken as well as being Christianized by carving a cross on their foreheads.”
A model of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and a marble statue of Artemis.
“The Temple of Artemis was built according to the plans of architect Chersiphron from Crete and his son Metagenes during the first half of the 6th century BC on older temples…..About 200 years later after the building of this temple it was burned by a lunatic called Herostratos, who wanted to be mentioned in history, on the night when Alexander the Great was born 356 BC. The Ephesians decided to build a larger and more magnificent temple in place of the burned one. Alexander the Great wanted to give financial aid to the temple which was not completed in 334 BC because it was burned on the night he was born. But the proud Ephesians refused this offer with great dignity by saying, “How can a god help to another god.” (That’s what the booklet says.) Although the Temple of Artemis of Ephesus was rebuilt after it was looted and destructed with the invasion of the Goths in 263 AD, the temple lost its importance as a result of the spread of Christianity and its remains were used as building material for many buildings for centuries.” The booklet goes on to say that when the temple was excavated many of the treasures were taken to the British Museum though some are now in the Istanbul Archeological Museum.
A schematic of the Temple and the actual remains.
The leather showroom. Turkey is known for its leather products. They were tempting but it wasn’t the right time for leather shopping.
The Square near our hotel in Izmir…it’s what I imagine Russia to look like.
Our hotel lobby in Izmir.
“Whose on first?” would have been a good slogan for this hotel. About 7 pm we returned to our room after the tour to find that the top sheet had disappeared when they’d made up our bed. (I had already made the bed, but I guess they didn’t think it good enough.) I went down to the front desk to ask for a top sheet. Then Randal went down to ask for an additional blanket because we’d been cold the previous night not realizing we could use the AC for a heater. Later that evening Linda and Michael also went to ask for a top sheet and an extra blanket but the reception desk mixed us up and someone came to our room with an extra blanket and couldn’t understand that we already had one. At that point we didn’t know Linda and Michael had asked for one, all we could say was that we already had one and the clerk gave us a look like we were crazy. The next morning we found out what had happened; Linda and Michael never did get a blanket! There was very little English spoken at the hotel but if they could understand they were really very helpful and accommodating.