So, what have we been doing other than me moaning about the Red Sox? Yesterday our day went like this. Early in the morning I walked over to B’Sheret on Juliet dock to ask Linda and Michael to help us take our motorbike off the flybridge. I had to walk there because our cell phones stopped working. When we’d originally gotten our Turkish SIM card in Istanbul we’d explained that we would be staying for several months so knew we needed to register our foreign (as in ‘not purchased in Turkey)phones. We mentioned that several times. The clerk took our passports and made copies, had us sign forms, took our 76 TL (Turkish lira) and told us our phones were registered and would be activated in two hours. We were in a “high end” mall a long taxi ride from our hotels in Sultanahmet so when the phones didn’t work after two hours and we were no longer at the mall…. The following day we took them to a small Turkcell street vendor in Sultanahmet and he activated them, sort of. Every time we turned them off and then on, the PIN had to be entered which shouldn’t happen. We were leaving Istanbul when we realized this so in Izmir we found a Turkcell street shop where finally someone who spoke English AND understood the problem fixed them for us. All was fine until a few days ago when the SIM card stopped working. The message on the face of the phone said it was no longer registered which is the absolutely only Turkcell message that actually comes in English. So that’s why I walked to get Linda and Michael who came and helped and we got the bike down with no mishaps. But the weather was iffy so Randal and I decided to take the dolmus (minibus) to town to collect the paperwork for the motorbike registration and insurance from Soner our agent and then take our passports to the Turkcell shop to get the phones straightened out. Linda and Michael were going to town too and Linda said she’d come to Turkcell with us to point out the woman who’d helped her to do, what, so far, seems to be a real phone registration. The truth is that Linda hasn’t had her phone long enough to really test to see if it is registered. Cruising friends on Songster and BeBe both had their SIM cards stop working after about a month and Linda has only had hers since our arrival in Marmaris late in April. The Turkcell office was busy since everyone has to buy time, get SIM cards, register phones, and dongle sim cards and so we were pointed to a line that was the wrong line but it turned out ok for us and not the guy who thought he’d be next but he took it well. The folks at this Turkcell shop seem to know more about what they are doing. Let’s hope so anyway. Even though we’d been given no receipt for the original SIM cards ( Turks don’t do receipts) the Turkcell shop manager could tell from our cards what we’d paid or believed us and so just charged 5 TL per phone to register them. The paperwork took about 30 minutes but hopefully it’s all straightened out. If not, at least this time we have paperwork to prove it. We were told it would take 2 days to a week for the phones to work but this morning they are working and I called Randal to test it out, so Yippee!!

This is the Turkcell mascot whatever it’s supposed to be; but it’s cute.

Randal needed fortification to deal with our forthcoming Turkcell trial so he and Michael bought ice cream. Linda and I drooled over the breads and simit in the bread cabinet that you see everywhere, but we’d just had lunch so weren’t tempted. We’re wearing jackets and jeans because it was overcast and breezy so felt almost cold to us though lots of locals had on only shorts and t-shirts.

Randal also needed a treat after our earlier visit to Soner, our agent, to deal with the motorbike registration. We’d not needed to do any extra paperwork for the motorbike in Sri Lanka, India, or Male, but we never took the bike from the boat. Here, because we want to actually use it, we should have done something originally when DoraMac was checked in. Because we hadn’t done that, Randal and I had to be checked out and into Turkey again along with the bike. And a day ago we also had to have the customs agent and customs official come to the boat to glance up at it on the flybridge at the bike and have Randal read the serial number and license number down to them. (This was an additional fee that we hadn’t expected…since we had to pay both men.) We also had to buy Turkish insurance though our Malaysian insurance hadn’t expired. I guess Malaysian insurance doesn’t cover one when one is in Turkey! We are insured for 6 months and then we have to take the bike out of Turkey and start the paperwork mess all over again depending on where we actually are in 6 months, but the bike definitely has to be checked out as it’s marked on Randal’s passport. So it was a problem solved with a bit of patience and a bunch of lira….and if it can at least be solved with lira, I can live with it. To celebrate we actually took the bike out late yesterday afternoon for a ride up the mountain behind the marina. I didn’t take photos then because shortly after we set out it started to rain so we returned to the boat. But the sun is half shining so we’ll take the bike to town for our dentist appointment, or it was! Weather seems quite changeable this time of year here in Turkey.

Randal and I had walked the mountain road last week.

Looking back at the marina you might be able to make out Doramac in the center of the photo on the dock with two small white unoccupied sailboats tied to the dock in front. We are on the very outside of the marina but it is quite nice and there’s lots more privacy though less social interaction since we have no next door neighbors.

We walked past 3 of these stone enclosures all in a row though we have no clue what they were used for.

After visiting Soner we ate lunch at Aciktim, our chicken wrap place where we were served last because we weren’t on a “lunch hour” and others were so that’s how it worked. Usually we’re there before the working lunch hour so it’s no problem. I guess it’s ok but they didn’t tell us what was happening; just kept walking past us to other people with “our food.” Then we went to the Turkcell office. It was going to be quite a wait since everyone has to register phones and dongle sim cards and so we got in line that was the wrong line but it turned out ok for us and not the guy who thought he’d be next but he took it well. We took about 30 minutes but hopefully it’s all straightened out and this time we have paperwork to prove it. Linda and Michael had gone off to do their chores so Randal and I went off to do ours after we finished at Turkcell. We started at the small meat/fish market. We looked at one stall where the fish looked quite fresh and the shop keeper came out to see what we wanted. He picked a lovely red snapper about 16 inches long and cost $37 for the entire fish that once filleted would have left us with enough fish for just 2 meals. For that money we could eat in the marina restaurant and have someone else do the cooking. Beef sirloin at the meat stall cost $8 per pound! But we need to eat more fish so we went to the Tansas market and ended up buying some frozen fish for about $6 per meal. I cooked some last night and it wasn’t very good. No taste really so I’ll turn it into fishcakes or something. Who would have thought that fish would be expensive here in Marmaris right on the Med. We just don’t eat enough fish so I wanted to buy some. We’ll have to go to plan B. I’ll ask at the ladies coffee tomorrow morning where anyone buys fish. They do a ladies coffee at 11 am every Friday.

Between the fish market and the Tansas supermarket we went to find the dentist “that everyone uses.” He is around the corner from Tansas but we needed help to find his office. A man on the street looked at our card and then pointed across and then down the street. We started off and looked hesitant so he crossed the street and walked us to it. Nice people here. We met the dentist and he is quite cheerful as people say. He was actually the person who took our names and made the appointment (this afternoon at 2 pm for teeth cleaning.) After making the appointment we went to Tansas where I double-checked and did find decaf coffee that none of the store staff or other shoppers could find but now that I know what to look for, I can find.

We took the bus back, put away the groceries, got our big bike helmets and went off for our rain shortened ride.

Here are some photos from other days in town.

This is the narrow street where we eat doner wraps sitting in the sunlit chairs. This guy is selling bread from the huge wagon on the front of his bicycle.

Around the corner from the Thursday fruit, cheese and veggie market were plant vendors. Just outside the photo on the left are several greenhouses.

Randal got a shave in Old Town Marmaris from Alis Barber who must post a sign in lots of languages for all of the visitors to Marmaris.

Some days I buy the English Language Turkish paper and some days I buy the International Herald Tribune because it takes several days for me to actually read most of a new paper.

Shade is essential during the hot months so there are trellises everywhere covered with “green.”

Old Town Marmaris street scenes which later in the summer will probably be filled with visitors.

Thanks to our very efficient and helpful agent Soner and his partner, our motorbike is legal and insured and ready to be ridden as soon as we can figure out how to get it off the flybridge without bashing the side of our boat, knocking down the marina trellis along the dock, or breaking anyone’s body parts (which almost happened loading it in Malaysia.)  That’s a project for tomorrow.  A customs official came to the marina this afternoon and asked Randal to go on the flybridge and read the serial number from the motorbike and the license plate number.  That was it.  We have been cleaning the sand and grit from inside and outside the boat and it’s looking pretty clean.  But there are lots of boats on the hard doing sanding and painting and repairs and their debris flies onto all of the boats nearby so the grit is back in not time.  So it goes.

Yesterday Linda and I hiked part way up the mountain behind the marina.  I want to go as far as it goes but that could be a long hike requiring lunch and snacks so we’ll have to plan it.  Alternatively, Randal and I will take the motorbike and see where the road goes and how far we get before it’s more path than road.

In town Saturday I bought a new hat.  Not at B hat, but the Sox have won every game since so I’m not changing hats or adding a “pretend B.”  And our Sox pennant went up the mast yesterday in a new place too and it’s staying too.  If they start to lose again, I have no answers.

I was looking for dish detergent in the marine store and saw lots of candidates but wasn’t sure what anything was with no English on the label and no pictures of dishes on the bottle.  Luckily a woman came along who could read Turkish and told me that what I picked was actually dish soap.  Sunlight was a brand I’d bought before but there had always been English ‘subtitles” or a picture of dishes in a strainer.  I did manage to get the Mango Language program available on the Roanoke County Library website to work and started to try to learn some Turkish.  It’s mostly conversation and what I really need is vocabulary.  I can find written lists but hearing it as you do on Mango is so much better.  I think at this point I know how to say please, thank you, hello, good morning, soup and bread.  I can read other words too for tomato or cheese and doner and kebap.  Thankfully most Turks know some English or we can point and hold out a handful of change and let the Thursday market vendor pick what is needed.  Many vendors will give you a sample to taste.  We tasted and bought cheese from the cheese stall and tasted and bought what tastes like fig/date/prune spread from another shop, but we tasted sausage from the poor, beleaguered sausage lady in Tansas and didn’t like it so didn’t buy any and then to boot I knocked in on the floor.  Life in Turkey!

Here is the final installment from our early travels around western Turkey.  The top of the calcium climb in Pamukkale got you to the ruins of Hierapolis.Walking around Hierapolis was wonderful and we wished we’d brought a picnic lunch so we could have eaten on the hillside or in the big theater. It was just such a beautiful day. The ruins couldn’t match Ephesus but that didn’t matter, the setting was spectacular. And the walk up and down on the calcium hillside was great fun. Unfortunately we went on Monday when the museum in the old Roman bath was closed. We didn’t know, but with the BBC Everest about to arrive in Marmaris we didn’t feel as if we could stay an extra day and we would have had to pay the 20 TL x 2 entrance fee again.

Hierapolis

“Founded around 190 BC by Eumenes II, king of Pergamum, Hierapolis was a cure center that prospered under the Romans and even more under the Byzantines, when it gained a large Jewish community and an early Christian congregation. Sadly, recurrent earthquakes regularly brought disaster and after a major tremor in 1334 the city was abandoned.” Lonely Planet Turkey

By the time we’d climbed the carbonate hill and walked around a bit, it was time for lunch. We saw one of the small stands selling food and drink. In Male, our previous stop, alcohol wasn’t sold or if it was; it cost a fortune. So here it was odd to see, being sold at a national park, 3 kinds of beer including Miller, wine, vodka, whiskey, and raki a Turkish alcoholic drink. We decided to wait for the next stand and kept walking towards the northern gate to see the Necropol Area and the Tombs.

Here are just some random photos taken at Hierapolis. Mostly I just walked around, glanced at the signs, and soaked up the sun and the lovely views. At that point my goal was food and not knowledge as we headed towards the large cafeteria in the center of the complex.

I believe this is a burial chamber.

Michael walking through the Hierapolis latrine.

Stones left on an old grave.

There was just something about this French woman in her blue hat and blue dress and I took several shots of her. Linda pretended to pose so I could sneak a photo of her from the front. The blue lady was with what I took to be her family made up of husband and wife and child. She had trekked up the calcium hills and around Hierapolis and just kept going.

The large theater with special seating for the rulers and their guests. The riff raff sat up in the nosebleed section. The lonely planet mentions a large Jewish community in Hierapolis. We saw no signs of that. Hopefully they weren’t all eaten by lions in the arena.

There was a thermal swimming pool in the middle of the cafeteria. We saw lots of people using it and also walking around the ruins in tiny swim suits and bad sunburns. It had never occurred to Randal and me to bring bathing suits to springtime Turkey where we needed sweaters and long pants. But it was quite warm and many tourists come from countries with climates much colder than Turkey’s.

Michael pretending to be Samson.

  Randal and I went into Marmaris today to see our agent Soner to get the paperwork filed and finished for our motorbike.  Turkey won’t honor our Malaysian insurance so we have to get Turkish insurance but it will be good for 6 months.  Then we’ll be able to do some exploring around the area.  We also found a small nursery/florist and they created a beautiful bouquet of flowers that we could take to "Grandma" at the Dost Hotel as a thank you for the wonderful lentil soup.  Reception was closed, Ibrahim must have taken a well deserved day off.  We left the flowers with a young woman who may have thought they were for her, but we left a note.  Then we went across the street to the specialty food shop owned by Ibrahim’s brother and explained to him.  We also bought some wonderful, real bacon and finally some decaf coffee.  The huge Tansas supermarket had no decaf that anyone,  staff or Turkish shoppers could tell.  We had blt’s for dinner. 

Tomorrow is Bits and Bobs day.  Or something like that.  Everyone who has something to sell puts it on the back of their boat marked with prices and everyone walks around looking.  It’s a giant marina flee market.  We’ll go have a look. 

Backing up a bit, this email is about Pamukkale which was our last stop before we arrived in Marmaris.  It was one of the most unique places we’ve been since neither one of us has been to Yellowstone where I read they also have similar travertine formations.  We went early in the day so beat the crowds of tourists.  They were going up as we were coming down. 

Ru

Doramac

Pamukkale and Hierapolis

The nickname for Pamukkale is the “Cotton Castle.” I didn’t see cotton, I saw snow and would have called the “Snow Castle.”

“This remarkable natural formation has been created by mineral rich hot springs cascading down the hillside and depositing layers of calcium carbonate. The resulting pools, terraces, and “petrified waterfalls” of dazzling white travertine are one of Turkey’s most famous sights. The ruins of ancient Hierapolis lie scattered on the hillside behind the terraces adding historical interest to natural beauty.” Berlitz Pocket Guide to Istanbul

You start walking up through the "white" and then visit the ruins up the hill.  We stayed in a hotel not far from this entrance to the park so could walk there first thing in the morning.  Each ticket was 20 lira so you wanted to give yourself plenty of time to enjoy the park and get your money’s worth.

You have to take off your shoes to protect the formation and then you had to roll up your pants to keep them from getting wet when you walked through the pools.

It looked like snow but was warm enough for brave souls who wore bathing suits.  The mountains in the far distance are snow covered.

It was the best foot massage, like walking on pumice stone; so though it looked like it should be slippery, it wasn’t. There were broken pieces of stone that was hard on your bare feet at times and made me fear I’d stumble and soak my camera. On the way down I packed my camera away and missed the best photo of a man in one pool with his toddler who was pretending to wash his dad. There were more pools and a lake at the entrance to the park down in Pamukkale. The afternoon we arrived, Randal and I walked around the pond but waited until the next day to explore the park which takes all day.

One of the staff cleaning out the pathway of the flowing water and some young men soaking in the same warm water stream.

I don’t see cotton, I see snow!  And blue ice.

Fields and hillsides of calcium carbonate deposits…tums!

Water flowing down the hillside.

I don’t really understand how it all works but it didn’t matter you just stared at it all.

Old flows around the side of the plateau.

Looking down on the valley and the lush farmland.

Then we walked off to see the ruins of Hierapolis; next email.

  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, 1^st 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 6^th 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.

  We tested out the Marina restaurant last night.  There is only one restaurant and 1,600 berths so you can imagine.  It took forever for our order to be taken and the noise level was ridiculous, but Randal said his steak actually tasted like meat.  My fried calamari was quite good too.  I can’t imagine what the weekends might be like since we ate there Wednesday night.  It’s getting a bit warmer here; we just need two blankets at night.  Weather seems to be similar to Roanoke, VA.  Now back to Ephesus.

Ru

Ephesus Part 2

The Temple of Hadrian

The reliefs show the goddess of fortune, Fortuna, Medusa, and a series of friezes telling the story of the establishment of Ephesus. These are actually reproductions. We saw the originals when we visited the Ephesus Museum which was small and very good.

Medusa’s arch.

“No matter how high or great the throne, what sits on it is the same as your own.” Chad Mitchell Trio

So, maybe you can guess where I’m sitting. As I type this it occurs to me how many ancients sat where I’m “sitting.”

Public Latrines

“The public latrines were considered in such a metropolis. A water channel connected to the city sewage system was laid to prevent the unpleasant odour in the latrines quickly which was under the U-shaped sitting places of marble with holes. A narrow water channel in front of the closets provided the opportunity of cleaning who were sitting in the latrines. In this place which could serve to fifty people at the same time, the people were sitting side by side by gathering up the skirts of their togas a little bit. The floor around the pool in the middle was covered with mosaics.” The Metropolis of Antique Age Ephesus- English- New Edition

I’ve typed it exactly as it is written in the guide booklet.

The Brothel

The brothel is located behind the public latrines and across from the public library.

This marble slab was imbedded at the beginning of the Marble Road, its symbols indicating the presence of a brothel at the end of the road. The foot means “follow me” and I guess the symbol below the foot is supposed to be a woman.

The latrine, the brothel and the library all across from each other. Now libraries have bathrooms and some have even started “literary speed dating” evenings so what seems new is really quite old.

The Celsus Library.

The “gang of 4,” Michael, Linda, Ru, Randal at the library.

Construction of the library was completed in 125 A.D probably by the grandson of Celsus who is actually buried in the library. It had a collection of 12,000 “roll books” which were destroyed during an invasion by the Goths in 265 AD. Much of the library was restored between 1970-1978 so what we saw is somewhat of a recreation.

I’m pointing to the word Bibliothek. The “library cat” and the Asian ladies.

Harbour Street and the Grand Theater in the distance.

When Ephesus was founded this road, 11 meters wide and 530 meters long led from the harbor on the river to the Grand Theater. By the Middle Ages the river had been filled in with alluvium.

Randal and I walked into the Grand Theater just in time for the performance!

A group of South Korean tourists were acting as audience as one of their members sang for them and for those of us lucky enough to catch the performance. Randal remembers that she was singing what was probably Italian opera. As their group walked past us out of the theater following their tour leader, the rest of us clapped. The Koreans seemed to make a point to tell us they were from South Korea and asked how we liked the performance. We said it was wonderful. That made them happy.

By then I was starving and thankfully it was time to have lunch at the carpet shop.

  In the tropics you can do your laundry at sunrise and it will be dry before 10 am.  Here you do your laundry at sunrise and maybe it’s dry by 2 pm.  I did laundry on Sunday and today and both times shortly after it was hung up the clouds, gloom, and the humidity  rolled in.  So then I had to rehang it all in the boat.  A few hours later the sky cleared and then the laundry went back out.  I’m going to have to rethink this laundry thing to match the spring Mediterranean weather.  There’s a morning net (communications network among the cruisers) which among other things gives a weather report.  It comes on at 9 am.  The report today was for high humidity and bad drying weather.  But between the late sun and the wind it all eventually dried.  Most of the day is cold (to us) or cool, but midday is almost hot.  And  I’m not quite sure if rainy season has past so an umbrella is pretty necessary even if the sun is shining when you start out.  I left mine behind the other day and regretted it when it started to rain.  But Marmaris wet isn’t the bone cold of Istanbul wet so it’s okay.

  Today besides laundry I continued to try to straighten up and clean the boat.  We have way too many books so I decided to take a bagfull over to the library.  I walked first to Juliet dock to say hello to Linda and Michael who were waiting for a sailmaker to come about making a new sail for them.  They lightened my load taking magazines and several paperbacks.  Then I continued to the library managing not to get lost.  I came away with two paperbacks, both Oprah books; but I have room now on "my" bookshelves.   I stopped at the marina grocery for some Coke light, eggs and dark chocolate.  I need the chocolate after a meal of veggies and white cheese which is really like feta but tastes better because it tastes fresher and not so salty.  Wifi is still a bit iffy.

Ru

Ephesus Ancient Site

The Smithsonian Life List

28 Places to See Before You Die

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/specialsections/lifelists/lifelist-ephesus.html

By Helen Starkweather

Smithsonian magazine, January 2008

“Over the centuries, a succession of empires—Greek, Persian, Roman, Byzantine and, finally, Ottoman—ruled over the city of Ephesus. Yet no matter how many times it changed hands, the city remained one of the most vibrant metropolises of the ancient world. Located on Turkey’s western coast, nearly 300,000 people lived there at its height, in the second century A.D. Its busy seaport ferried goods from Asia to Greece, Italy and beyond.

Ephesus’ greatest claim to fame was its temple to the goddess Artemis. One of the "seven wonders" of the ancient world, it was almost four times larger than the Parthenon in Athens. According to the New Testament, the Apostle Paul preached in Ephesus, prompting a riot led by silversmiths who crafted shrines to the goddess and feared for both their livelihoods and the future of the temple.

Today, a few columns are all that remain of the temple. But there is still much to see that evokes the city’s former splendor. A three-tiered theater, built into the slope of a hill, once seated 25,000. Just outside the city stands the Church of Saint John, built in the fourth century over the evangelist’s presumed tomb and expanded into a basilica some 200 years later.

Jodi Magness, an archaeologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who has visited Ephesus more than a dozen times, says the city "is almost like a snapshot in time. You get the sense of what walking down the street of a Roman city was like without having to use your own imagination."

Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/specialsections/lifelists/lifelist-ephesus.html#ixzz1Kvp8YVkv

Our guide Jem showing us the layout of Ephesus.

Jem was very knowledgeable and made it lots more interesting than it would have been to just wander. But I just soaked up the sun and marveled at the ruins and took lots of photos rather than notes so I can’t tell you lots facts other than what our oddly translated guide book says. “The city of Ephesus was first established on the shore of the bay at the point where Cayster River (Kucuk Menderes) falls into the sea and on the slopes of Mt. Pion (Panayar Dagr.) When the alluviums carried by this river filled the bay, it was moved to the southwest of the mountain, that is the slopes of Mt. Koressos (Bulbul Dagi.) ….Since the port of Ephesus was completely filled with alluviums carried by the Cayster River at the beginning of the Middle Ages, Ephesus became smaller since it was no more a port city or trade center. When it was captured by the Seljuks (original Turks) in 1090, it was a small village. Ephesus was completely left after it went through a short glorious period in the 14^th century.”

As soon as you arrive you’re dazzled by all of the ruins.

These particular ruins are part of the Varius Baths. According to the guide book we bought, the baths included a frigidarium (cold room,) apodyterium (undressing room,) tepidarium (lukewarm room,) calidarium (hot room,) and sudatorium (sweating room.) The Baths were heated with the hot air passed through below the floor called “hypocaust.”

It’s easy to feel young when everything around you is ancient!

The Oedum, Agora and the Basilica

The Odeum was used for municipal meetings and concerts for the wealthier Ephesians. It was built by P. Vedius Antonius and his wife Flavia Papiana in the 2^nd century A.D. and could seat 1500 people. The State Agora was built during the reign of Emperors Augustus and Claudius in the 1^st Century AD. Religious and state meeting were held there. The Basilica was a trade center during the Roman Empire. Guide Book

Doric, Ionian and Corinthian

Remember when you had to know which was which and why.

Poppies are everywhere.

The Memmius Monument built in the 1^st century AD for the family of Memmius who was the grandchild of dictator Sulla.

A relief of the goddess Nike, the winged messenger also associated with victory is just across from the Memmius Monument.

I think these are the ruins of the hospital but they aren’t shown in the guide book for me to double check.

This relief was near the hospital and I’m not sure if it is Hermes and the caduceus or Asclepius, the god of healing with a single snake symbol called the rod of Asclepius. Apparently there is a controversy as to which is the real symbol of the medical profession.

Curetes Street

“During the period of the Roman Empire, the priests dealing both with religious and state affairs were called the curetes. Since the bases of the columns with the names of these priests inscribed on them were found at the beginning of the street, it was called the Curetes Street.” Guide Book The guide book also says that there is a sewage system under the street. The end of Curetes Street going back toward the Odeum is narrows with columns on either side to prevent chariots from going any further along the way.

Curetes Street looking toward the Celsus Library

Next stop the Scholastikia Baths and the Temple of Hadrian

An extra email just for fun.

Ru

Doramac

Fast Food and Silly Shopping Stories

Linda Levy being Linda Levy

This picture was taken on Marmaris waterfront but seems an appropriate illustration for this story. . Marmaris Yacht Marina is about a 30 minute bus ride from the waterfront up the bay.

Randal, Linda and I went into town Monday for groceries. We made a few stops and then ate at our favorite chicken wrap stand before going on to the Tansas Supermarket

We always pick the Pilav Ustu Doner for 4 TL or $2.60 US

The “chef” presses a big wood spoon against the chicken and then cuts off paper thin pieces of chicken as it rotates. (A doner kebap “a revolving kebap” on a vertical spit with slices of lamb, beef, or chicken cut off as the outer layer cooks. Or so it says in my Berlitz Istanbul guide. ) Then piles of chicken, lettuce tomato, onion, chili sauce and ketchup and mayonnaise are rolled into a thin slightly fried crispy pita bread wrap. Randal and I skip the mayo and ketchup but Linda and Michael go for it all. The doner for 2.5 TL is cheaper, but has less chicken and a different bigger type of bread.

This stand is directly across the way but we never eat there.

Once you pick a place you have to stick to it because it would be awkward to eat across the street from your regular place, if you know what I mean. Maybe this guy makes great wraps but we’ll probably never know.

Turkish Fast Food

There was an article in Monday’s English language newspaper, Daily News about fast food in Turkey. “Domestic fast-food chains, new to Turkey just 15 years ago, are now increasingly strong competitors to foreign chains due to their offerings of traditional tastes, their low investment costs and their experience with economic crisis. ….. Some foreign brands such as South Africa’s Nando’s, global ice-cream chain Baskin-Robbins, the Hard Rock Café and the sandwich shop Quiznos, all of which entered the Turkish market with great expectations, have now withdrawn or are withdrawing from the market one by one. ….(Wendy’s and 7-Eleven were mentioned as withdrawing also)…..Simit Sarayi, Kahve Dunyasi, Bay Doner, Citir Usta and Pizza Pizza are the leading domestic chain.

I have no idea what food is served in a place called Kahve Dunyasi or Citir Usta but I’ll find out. There is nothing fancy about the doner kebap stands and the wraps come wrapped in plain paper with no advertising or toys for the kids. Just good food, cheapish. Asian food was cheap; Indian and Turkish fast food is cheapish. Marmaris has a Burger King and a McDonalds. McDonalds always have bathrooms and there is one just where we catch the bus back to the marina. I’ve used their bathroom but we’ve not eaten there yet. When we bought our bus tickets from Pamukkale to Marmaris we were given a “buy one, get one free” coupon from McDonalds. We’ve never seen doner kebap coupons.

I have read about Simit and have maybe eaten one or something similar. It was sweet with seeds and flaky, tasting like it had lots of butter and sugar in it. A simit looks like a cross between a bagel and a pretzel but apparently is not boiled like bagel or pretzels are. A simit is baked.

“Simit is a fast food bread sold in the streets of Turkey by vendors. It is often eaten as a breakfast food with jam or yogurt. Simit is also great by itself!

Simit is light and flaky, baked to a golden brown color, and topped with sesame seeds. It is sometimes formed into rings, and are often braided.” http://mideastfood.about.com/od/breadsrice/r/simitrecipe.htm

Simit seller at the Thursday Market: they are the round things on the right side of the picture.

So now for the silly stories about our trip to the Tansas Supermarket. To prepare for shopping I had worn my big orange backpack. Inside I’d put an extra cloth carrying bag. Randal carried our blue cooler. When we got to the Tansas Supermarket we took a shopping cart and put our big blue cooler into it. Linda also got a shopping cart. Linda and I started, as one does at home at Kroger, with the vegetables and fruit section. Randal went off to explore the meats and whatever. Randal and I met up near where a Tansas clerk was handing out samples of a type of sausage that sort of tastes like baloney. Randal and I had tasted it on a previous visit to the market. We needed find canned tuna, so Randal said, “Leave the cart there and come with me.” I did, and we didn’t find what we needed at first so Randal continued down the aisles looking for the tonbaligi, (canned tuna in Turkish,) and I went back for our cart. Our cart was gone. A cart was near where we had left ours, but it wasn’t our cart. I found Randal and he and I went up and down and all around the whole store until I finally found Linda who was pushing our cart wondering why I had put our blue cooler in her cart. Actually, first I found Linda and then I noticed our blue cooler and then Linda noticed the food in the cart didn’t match her food. It was pretty silly but a relief not to have to start picking out food again to say nothing of losing our cooler. We went back to her cart near the sausage lady. I walked by the sausage lady going one way and knocked off her sliced sausages with my back pack. Next time I passed her I carefully held my pack close to me and knocked off the sausages with my front camera bag/ pocket book. The kind clerk kept saying, “that’s ok, no problem.” And I kept saying SORRY!!! SORRY!!!!! I truly felt trapped in my Lucy persona. If the sausage had tasted good, I would have bought some; but it didn’t. I stayed totally clear of the sausage lady for the rest of the time we spent in the market. Getting boxed milk took me close but I would have left without it if I’d had to pass by the sausage lady again. It truly keeps one humble!

   Today Linda, Randal and I took the small dolmus (small bus) to town for food shopping at the Tansas Supermarket.  It was hot enough to wear a t-shirt and shorts. Tonight I’m in flannel and a sweatshirt.  When the sun goes down and the breeze comes off the water, it gets really cool; three blanket cool.  We have heat on the boat but really don’t need it with all the blankets and everything closed up.  Here are some photos from Marmaris.  I still have to finish writing about our travels here, but thought I’d mix in some local stuff too.

Ru

Marmaris First Days

Marmaris is a real tourist destination with the waterfront crowded with shops, bars and restaurants. But if you get back off the main road and start to interact with the people who actually live here, Marmaris becomes a neighborhood where you go to the Thursday market for fruit and veggies and flowers for a treat, the computer shop where they tried everything they could think of to test out our Indian dongle before we buy a Turkish sim card for it, and the same chicken wrap shop because they “know us now.” Like Cheers where everyone knows your name. It doesn’t take long to before you’re treated like an old friend. Too good to be true? Maybe, but so far it seems to be so.

Our starboard view at sundown.

Our port side is an arbor covered walkway and then rows of yachts on the hard where cruisers do boat work most of the day so it gets pretty noisy. It’s sort of like living in a fancy boat yard. We haven’t met any new people yet but that will come. Lots of cruisers speak lots of other languages. Lucky for us many also speak English. Linda and Michael are about a five minute walk from us on one of the more central docks. The marina has a large paperback library so there is no need to buy popular fiction which is good. The books are two deep on the shelf and in no kind of order. The labels on the shelves indicate that once upon a time they were arranged by author but then everyone gave up and now it’s just browse until you find something you want to read. Right now I have books waiting but it’s nice to have the library available. You just take them and return them when you’re done. We have a bag to donate so I’ll walk them over tomorrow.

Our agent in Turkey.

Sonar handled the paperwork for all of our boats. Sevenstar suggested an agent who wanted hundreds of Euros so Randal stopped in Soner’s office to speak with him and found the price should be way less. Bill and Chris also had been given Soner’s name but Randal was really the first to approach him and tell him about the 16 of us. Soner was well organized and caring. He made sure things went smoothly. The BBC Everest was docked at the same port that ferry boats use so he made sure we would have access to check on the unloading progress. Early the second day of unloading a cruiser went to the Marmaris Port to get onto his boat on the BBC Everest. The Port Authorities stamped is passport out of Turkey because a ferry boat of people returning to Rhodes (Greece) was going through the security gates at the same time and Turkish Immigration thought the cruiser was with the group and the cruiser thought he was supposed to give them his passport… Could have been a mess but Soner took care of it. We were actually in Soner’s office listening to him on the phone taking care of the problem. We were there as were Bun and Anita from Passage and Soner suggested we wait about 20 minutes for the ferry to leave so we’d have no problem. Soner’s office is on the waterfront and he invited us all to stop in any time for a rest and some tea. And if we have problems while cruising anywhere in Turkey to call him. Soner is young, hip, and very Turkish! Very welcoming.

Bridge of the BBC Everest

We spent several hours up there the first day waiting to see what would be. We were all standing around outside and the Captain invited us up, and up and up and up. It was way up. By 4 pm when we still didn’t know when we’d be unloaded but were sure it wasn’t that day, Randal and I went down again and walked back to our Dost Hotel and checked back in.

Looking down from the bridge at DoraMac

She is the back one on the left with her green hull and her tan canvas front window cover.

Last Thursday we visited the "Thursday Market" near our hotel just to look. We’ll return there this Thursday to load up on fruit and veggies.

The tomatoes are just wonderful and are served for breakfast with sliced cucumber and olives.

Most Turkish women dress as we do but many also wear more traditional clothing and cover their heads though Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey banned the Islamic dress code for women.

The pink ladies.

Lots of these bread cabinets everywhere. And tea is also served everywhere in the lovely Turkish tea glasses.

I love their long skirts and scarves. The flowers and strawberry lady!

  The afternoon winds are whistling!  But that’s ok:  it’s howling winds that cause problems.  We’ll definitely have to get used to the Mediterranean weather patterns.  Yesterday about an hour before noon we were lowered off the BBC Everest.  We were the third boat of the day.  It took two days to get the boats off-loaded, but by 8pm Linda and Michael, the last to be unloaded, were tied to a dock here at M Y M.  DoraMac survived the trip just fine and she was no dirtier than when we sent her off.   We had been warned about blowing sand getting everywhere, but most of it must have been washed off in the April showers.  

  M Y M is a giant marina with room for 1,600 boats; 1,000 on the hard and 600 in the water.  Right now it’s quite full though soon many people will leave for the summer cruising season.  We’ve signed up for one month and then we’ll see.  Many of the BBC Everest boats are here but some have already gone off and everyone has quite different plans.  With so many boats there can be little privacy as most are backed into a spot with their sterns tied to the dock and boats on either side.  Coming in we had asked to tie parallel to a dock to off load our motorbike.  We’ll they’ve left us here for our stay.  We’re at the back side of the marina but it’s kind of nice to have just the water on one side and a lovely view of the bay.  And we don’t have to stern tie and walk a narrow plank from the back of the boat to the dock.   (We had to climb up and down ladders and over railings in the unloading process and I have ladder and railing fears so it was a bit of a challenge for me. 

   Just before writing this email I was looking up Turkish food vocabulary for our shopping trip tomorrow.  I did buy a few staples in the small grocery store at the marina but butter, and cheeses, and many other items have no English to help you out.   .  Some things you can just see, but several cruisers have bought something other than  milk because it came in what looked like a milk bottle.   It was either tart yogurt or buttermilk or something they didn’t know at all, but it wasn’t milk. 

  I tried to use the Mango language program on County web site but it won’t seem to work here.  I did look at the Hebrew in Langkawi when we thought we were going there, but here the Internet must just be too slow.  That’s why no photos this time.  We may buy a dongle since the marina wifi is iffy at best and pretty slow.  Of course if it didn’t work I wouldn’t have to wake to the gloomy news of another Sox loss!  May better be better!

  So that’s it.  Hopefully photos next time. 

But one more story.  We checked out of our hotel thinking we’d be off loaded the first day.  When we weren’t we returned to our Dost Hotel and got our old room back.  I felt bad that we had all new sheets and towels because we rarely ask for them.  We were really tired from all of the walking back and forth to the Marmaris Port and then to town for lunch and then back to the port and then back to the hotel.  We wanted some dinner but not much so Randal asked Ibrahim, the hotel owner, where we could get soup.  He paused for a minute and then said, "Here."  We were surprised but he said his Grandma would make it.  I had smelled something good downstairs when I’d gone down to look at the garden as the hotel is above their living area.  Ibrahim asked what time and we said 6 PM.  We went down to the tables where we eat breakfast and waited a bit.  Soon Ibrahim walked past us into the small kitchen carrying a pot of soup.  He brought us out bowls of lentil soup, bread and lemon to squirt in the soup as they do here.  it was wonderful and I ate two bowls, bread and drank half of Randal’s beer.  When we were done Randal asked for the bill.  "No bill, it’s on the house," said Ibrahim.  We were stunned and Randal offered again, but only got a smile from Ibrahim.  If you treat the Turks well, they treat you wonderfully. 

Ru