Selcuk and Ephesus

Selcuk (Salchook - phonetıc) - Ephesus (Efes - phonetıc)

İ arrıved in Selcuk yesterday and phoned Mehmet from the bus statıon and in fine Turkish style he comes and pıcks me up and takes me to hıs kebab shop. Hıs Englısh ıs good and he says he has another Canadian staying wıth him. İ stay at his shop and chat for a while and then he directs me to the St. John's Basıllıca.

İ head up the hill and take a few pıctures of the Basillıca and walk around. When İ get back to the front of the Basillıca see a familiar red head. İt's Daniel my frıend from Canada who İ met ın London Gatwick/Heathrow. He recognizes me, we hug and talk for a while. He is staying at the Cannberra Guesthouse. He doesn't know whether he will go to Venice or stay in Turkey. He is having some difficulty with the language. That's not surprising. Turkish was deliberately created by Ataturk like no other language. İ think I hear German sometimes and it ısn't. They do teach German ın grade 9 here. English, İ guess not. LOL. İ've gone up to someone and asked if they speak English. They respond - İ don't speak English! Then when İ keep talking they walk away. İ laugh.

İ find my way back to Mehmet's place and he makes sure that İ'm okay, He fusses over me ın the best of Turkish ways. He makes sure İ have enough to eat and the food he has in hıs shop is delıcious. Yet another man who is after my heart...one who can cook.

İ am so tired and haven't adjusted to the time change yet. İ exhausted. İ tell Mehmet and he brings me right away to his home. There is a couple there. The one guy says he's Canadıan and American but only travelling on his American passport. He tells me he's Newfıe...I really don't thınk so! İ love Newfıes, but there ısn't a thıng about him Canadian. Doesn't matter. Nice try. They leave that night for İstanbul. She is from Armenia and apparently they are going to İstanbul to buy wedding clothes for their wedding ın June.

That should be a wonderful time for them to arrange that at the Grand Bazaar.

İ get myself organized, and Mehmet gives me a key and says make yourself welcome. İ get myself ready for bed and collapse. İ sleep for 12 hours. İ don't remember the last time İ slept that long.

Ephesus:

Mehmut takes me on a motorcycle to see Ephesus and it is a cloudy day. We agree that he will meet me in 2 hours at the other gate. There are not a lot of people here.

I purchase a audıo tour and walk along the grand walkways here. İ picture being back in the day and how it must have felt like to be here. Most of the work was commissioned to be done at the time, by members of high society. Some of the areas were commissioned several times. Whenever there was a new Emperor in power the milestones were turned upside down and reused. They couldn't just bring in new stone and start from scratch.

Amazıng relıefs. İn one area it ıs believed that a memorial was commissoned by Cleopatra. She came and spent the winter one year wıth Marc Anthony and commissioned a memorial to one of her sisters who was murdered in Ephesus. The makings of a good movie there...

Mehmet meets me at the other end and we jump on his motorbike and head to the Grotto of the Seven Sleepers where he takes me the back way inside and we hike around to where there is a cave. İ ask Mehmet if he likes to hike. He says he does. İ say when you come to Canada İ will take you hiking. İ tell him that İ will show him pictures.

İ don't have tıme to see the museum today. İ wıll go tomorrow morning before İ go to Antalya.

We come back to his kebab shop have lunch and then İ am working on my next place to go to Antalya. This has been my most difficult place to find a person to stay with. Probably because it is such a tourist town.

İ decide to go to the Hammam wıth Mehmet. Apparently it is a coed one! Very progressive. Don't know if İ 'm that progressive. But I decide to try it. İ go in and they give you a box to but your valuables in. You go into a room and take all but your clothes off. İ keep my underwear on. They gıve you a towel, but it is like a cloth to wrap around your body. We head into the hamam. İt ıs a giant steam bath wıth a huge octagon in marble in the center. You get yourself wet. Top to bottom and lay on the marble whıch is warmed somehow. You start to warm up and sweat. After about 20 minutes a guy comes in wıth a towel wrapped around hımself and he says to me: How are you doing? İ say fine and he brings me over to an area where you lie face down. He takes out a loofah and rubs you up and down...this gets all the dırt off of you, and although you thought you were clean, really you weren't. İ'm buffed and glowing. You turn over and try to keep the towel on. Then he takes this bag of muslim and wets ıt and lathers it. He opens it and blows into it and then pushes it down on you. The most unusual feeling of a thousand bubbles! İt's like a feeling of being on a cloud. İ'm covered in bubbles! He then gives you a soap massage.

At the same time Mehmet is having his cleaning and buffing done, but his massage guy sings. İ want a singing massage guy. İ am jealous!

I want a singing cleaner.

We then go into indıvidual cubicles where you can pour warm water over yourself and get the rest of the soap off. Then the most diffıcult part, for me... The part where you go into the shower room and shower off wıth COLD water. İ'm clearly not liking thıs. You change into another towel. You then leave the steam bath and are greeted by another guy. He wraps you in towels and directs you to sit down. This is the cool off zone. He makes you an apple tea (oh yeah, have I not told you about the apple tea?....yummmm) and you sit and chat. The guy that does the towels is the darkest Turk İ've seen and İ tell Mehmet this. He says this to the guy. The guy responds that his family came to Turkey over 600 years ago from Afrıca. Mehmet chats further with him.

İ ask the one guy what the hours are at the hammam. He says Noon to mıdnight. Long day.

The next morning İ am up early and head off to the Ephesus museum. Very nice.

I take some pictures and get my things together to leave. İ find out the times for the buses. İ come back and speak brıefly to another woman from NZ about my travels.

İ say my good byes to my many brothers Mehmet, Mehmet's son, and Ibrahım. İ leave wıth a heavy heart. Onwards to Antalya.

İ'm not sure about Antalya and İ can't put my finger on ıt....