Hotel Bella....friendliest hotel we've been in! The hotel is full of Turkish antiques, rugs, ceramics..beautiful. They drove us everywhere we wanted to go, and helped plan our days.
The view from the rooftop patio...where we ate many of our meals, lounged around and smoked the water pipe! (Apple flavor!)
View of the storks nest and the hilltop citadel. The storks fly from Africa in the Spring, lay their eggs and fly back with the kids in the Fall. This nest has five youngsters that were just learning how to fly. Mom and Dad still do all the hunting. Mom brings back the water, and Dad the fish. We watched them feed...very entertaining while drinking a glass of wine or eating dinner!
We drove out to the tiny village of Sirince passing grapevines, peach and apple orchards. We were charmed! We tasted their famous fruit wines....peach, apricot, blueberry, melon, raspberry, cherry...all served in little shot glasses!
The streets are narrow and cobbled. At one point I was standing next to a pile of rubble that "whined", out popped three of the most adorable stray puppies. We met momma later and gave her many well deserved pats. Would have given her a steak dinner if I had one!
The stone and stucco houses with red roofs. We had a delicious lunch with white beans, stuffed pumpkin flowers, yogurt with cucumber and mint, and dolmasi (stuffed vine leaves).
The next morning we got up early to beat the heat and headed to the famed Ephesus, the best preserved classical city in the easter Mediterranean. It was a great trading city and a centre for the cult of Cybele, the Anatolian fertility goddess.
We passed gymnasiums, churches, baths, a great theatre, marketplace, fountains, temples, and numerous gates.
The most interesting part was the "Terraced Houses." They have been covered by a huge "tent" so that workers can continue to excavate. They are literally piecing together a giant puzzle.
Beautiful frescoes cover the walls and elaborate mosaics cover the floors. These were wealthy people!
The Library of Celsus. It held 12,000 scrolls in niches around its walls. A 1m gap between the inner and outer walls protected the valuable books.
That evening we went across the street from our hotel to the Basilica of St John. St John is said to have come to Ephesus twice, once with the Virgin Mary and towards the end of his life when he wrote his gospel. It was a heap of rubble and has now been restored...as well as a heap of rubble can be! We are "ruined" out..now off to the resort town of Bodrum.
Hotel Bella....friendliest hotel we've been in! The hotel is full of Turkish antiques, rugs, ceramics..beautiful. They drove us everywhere we wanted to go, and helped plan our days.
The view from the rooftop patio...where we ate many of our meals, lounged around and smoked the water pipe! (Apple flavor!)
View of the storks nest and the hilltop citadel. The storks fly from Africa in the Spring, lay their eggs and fly back with the kids in the Fall. This nest has five youngsters that were just learning how to fly. Mom and Dad still do all the hunting. Mom brings back the water, and Dad the fish. We watched them feed...very entertaining while drinking a glass of wine or eating dinner!
We drove out to the tiny village of Sirince passing grapevines, peach and apple orchards. We were charmed! We tasted their famous fruit wines....peach, apricot, blueberry, melon, raspberry, cherry...all served in little shot glasses!
The streets are narrow and cobbled. At one point I was standing next to a pile of rubble that "whined", out popped three of the most adorable stray puppies. We met momma later and gave her many well deserved pats. Would have given her a steak dinner if I had one!
The stone and stucco houses with red roofs. We had a delicious lunch with white beans, stuffed pumpkin flowers, yogurt with cucumber and mint, and dolmasi (stuffed vine leaves).
The next morning we got up early to beat the heat and headed to the famed Ephesus, the best preserved classical city in the easter Mediterranean. It was a great trading city and a centre for the cult of Cybele, the Anatolian fertility goddess.
We passed gymnasiums, churches, baths, a great theatre, marketplace, fountains, temples, and numerous gates.
The most interesting part was the "Terraced Houses." They have been covered by a huge "tent" so that workers can continue to excavate. They are literally piecing together a giant puzzle.
Beautiful frescoes cover the walls and elaborate mosaics cover the floors. These were wealthy people!
The Library of Celsus. It held 12,000 scrolls in niches around its walls. A 1m gap between the inner and outer walls protected the valuable books.
That evening we went across the street from our hotel to the Basilica of St John. St John is said to have come to Ephesus twice, once with the Virgin Mary and towards the end of his life when he wrote his gospel. It was a heap of rubble and has now been restored...as well as a heap of rubble can be! We are "ruined" out..now off to the resort town of Bodrum.
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