selcuk

selcuk is most known to tourists as being a base for exploration of the roman ruins at ephesus (efes) which are only 3km down the road...that's the reason i visited...
i arrived on a friday morning, around 0800...i think...i'd taken a night bus from goreme, and didn't sleep through the night, so my recollection of times and such is probably a little screwy...the bus was supposed to be direct, or so i was told...but when it got to aydin, i had to get off and transfer...not that this was a big deal, it was just unexpected...while waiting in aydin i was offered tea, which i gratefully accepted...i love how tea is served everywhere in turkey...i'm tempted to buy the double teapot before i leave the country, but lets be honest, do i really need that? no, not so much...(especially because i know exactly what kind of teapot i will buy the next time i'm in the states)

i was thrilled when the bus pulled into selcuk and i knew immediately where i was...no problems orienting myself in this town...i'd checked out hotels listed in the guidebook, and headed toward one...they had a room available and i was a happy camper...the grandma running the place even offered breakfast, but all i wanted was tea...i've gotten used to drinking tea all the time in turkey...
unfortunately, it was raining, and continued to rain all morning...yuck...a little before noon the rain let up, so i started walking down the road to the ruins...read my previous post for those descriptions...
on my way back to my hotel, i decided to check out the market...according to the guidebook, the market takes place once a week, and was conveniently located really close to my hotel...heaps and heaps of fresh fruit and veggies...i'm guessing local folks do their weekly shopping at this market...if i had a place to store stuff, i would've bought more...i can't get enough tomatoes, cucumbers, oranges, etc...unfortunately, those aren't so easy to carry around...i did buy some yogurt, which is ridiculously popular in this country...the yogurt i got was super thick...just the way i like it...i can stick my spoon in it (a spoon is the only utensil airport security will allow, mine has never been confiscated:) and the spoon won't fall over...i also bought string cheese...REALLY GOOD...and spices...and some sort of nut...the spice guy gave me a couple sticks of cinnamon as well...i'm almost positive the prices in selcuk are cheap as compared to the spice market in istanbul, though i'll check when i get back...i walked out of the market feeling very content...if i manage to eat all the yogurt and cheese i won't need anything else for the next couple days!!

dinner was a tavuk doner roll...simple, and good...and for the first time since i arrived in turkey a week ago, i bought ice cream...yum...snacking on the cheese and yogurt when i got back to my room...i felt as though i'd eaten tons, but i don't think it was that bad...
the next day i was really slow about getting going...which turned out to be a good thing, as selcuk itself doesn't have a whole lot to see...my first stop was the temple of artemis...it used to be one of the seven wonders of the ancient world...now, one of the pillars is all that remains...there are some other rocks and such, but you don't really get an idea of how awesome it was supposed to be...even the pictures on the information sign don't really show much...it's a bit disappointing...
my next stop was a mosque...it's built at the foot of a big hill, and was built in 1375...i liked the gardens outside better than the inside...as far as mosques go, this one wasn't high on my list at all...not as airy and light feeling as mosques usually feel to me...

up the hill from the mosque is the basilica of st john...according to "them" st john stayed in ephesus twice, both for extended periods of time...and both times with the virgin mary...apparently when jesus was dying on the cross, he entrusted his mom to st john, who was allegedly his most beloved disciple...given that where jesus died wasn't safe for the disciples they all split up...st john took mary with him, and eventually they got to ephesus...he wrote a lot while they lived there...while i wandered around the basilica i got to the tomb of st john...it's not fancy...i wanted to take a picture, but a chinese group was praying...it went on for a good 5-10 minutes...and after they were done, they wanted to take photos...many many many photos...this person with that person, then with someone else, group photos, etc...it went on, and on, and on and on...finally, i thought they were finished, so i took my one quick photo and moved on...i looked back to see they were still taking photos! i know i like to take photos with me in them, but geesh!!

as i wandered around the basilica i was twice approached by men asking if i wanted to see ancient coins, if i was interested in buying them...no thanks...and trust me, approaching me out of the blue like that, even if you have something in which i'm interested is not going to make me likely to buy anything...ever...it's creepy...it's annoying enough avoiding these people when i'm walking into an area i want to explore...i'm guessing they don't have to pay the entrance fee? argh...
i would've loved to explore the castle that is behind the basilica...but it's closed for renovations and excavation...there are a couple good information boards that show what has already been found, and what else might be in there...oh well...
from there i walked back down the hill, following the street that was lined by the remains of old roman aqueducts...pretty impressive, even now...(the photos don't show it though)...i didn't do much else in town...i walked by my hotel without realizing it, whoops...clearly it doesn't stand out much...i had more ice cream, and did my best to finish off the yogurt i'd bought the day before...