Day 30: Selçuk and Efes

Despite being warned to make sure I take the correct bus from Alaçati to Izmir (ie. the one that would take me to the Otogar/bus station), I managed to get on the wrong on and spent an awkward 30minutes sitting somewhere outside of Izmir hoping another bus would come. The taxi driver tutted at some young school boys taking up a bench nearby, waving at them to shuffle over so that I had somewhere to sit. Three of them perched awkwardly at the other end of the bench, trying to discreetly look over at me and my massive bag. This was not tourist town. They excitedly exchanged words, and one of them turned to me,

"Where...are you from?" he asks, beaming.

"Canada."

"Ca..nada," he repeats, looking straight ahead. The other boys nod. And then they dash off. Right.

I was entirely relying on the information a nearby Taksi driver provided, saying that another bus would be coming and could take me to the Otogar.

Fortunately this was the case, and after a few more bus transfers, I was indeed on my way to Selçuk, a town en route to Fethyie and a short distance from Efes, or Ephesus- home to the ancient roman ruins that date back to 3,000BC.

Mom and dad had seen the area a few years back as a stop on a mediterranean cruise, so when an email from dad pointed out that I'd be bussing right by it, I figured I might as well stop and spend an afternoon. As I stepped out of the dolmus (minibus) in Selcuk, I was quickly approached by a young man with decent english. The driver had clearly given him a heads up that there was a foreigner on board. Despite my cautious notions to avoid such affronts, I was tired and have been finding that in Turkey, you can ask anyone for help and 99% of the time you'll get the honest truth- an actually quality recommendation or set of directions. In this case I asked for directions to my planned accommdation and this man said his friend was heading in that direction and could walk me over. But before sending me off, he asked if I had a booking- I said no. He then pulled out a little card showing an alternative pension,

"This place is my family's business. Not far. I will drive you there, you can look around, and if you don't like it I will take you to the other one."

Sounded fair enough to me.

The family place was tucked away on a quiet street in a proper local neighbourhood of this small town and would do the trick- plus I was able to negotiate a free ride up to Efes as well. I dropped my bags and was up at the North Gate of the ruins a short while later. In the warm late afternoon sun, I wandered around this incredible site. I'm not one to be overly appreciative of history, but these rocks and this city was OLD- quite likely the oldest I have ever seen- and surprisingly well restored. The light was perfect too, and I had a lovely time snapping photos, oblivious to the occassional swarms of tourists around me. I weaved between tour groups- a few that were clearly from cruise ships. I could just see Mom and Dad fitting right in.

Notice the white chairs on the right- the area was being set up for a wedding. What a venue...talk about a convincing "Ancient Roman" theme

Selçuk is a relatively quiet town, and I couldn't help but notice the number of tea rooms. There was nearly one on every corner, each with tables and chair spilling out onto the street- full of old men playing backgammon and checkers while sipping on Turkish tea. There wasn't a woman in sight- it crossed my mind that they may very well be male-only tea rooms, so I asked the Pension recruiter when I bumped into him near the bus station later in the day,

"No, but these men, their wives are at home. They are older, their wives go to cafes and they come here, at the end of the day."

So sort of- but not officially. That explains the gawking looks I got as I sauntered through one of these tea rooms, weaving between tables.

I picked up a few odds and ends in town and came back to the Pension as the sun was setting- the street out front was loud with the screams of nine and ten year old boys playing a very rough version of soccer...with this boy watching quietly from the side: