On the fifth day of our trip it was a quick flight from Istanbul to Izmir. Located on the western Mediterranean coast it’s the gateway to Kusadasi, a thriving beach destination during the summer months, and also the famous ruins of Ephesus.
We picked up our rental car and drove onto Selcuk, our home base for the next two nights. This is a smaller farming community and just a couple of miles from Ephesus. The traditional way to visit the ruins, we later learned, is to start from the top and walk down. Our mistake played in our favor as we pulled into the lower entrance. Aside from a lone taxi driver and one open ticket window we were the only people in sight. The line of stalls and shops were shuttered up; the wind was blowing over the crest through the trees and the sun was getting low. We passed a security guard after a few hundred yards, greeted a couple of the resident cats, then enjoyed the solitude sitting at the Library of Celcus as the sun set.
The next morning we strolled through the huge Saturday Selcuk market—lemons for a dime, leeks as long as a man’s arm, and overflowing tables of pomegranates and oranges. I love the smells and sights of a local market and this one didn’t disappoint. Turkey is one of the few countries in the world that can sustain its own population on food that is grown and raised in-country.
We had a one night stop at Pamukkale to view the famous “cotton castle” and Hierapolis ruins. The hot springs and travertines, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, have been used as a spa since the second century BC. Who doesn’t want to take a healing soak among the ruins?
The drive from Pamukkale through Konya onto Cappadocia took us through the Turkish “Badlands”. The vistas were wide and windswept. We passed dozens of trucks piled high with potatoes, drove through tiny villages, and made a point to stop at the Sultanhani Caravanserai; the largest and oldest Turkish Han on the Silk Road (built in 1229).
Nothing could prepare me for the otherworldly Cappadocia landscape. We settled into our cave hotel in the pedestrian friendly village of Goreme. Our tiny terrace provided a perfect view over the rooftops and fairy chimneys, and as an added bonus there was a lemon tree in our room. This is a perfect destination for hikers and outdoor enthusiasts. It’s an easy stroll to the Goreme Open Air Museum, the extensive network of hiking trails through the Goreme Valley as well as restaurants and shops. On the suggestion of our hotel hosts, we visited the Soganli Valley and underground city of Derinkuyu. These sites are easily visited on your own, but there’s also no lack of tour operators in this region. And, this is the destination for a hot air balloon excursion. There are no words.
My travel motto: get lost, make mistakes and treasure the finds. –Rochelle, April 2014
TURKEY, PART 3 OF 5: THE TRIP CONTINUES
On the fifth day of our trip it was a quick flight from Istanbul to Izmir. Located on the western Mediterranean coast it’s the gateway to Kusadasi, a thriving beach destination during the summer months, and also the famous ruins of Ephesus.
We picked up our rental car and drove onto Selcuk, our home base for the next two nights. This is a smaller farming community and just a couple of miles from Ephesus. The traditional way to visit the ruins, we later learned, is to start from the top and walk down. Our mistake played in our favor as we pulled into the lower entrance. Aside from a lone taxi driver and one open ticket window we were the only people in sight. The line of stalls and shops were shuttered up; the wind was blowing over the crest through the trees and the sun was getting low. We passed a security guard after a few hundred yards, greeted a couple of the resident cats, then enjoyed the solitude sitting at the Library of Celcus as the sun set.
The next morning we strolled through the huge Saturday Selcuk market—lemons for a dime, leeks as long as a man’s arm, and overflowing tables of pomegranates and oranges. I love the smells and sights of a local market and this one didn’t disappoint. Turkey is one of the few countries in the world that can sustain its own population on food that is grown and raised in-country.
We had a one night stop at Pamukkale to view the famous “cotton castle” and Hierapolis ruins. The hot springs and travertines, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, have been used as a spa since the second century BC. Who doesn’t want to take a healing soak among the ruins?
The drive from Pamukkale through Konya onto Cappadocia took us through the Turkish “Badlands”. The vistas were wide and windswept. We passed dozens of trucks piled high with potatoes, drove through tiny villages, and made a point to stop at the Sultanhani Caravanserai; the largest and oldest Turkish Han on the Silk Road (built in 1229).
Nothing could prepare me for the otherworldly Cappadocia landscape. We settled into our cave hotel in the pedestrian friendly village of Goreme. Our tiny terrace provided a perfect view over the rooftops and fairy chimneys, and as an added bonus there was a lemon tree in our room. This is a perfect destination for hikers and outdoor enthusiasts. It’s an easy stroll to the Goreme Open Air Museum, the extensive network of hiking trails through the Goreme Valley as well as restaurants and shops. On the suggestion of our hotel hosts, we visited the Soganli Valley and underground city of Derinkuyu. These sites are easily visited on your own, but there’s also no lack of tour operators in this region. And, this is the destination for a hot air balloon excursion. There are no words.
My travel motto: get lost, make mistakes and treasure the finds. –Rochelle, April 2014