We took the panoramic tour of Kusadasi and Ephesus
yesterday. This is what it looked like sailing into port.
Here is some of the artwork in the port area.
There was an interesting island near the port.
We had no idea what to expect from Turkey. The west coast of Turkey
is more westernized than we thought. One of the first sites in the countryside
was a water park with Turkish minarets as decorations. I didn’t get a great
picture unfortunately.
Our guide was a family man
with two daughters. He said their lives are very different than they were even
ten years ago. Turkey fared better in the economic downturn than other
countries. The economy is improving rapidly. There is still 8% unemployment but
they have free health care and free education all the way through college. No
welfare, though. He said his daughters have cell phones and most families have
a car these days. High taxes on gasoline are the main revenue source. A
passenger said they pay $17 a gallon for gas.
A condo with a view of the
beach and three bedrooms is between $100,000 and $150,000 depending on which
tour guide you believe. The port city is beautiful. There is a picturesque fort
in the harbor. We saw no beggars. This is the beginning of the tourist season
and they were thrilled to have us back. The temperature was about 80 degrees F
but it gets up to 120 in July and August.
The second surprise is the inhabitants.
Our guide said westerners expect men with dark bushy mustaches riding camels
over the sand dunes. Actually, their ancestral heritage is more Caucasian and
there are blue eyed blondes among the group. He said their language has more in
common with Korean and Finnish, if I remember correctly. I seem to have
misplaced my notes.
From the port we traveled
several miles inland to reach the old city of Ephesus. This place is famous
because of the book of Ephesians in the Bible. The Apostles of Christ visited
here and wrote many messages to the Christians who lived in the area. Here we
were surprised again to find that we went up into the hills (which they call
mountains) and found ourselves in a beautiful pine forest.
Along the route we saw
antiquities such as stadiums and other vestiges of the huge city that once
existed here. The area is mainly agricultural now. They grow olive trees,
oranges, quince, peaches and pomegranates among other things. Their biggest
moneymaking crop is cotton and textiles are their number one export. Tourism is
way down on the list.
This is a 600 year old Turkish bath.
The guide pointed out a road that would take us to Iran and
beyond. It is the old Silk Route. They still have a thriving business in silk
and still make their famous Turkish carpets. Their location is so central to
the west and the Orient that they have never lost their trading routes. It’s
only three hours by air to Moscow and many of the capitals of Europe. They were
once more closely allied with Russia but have become much more aligned with the
west in recent years.
The main destination was to visit a house that supposedly belonged to the Mother Mary, the mother of Christ.
Here is the explanation for believing this is Mary's house.
Here is an old baptismal font in front of the house.
The house is in a beautiful, pine covered hilly area. The place was packed with buses and tour groups.
Here is Bill with our guide.
I walked through this house. It is very small. There is a shrine inside. No pictures allowed inside as I recall.
