So here we are in Selcuk! (Pronounced “Sell-chuck”.) We got in around 9:00 or so Friday night, and around 10:00 or so, we were treated to a true Turkish experience! Apparently, someone joined the Turkish Army, and when that happens, there’s a big parade in the street—and it happened to be right outside our window. Sorry, I was trying to sleep so I didn’t get any pictures. Kind of a bummer! There was music and yelling and lots of noise—that much I can tell you. =)
Saturday morning, we slept in as late as we could—I got up around 8:30, Andrea a little after that, and Dan slept till 11 or so. We are quite a diverse threesome. =) Traditional Turkish Breakfast is included, which is not our favorite, but it’s what we got! It consists of a boiled egg, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, bread, cheese, butter, and jelly (cherry jelly=yummy!). It sufficed.
We got really lucky with Saturday being our first full day here. Right outside the hotel’s front door, a bazaar was going on! It was like a Farmer’s Market/arts festival, except about 100 times bigger! They shut down the road for blocks and set up shop for the whole day! I was so sorry to be missing my Old Town Farmer’s Market, but this was a worthy substitute to get me through! =) There were figs, melons I’d never seen before, grapes galore, bananas, olive oil, Turkish Delight and other candies, peppers, olives, tomatoes as big as grapefruits, peaches the size of softballs and the list could go on and on! See pictures. =)
Andrea and I ventured out to see the selection of foods, then got sidetracked in the various other sections of the market—jewelry, bags, pashminas, clothes, ceramics, etc. Dan met up with us a bit later, and we had a grand time just looking at all the funny things tourists buy, like Evil Eye memorabilia, that supposedly bring good luck, belly dancing outfits, tacky trinkets, key chains, paperweights, glittery stuff, you know—the touristy things. =) We all bought a few things of course, but definitely nothing with glitter. =)
We stumbled into this nice woman’s shop (yes, a woman owns and runs it herself! In TURKEY!!!!!), and she absolutely gave us the low-down on everything in Selcuk! She told us the best way to get to and explore Ephesus, places to eat around town, where to go on a day trip, how to tell if ceramics are good or bad quality. Her name is Julia and she’s great! The little place she recommended to us for lunch was really good, too. The people were super nice. =)
In the afternoon, we bought some baklava, browsed around the market, and decided on our plan of attack for the rest of the weekend. =) We decided to take the dolmus (minibus) to Pamucuk (pam-oo-chuck) beach for the evening, and tackle Ephesus the next day. This was a good decision! Walking along the Aegean Sea, where many of the disciples probably sailed to and from, was quite remarkable! Being there at sunset was lovely, and wading in the cold water felt so good! Definitely a highlight of the trip! Andrea and I made a fish in the sand, too, which is one of the early Christian symbols that people used HERE in the first century. So cool.
That evening we went to a fancy-dancy outdoor restaurant to have supper (eating out is SO cheap here!), and it was very definitely a great atmosphere for dinner. I’ve not been impressed with the food, but that may have to do with my stomach being kind of unsettled still. Dan and Andrea have both enjoyed it, though! After supper, we walked back to our pension/hotel, and on the way we met up with a very sweet woman from Bulgaria in a carpet and kilim shop. She makes full-sized rugs by hand, but then she also makes… doll house carpets! And clothes, and furniture, and all that stuff! She said she loves it, and while there’s not really a market for it in Turkey, the tourists like it, and she can easily sell the doll things on the Internet! She’s very nice and was just excited to show us her doll house. =) We were actually drawn in by the sign out front: “No hassle rug shop”! Haha. So I had to get a picture with the sign, of course! And that’s when Ludwina came out to talk with us. You never know how or where or when you’ll meet people! =)
And the next day was… Ephesus! The adventure continues!
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