We had to make a very early start from Istanbul – 6.30am,
Liam and Bella were beside themselves! – for our transfer to Eceabat, on the
Gallipoli peninsular. The road was very
foggy so we couldn't admire the view, and although the driver sometimes seemed
a little distracted and veered across the lanes we made the trip safely! The pick up from Istanbul, to Eceabat,
breakfast, lunch and our tour was 60 euro per person. The tour of Gallipoli was great. Our guide (who from reports was a Turk with
an Aussie accent, but we found you had to listen very hard to hear the twang in the occasional words!) gave us a
very comprehensive overview of the entire Gallipoli campaign and took us all
over the peninsular. Greg and I found it
as sobering as our last visit – it is hard not to be moved to tears thinking of
all of the men, but especially the young ones, being gunned down for what
proved to be such a fruitless exercise in WW1 – and hoped Bella and Liam were
also touched. We went from “Brighton
Beach” to Anzac Cove, onto Lone Pine, onto the main Turkish memorial and
finished up at the highest point reached by the Anzacs: actually by the Kiwis. It was bloody freezing up there. Even Greg admitted to having a frozen face
when he got back on the mini bus. We had
a good crowd on the bus, mainly fellow Aussies, a family of four Kiwis, and
five Yanks (who probably wondered what the big deal over this little bit of
beach was, but hopefully had a much better idea after the tour!). We went back to Eceabat to our hotel,
Crowded House, and got recommendations for a restaurant down the road for
dinner. I had a good meal, but some of the
others in our group were not so happy so I won’t recommend it. I wished the hotel had served dinner – going
out into the cold and very strong winds was not fun! Our room was warm and had a great bed, we
slept well.
We left Eceabat
with two new friends, Amanda and Lachlan from Newcastle, who we met on the Gallipoli
tour, for our bus trip to Selcuk. I don't imagine they had thought they would spend part of their holiday with a family of four!! It was
a very, very long trip (nearly 7
hours to Izmir), but Turkish buses have improved markedly from when we last
travelled on them. Not only are they non
smoking (yay), they don’t play loud Turkish music the entire time. In fact there is a little TV screen on the
back of each seat and they play TV shows and movies – but all in Turkish. Liam and Bella, for want of anything better
to do, watched “The Hobbit” in Turkish.
I don’t know if it’s improved their understanding of the language!! The seats were pretty comfortable too. All in all it wasn't a bad experience but I'm
hoping we can get a cheap flight back to Istanbul so we don’t have to do
another long bus trip!! When we finally
reached Izmir (Turkey’s third largest city, the bus terminal was about five
stories high, very impressive!) we had to transfer to a mini bus for another 40
minute drive to Selcuk. I had the name
of some places I thought we might stay at, but I hadn't made a booking –
honestly, it’s the middle of winter, and there aren't that many tourists,
right? Bella and Liam were very nervous
that we’d be sleeping rough. It’s quite
cold here at night too! We walked from
the train station to my first choice, “Artemis Guest house”, which must be a
good place to stay as it was chockers!
Rats! However the owner helpfully
led us down the road to my next choice, “Wallaby Hotel”. It’s located right next to the ruins of the
roman aquaduct, in a street full of restaurants. The price was not too bad – 100 try ($50) per
room including breakfast, however we didn't have any hot water this morning
which didn’t impress me – I like a shower to start my day! The owner, Jeff, was very keen that we eat at
his restaurant which he assured us had good reviews in the Lonely Planet, but
we were all very determined to find a little place that has rave reviews and
No. 1 spot in Trip Advisor – “Mehmet and Ali Baba Kebab House”. I looked it up and put the map reference onto
my phone and handed it to Liam to lead us there. Some commotion between Liam and Bella led to
the map being changed and without wifi, we had to use the screen shot Bella had
taken earlier… which led us all over the place (we did need to stretch our legs
though!) and some helpful locals (none of whom were carpet salesmen!) helped us
find the place, which was just closing.
It was quite late by this time.
So we went back to plan B, which was the top rated spot in Lonely Planet
right across the road from Wallabys, “Ejder” restaurant. Ignoring Jeff’s sad face from across the
road. And we were glad we did, as it was
the best meal we've had to date in Turkey – in fact if we weren't so keen to
try Mehmet’s, we’d probably go there again.
Everyone loved everything and they finished the meal for us with a
sharing plate of their deserts including a rice pudding that even my father
would have loved. It was delicious.
Yesterday we were picked up at 9.30 for a tour of the ruins at
Ephesus, or Efes as the Turks say.
Amazing ruins of a beautiful Roman city – at its peak it was one of the
capitols of the Roman empire, but the river silted up and the town was
deserted. Over time, materials were
looted – the granite columns in the Aya Sophia came from Efes! We’d visited it long ago, on the day we went
I think it was just Greg, Angela and I on a very
hot Turkish day. In contrast, today was
crisp and cold, and the ruins were packed with Asians from a cruise boat docked
in Izmir. Our guide told us that in the
summer, they often have four or five tour boats in one day doing tours to Efes,
it would be just crazy to be in those sort of crowds! No Turkish tour is complete without a trip to
a carpet shop, and our tour included a stop at a Turkish government shop. The government has set up these shops to give
a fair price to local women who weave the carpets; the workers there assure us
they are paid regardless of sales and make no commissions. I saw a carpet I
really wanted there. It was the first
one I’d seen that I could just imagine in my house right away. But the price was way, way out of our
budget. I was resigned to walking away,
and not getting it, when they relented and came down to my price, but then
claimed negotiations were in US dollars not AUD… bugger it, I thought. I want this carpet. So come on over and admire it when we get
home J Our last stop on the tour was one of the
seven wonders of the Ancient World, the ruins of the temple of Artemis. It really is a ruin which is tragic as it
would have been a wonder in any time, it was HUGE.
Back at Wallabys, we met up with Amanda and Lachie, who had
done their own thing at Efes, and we set out for Mehmet’s place…and found
it! As reviews had said, they were
friendly and welcoming and the prices were very reasonable. We had a great night, including all the
adults trying raki (like a black jelly bean in taste!). Greg went to pay the bill and was away for
quite some time. I asked Mehmet what he
was doing: “Buying a carpet!” he replied.
I laughed, knowing that would not be the case… but yes, I couldn't
believe it, he HAD bought another carpet.
Apparently the brothers who run the restaurant had started off in the
carpet business, then gone into the restaurant trade; the restaurant was doing
so well they had decided to start selling off their carpets and so they were
offering really, really good prices (as only people who have been to at least seven
carpet shops would be able to tell you!!).
Greg showed us his carpet then we all went into have a look. Liam went into full carpet sales man mode,
talking knowledgeably to Lachie and Amanda about quality, knots, and fabric
used; in no time at all, not only had Lachie and Amanda also decided to buy a
carpet each, but Bella had found one that she decided to buy using Mema’s birthday
money for her 16th; and Greg bought a kilim (flat woven rug) for our
hallway!! It was such a hoot, we
couldn't believe we were buying all these carpets (and at such good prices,
especially compared to the amount I’d spent earlier in the day!!) - it was very
funny and very memorable. And dinner was pretty good too J If you are coming to Turkey, Selcuk MUST be
on the agenda!!
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