Rocks and Ruins

I'm not really sure what I expected from Turkey but what I got has exceeded all expectations.  When I knew the cruise was finishing in Istanbul, I decided to take the opportunity to stay on to explore this country that I had heard people rave about. I'd seen photos of Cappadocia and of course wanted to visit Gallipoli. Other than that I hadn't really done any research into specifics and picked a tour that I thought would be good as it included included the beach side town of Antalya as well, which someone had recommended as a must-see to me. And who doesn't love Turkish food??

It's been an eye-opening 3500km trip of rocks, ruins, ancient amphitheatres, friendly and welcoming people, towering mountains that hide the fertile valleys with massive greenhouses, coastal drives that easily rival the Great Ocean Road and California's Pacific Coast highway, the weird and wonderful formations of Cappadocia, sparkling bling, bling jewellery, white travertine terraces with bright blue pools at Pamukkale and beautiful clear azure waters of the Meditterean and Aegean seas. Just when you think you can't be surprised any more, another spectacular sight is around the corner or hidden behind an ordinary facade! 

From the moment the ship docked in Izmir, allowing us to experience the wonders of the ancient roman ruins of Ephesus, Turkey has been an incredible journey. Izmir and our trip to Ephesus gave a glimpse of what was to come. Despite being one of the largest and best preserved Roman ruins that I saw, it did not deminish the many more I was to see later, on the bus tour. 

The restored facade of the library.

Ephesus is one of the Wonders of the Ancient World and leaves you awestruck. Like many of the Roman/Greek or other ruins we visited, what at a distance looks like a pile of rubble begins to take shape as you near it. 

The smaller of the 2 amphitheatres. 

With several cruise ships all in port the place was pumping, probably not unlike it would have been 2000 years ago with its population of 400,000. 

It was just a tad less crowded 2 weeks later when we went back as part of the tour!

It is marvellous to see the engineering and sophistication of the Romans with their mosaics, marbled walls and fancy baths. The extra visit gave me time to explore the Terrace houses, well preserved and still being excavated today under the protection of a modern canopy. 

The ultimate jigsaw puzzles!

 Marble lined baths

Fresco walls and mosaic tile floors.

The terra cotta pipes designed to carry water from 40-50 miles away via aqueducts, have changed little in two millenuem. 

The larger amphitheatre.  

But as I said earlier it wasn't all rocks and ruins. But that's the next part of the story!