Day 28: From ruins to rugs

Turkey Tour Day 2

(July 20, 2019)

Our hotel had a very wide selection for breakfast today.  Then we finished packing up and waited outside for our bus.  We had received a note at check-in last ngiht that pick up would be 8:20.  At 8:50 Randy called to be sure that we weren’t forgotten.  The response was, it will be there 8:45 or 9:00.  It finally arrived having had engine trouble and having to find a different bus. Today our tour had a guide whose English was very difficult to understand. We started out going to a place on a hilltop where the Virgin Mary may have taken refuge after her son, Jesus, was killed.  They’re not sure, just some sketchy clues.  She was said to have been taken somewhere, possibly to a hilltop.  So they searched hilltops near enough to Jerusalem and found this one with the remains of a stone foundation for a house.  That’s their evidence for a whole tourist stop.  They found a cistern and spring and since Mary would have drunk from the spring, it is now considered Holy Water and you can drink it.  There are several spigots to drink from—each purported to bring a different wish (health, love, etc.).  Then you’re supposed to write your wish on a piece of paper and tie it onto this wall of wishes that people hope to be granted.  That’s it.  It is very peaceful there in the woods (except not near the café and souvenir shops).  Oh, someone built a small church on top of where the house used to be and you can walk through—Randy and I declined.  There is a picture inside of a German nun that had a vision of Mary being taken to a hilltop for safety (that’s where they got the hilltop idea). 

The church where the house used to be

The "holy" water

The "wishes" wall

An ancient cistern

Then, on to Ephesus.  Ephesus was a city situated on a hilltop.  It is easily defensible and has shown signs of human habitation since they think the 7th millenium (7000 BCE), or at the very latest the 3^rd Millenium (3000 BCE).  It was on a bay that at that time reached its shores.  The bay has since receded to the river.  Ephesus was the only trading city in the region and traders came from all over.  At one point the Greeks came there and began to build the city up.  The Romans followed and rebuilt and continued to build.  Our guide said that you can tell the difference because the Greek portions are built out of stone found in the area and the Roman parts are built out of marble.  There have been earthquakes which have caused damage over the years as well.  There is a rumor that the Virgin Mary may have come to Ephesus first, then moved to her hilltop home.    

Homes of the more prominent

The Prytaneum--where the officials met

The goddess Nike

The guide wondered if this is where Nike clothing got its "swoosh" from!

Curetes Street--shops on both sides

Ancient mosaic floor

Temple of Hadrian

Medusa to protect them

Depicts a war with the Prussians because of the elephant.  Because
not many people were literate, many well-known stories were done in friezes
such as this.

The library (and just as a note, they found a tunnel linking the
library to the brothel)

Two learned guys

The inside of the library

The Theater (Elton John did a concert here--no need for amplification.
Would have loved to have seen that concert!)

The orchestra pit used to be at the same level as the seating, but some
audience members began fighting and injured a musician, so they lowered the pit.

The gymnasium for physical and mental training

At least they're honest!

Next we moved on to a commercial/retail thing again.  This time we were taken to a leather store.  It makes leather goods locally out of goatskin.  First we were treated to a runway show of thir products, then went to the showroom and were offered 50% off.  Only the couple from New York bought anything there. 

Next we were were served lunch at a school were women are taught local crafts such as making rugs.  They learn the craft  and then do it at home since they also need to care for their home and children.  The lunch was good food made and served by local women.   

After that, another rug shop.  We watched a woman knotting a rug very quickly.  Then we were taken into the showroom and they kept unrolling rugs and encouraging us to take our shoes off and walk barefoot on the rugs.  A cotton 4x6 rug takes about 2 months to complete and has about 9 ties per centimeter.  A similar silk or cashmere rug takes two years to complete and has about 100 ties per centimeter.  The full-size rugs cost more than $10,000.  They unrolled rug after rug telling us about them and encouraging us to walk on them.  Then the employees split up to talk to each of us.  I told the man that came over to us that there was absolutely no way I could buy a rug.  He said that it was okay and we agreed for me to pretend that I could (in my dreams!).  The one I loved was a deep red, the fibers were dyed by hand with madder root.  The fibers in the design were dyed with indigo and two types of onion skin.   As he walked us out, I explained that I was a teacher and that teachers in the United States couldn’t afford a rug like that, even in payments.  He said that he understood and we made small talk about teachers and equitable salaries and pensions, then about our two countries until we had to board our bus.  I would love to have the money to buy a rug that would last 200 years (the average lifespan) and could be handed down to my children, but it is not going to happen, although it was nice to dream for awhile!

Made out of Angora and silk--super soft!!

My favorite!

Next we visited an old mosque where they sourced some of the stones to build it from the Artemision, a sanctuary of Ephesus that was located away from the city.

They've got to get a handle on these trumpet vines!

The last thing on our agenda was what was left of the Artemision (sanctuary of the god Artemis) itself.  The information plaque says that the Temple of Artemis counted as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  The earliest finds at the site are some bits of pottery from around 1400 BCE.   The first temple was built by the Greeks around 680 BCE and the Croesus temple was built around 570 BCE.  In later years the Artemis temple was converted and probably used as a church.  

a nest

grazing

You can see the column in the water and the wall behind it

Then we had the shuffle of tourists again and we and the Canadian couple were driven to the airport.  I was getting a little nervous, because we didn’t get  to the airport until 5:00 for our 6:10 flight.  Not a problem, though we were stopped at security when we first entered the airport.  Joshua was stopped for his souvenirs—especially the one of the Burj Khalifa.  The security team laughed when Joshua pulled it out, but they told him that he needed to check both of his bags.  Mine was stopped as well.   They said “scissors” and I pulled out my children’s blunt tip scissors that I bring along for my cross stitch (and that we use for a lot of things).  That was fine, then they said, “rock” and I figured that it must be a marble box that I bought and keep in my carry on to keep it safe (and to keep my bigger bag lighter).  The guy picked it up and handled it (it’s wrapped us super tightly in bubble wrap and packing tape).  I told him what it was and he finally said OK.  The flight on Pegasus Airlines was uneventful.  When we landed, it took about an hour for us to finally get our bags (and ours were at the beginning of the bags sent out!).  Then we found a man with Randy’s name (Rondall Scott—close enough!).  We were told to wait behind him.  He had a really long list of people and each of them had at least one other person so there was soon a large group of us waiting.  Finally, all of the people on the list were accounted for and we were moved to a different area where there were three small buses.  One pulled out as we reached it, then they quickly talked to another bus that was getting ready to leave and put one couple on that bus.  Then they divided the people remaining.  It seemed to be divided by people with Asian names and those without.  They sent a man who could speak English with our group (the non-Asian names).  There were six of us and we were taken to another area to wait for another driver.  He finally came in a vehicle which seemed to be like a limousine.  Two rows of seats facing eachother and a ceiling with colored lights.  We were driven for a long time and they were unsure of our hotel (the tour company never gave us the actual name of the hotel, just that it was a cave hotel).  They dropped us off at an alley, assuring us that it seemed to be the right hotel and to walk to the end.  After waiting for about 15 minutes for the person to return to reception, it was the right hotel.  By this time it was about 10:30 (we landed around 7:45).  We were starving, it was dark, and we were tired.  The owner called a local restaurant to  see if they could deliver (they had already closed).  He handed the phone to Randy and they agreed to deliver food.  We were so hungry that it was absolutely delicious.  Our hotel is built into the hillside as caves.  It is nice, a double bed and a single.  The owner gave me the wi-fi code and we can get the wifi connected, but we aren’t able to access anything.  And we were only given two sets of towels and no air conditioning.  We have a little sitting area out in front, open to the courtyard where we ate.  They also couldn’t tell us when our pickup was, but that there was a breakfast.  We were in bed soon after eating our food.