Selcuk - Tues 18 May
We flew Pegasus Air from Istanbul's Ataturk Airport (teik has not-so-distant bad memories of this place) to Izmir's Adnan Airport, from which we knew we had to take a minibus from Izmir Otogar (bus station) to Selcuk Otogar. After some 45 minutes of not-so-mini public bus ride we were told to get off and it turns out the Izmir Otogar wasn't at the airport and we weren't actually in Selcuk Otogar yet.
Cheryl with our minibus driver to her left and bus assistant to her far left at Izmir Otogar. Did i mention i love saying 'Izmir'? It sounds like something from Lord of the Rings.
Arrived at Naz Han, our cozy little pension just 5 min cab ride from Selcuk Otogar. The owner was good-looking and i liked the sound of his voice. His somewhat piercing stare exudes a certain Richard Gere charm although i thought he was very matter-of-fact and even curt when giving us information about what to do and what not to do in the room. Later i realised it's just the way he is, not that he was unfriendly.
I am super pleased with this place, just the kind that i like. Quaint, charming and oh-so-pretty. It had pretty bedframes and window shutters and the main door had this quaint openable wooden flap with mosquito netting for ventilation. It's my second favourite accommodation of the trip! 70 euros for a 3 bedroom per night.
Met a shy little girl who stays in the house opposite our pension.
Checked out Selcuk surrounds and had lunch at this modest place recommended by our pension owner. Selcuk was a sleepy but charming little town with a couple of historic sites and a 15 minute drive to Ephesus.
Stopped by our pension to get coats as the weather was turning a bit chilly and saw that the little shy girl had invited her neighbours over to play.
These red kenzo flowers reminded me of the ones in Delos in Greece, which Anng really really liked.
At the entrance to the ruins of St John's Basilica, which was constructed by Jesus' most beloved disciple, John. uh, i think.
i laughed a lot in turkey. and greece. and taipei. and...
Just like the Acropolis i quite enjoyed hanging out here for a bit.
Baptism pool in St John's Basilica with steps leading down to it. The small square pools next to it contained holy water during baptism ceremonies.
Remnants of mosaic floor tiles.
Teik at the entrance to the Isa Bey Mosque, which was within walking distance from St John's Basilica.
Stopped for afternoon tea just outside the mosque and played with the cafe owner's retriever pub called Lucky. He's so cute cos he just flopped his tiny little body on Cheryl's sandy coloured shoes.
awww... so cute...
We kinda preferred drinking our tea from the fragile looking turkish tea glasses.
Bumped into two friendly turkish boys who offered to sneak us into the Apollo Temple. We politely declined after chatting with them for a while.
Ancient turkish bath or hammam. Don't think it's still in use.
Lazy cat sunbathing.
When it was awoken by the camera, it leaned towards me and looked like it wanted to be carried off the parapet and cuddled.
Awww... this good-looking fella had his paws all over me. I could tell he was a playful dog who wanted to play some more. Never mind that i deceived him a couple of times with a phoney hand throw gesture that had him look behind to retrieve the make-believe ball. Much to the amusement of the old men chit-chatting away at the corner.
Lounged a bit the roof terrace of Naz Han before heading out again for dinner.
This stork (?) built her nest high up on this telecommunication pole and kept vigil over her babies day and night.
Dinner at Lezzet 10 minutes walk from our pension as recommended again by our owner who said he was a chef. And chef's recommendations for food can't go wrong. Dinner was truly yummy.
Chilled out a bit on the roof terrace again at night.
Ephesus - Wed 19 May
Note to self this morning: Must take photos of this charming pension before leaving for Ephesus.
Windows from our room overlooking the street leading up to St John's Basilica and the rest of the archaelogical sites.
Overheard good-looking owner explain to two lady guests what the name Naz Han means. And he says Naz is the meaning coy in turkish. There's just something about the way he speaks that is very engaging and i can't help eavesdropping while chewing my breakfast. "Coy, you know like when a boy asks a girl if she'll go out with him, and she blushes and says no but actually she wants to, and then he asks her another time and she looks shyly away and still says no? This is what we say coy means. "And Han..." At this point he glances my way, cos yesterday i asked him what Han meant and he said house and i told him oh my family name is Han and he said Oh and went on about Genghi Khan and maybe we'll all related in someway. Then the lady guests laugh a bit and he goes on to say, "you know what they say, if a girl is coy too many times, then she'll lose the boy, because the boy will think she is not interested and lose patience. So don't be coy too many times."
Everything about Naz Han was so charmingly pretty. Even how breakfast was laid out on the blue and white daisy print table cloth. Like something out of a picture book.
Wishing wall just outside Mary's House at Ephesus.
The queue to get into Mary's house was impossibly long so we settled for a photo outside. Otherwise it looked like we'd be spending 2 hours queuing.
School excursion kids lighting up candles after visiting Mary's House.
The archaelogical ruins of Ephesus was very reminiscent of those in Delos and Delphi in Greece.
Remaining facade wall of what used to be a bibliotek.
Behind those library walls.
Another yummy lunch in Selcuk.
We were contemplating lunch in another town, Sirince, which was about half an hour drive away. Sirince is a beautiful hillside town famous for its wines.
It was quite common to see a group of old men playing what looks like turkish mahjong. Very tempted to ask them what they were playing but didn't want to interrupt their game.
At Selcuk Otogar waiting for our bus ride to Pamukkale.
next: Pamukkale
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