30 September – Selcuk-Cannakale-Silivri-Istanbul

The perfectly positioned Hotel Bella lived up to its name. The small, but beautiful rooms were decorated with Ottoman rugs and kelims. 

St. John's Basilica

On the roof top terrace we had eye level views of the white stork nests and St. Johns Basilica. Selcuk is known for its nesting white storks that utilize small man made platforms on top of electricity poles and the ancient aquaducts which run through the town. We enjoyed strolling through the cobbled alleys that have not been spoilt by mass tourism. 

One sad fact of Turkey is that there are literally millions of stray cats in every city.

View from the ancient marble road leading from the top of Ephesus

The main sight, Ephesus, is a few kilometers outside of town. Each day thousands of visitors from the nearby cruise port of Kusadasi arrive in there busloads. 

This massive roman city has been extensively restored and has a similar layout to the other cities we have visited in Turkey. For us the highlight was visiting the terrace houses. 

Walking through the covered complex gave us a chance to appreciate the luxury in which the elite of the roman world lived. 

Seven houses have been excavated to date, the largest being 900 sq.m with hot and cold water and waterborne sewage. 

Every flat surface has lavish mosaics and frescoes and the walls are decorated in marble and vivid colored murals. 

Ephesus’s massive 25 000 seat theatre indicates a population of 250 000 people. 

A section of the colonnaded street, with the raised platform of the agora

The colonnaded streets were lined with shops and the angora had a raised platform from which announcements were made. 

Celsus Library

The three storey high library held 12000 scrolls and near the harbor was the cities brothel, common apparently at the time. 

If your foot was larger than this footprint on the walkway you were allowed to enter the brothel

We still had the issue of the elusive police report to deal with, so we headed on down to the "Polisi". Having learnt a thing or two during our previous attempts, we knew we had to say that the accident happened close by or else we would be sent back to the city where it happened. We decided on the Ephesus parking lot,as it was only 2km out of town. Not good enough, this fell under the Jandarmes, so back we headed to Ephesus.

Once again we were helped by the parking attendant who could speak a little English. Without us asking he phoned and arranged that with the Jandarme’s that we would be there shortly and then directed us to where we could find them. As the possibility existed that we would be asked to show them the site, a suitable pole was located and the necessary tyre prints were created. Reporting to the waiting officer, we were extremely fortunate to meet Abdullah an English speaking MBA graduate that was doing his 5 months national service. Acting as our translator and after many cups of chai we finally had our report in hand…… all in a mere 3 hours.!

Later that afternoon we took a drive into the mountains to the wine making village of Sirince. We mingled with the locals while wandering the cobbled walkways, lined with stalls selling local produce of olives, fruits and other home made goods.

On our last evening in Selçuk we were joined by a Danish couple for dinner. They had bought a house on the coast and they told us stories of their wonderful memories over the last 25 years in Turkey.

As we had more than 500k’s to travel we decided to take the highway to Cannakale. Our first encounter with a toll plaza was a disastrous affair. The majority of the lanes are for transponders and the cars race through at 90km an hour. I selected the wrong lane, which meant that after much signaling from the Turk behind us, I had to reverse and fortunately managed to identify the correct lane which accepted our toll card, without killing us both. The episode definitely gave me another one or two more grey hairs!

Arriving in Cannakale, pronounced Cha-na-ka-lay, a vibrant student town on the Sea of Marmaris. It has one car wide narrow cobbled lanes without anywhere to pull over, requiring nerves of steel and a very relaxed temperament, especially when trying to unload ones cases with 12 cars waiting behind you. Across the bay is Gallipoli where many Aussies, New Zealander and Turks were killed. It is marked each year by a public holiday called Anzac day, resulting in thousands of visitors to the area. Nearby is Troy the site of the devious but clever legend of the Trojan Horse.

During breakfast we were chatting to our waiter, who had an unbelievable general knowledge and understanding of the situation in SA and surrounding countries. We got so engrossed that when realized, we had only 10 minutes to run to our room, grab our bags, take the lift, check out and drive to the ferry. How we made it I do not know.

As we sailed across the Sea of Mamaris leaving Asia Minor behind us, I reflected on the great trip we had had. The crossing only takes 20 minutes, so before we new it we where back in Europe, to spend our last night in Turkey at a town called Silivri. Being only 60 k’s from Istanbul, Silivri appears to be a popular seaside resort for the residents of Istanbul.

Our final supper in Turkey was from a restaurant situated right on the docks. You select your fresh fish and then wait while it is grilled to perfection. We had Palamut, a blue fish and a thick slice of Salmon with a fresh salad splashed with olive oil and lemon. Fantastic. Lorna had to have a final Baklava and I decided to have a shave. 

What a fantastic shave it was, First a cold gel is rubbed into your beard, followed by a hot soapy lather. The barber using an old fashioned cutthroat with a disposable razor insert, meticulously shaves you twice. He then trims sideburns, around your ears, neck, nose and ears, before washing your face. He then applies a lemon-scented liquid and massages the face, neck and head. Finally he blow dries your hair and gives you a good spray of cologne. All for R20. Needless to say, I am having a haircut tomorrow before we leave.

We strolled along the wide promenade that runs the length of the harbour. It’s still a little strange seeing groups of tough looking men sitting around laughing and chatting over small glasses of chai. We decide to join them with one last glass. We are really going to miss this wonderful way of life that the Turks have shown us. Always friendly, helpful and quick to smile, one never feels threatened in any way.

Tomorrow we fly to Jordan, bringing to an end to our trip to Turkey. We have been captivated by the wonderful, friendly and kind Turks, we certainly plan to return.