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June 2. Leaving Pamukkale on the very full dolmus!
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New friend on the dolmus.
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Luxury bus travel in from Denizli to Selcuk! Cake, on-demand entertainment, bucket seat, cute bus attendant in bow-tie.
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Kofte (Turkish meatballs) is one of those things of which everyone will say, "I know the place for the best kofte in town!" Selcuk Koftecisi is my "I know the best kofte in town!" spot in Selcuk.
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Selcuk Koftecisi is run by the third generation of the same family, and they are all beefy guys with bulging bellies. I wouldn't eat kofte served by any other type of people.
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Sevgı Yolu (Love Street"). I'm not sure why it's called that - anyone knows?
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The Ephesus Museum is very homespun - check out these standing cardboard figures to recreate the interior of a Roman household! - but it has some amazing, amazing artifacts.
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Priapus, the Phallic God. Kind of like the Mannekin Pis of Turkey...
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Ave! Marcus Aurelius.
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How fantastic to be able to go up and touch these marble statues which about more than 2,100 years old! I didn't, though... I felt a bit unworthy and also, I'm sure they didn't need one more grubby paw all over them.
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Heads did not roll.
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I've always been fascinated by paganism, especially after visiting Newgrange in Ireland last year. Artemis, the goddess of fertility, was the main deity worshipped at Ephesus - note her multi-breasted form here!
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Bas-relief.
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What is left of a formerly seven-meter high statue of Emperor Domitian.
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Homemade kunefe at St. John Cafe, run by a Swiss couple who have been living in Turkey for the last 10 years. A classical Anatolian specialty, it's shredded wheat made with butter and cheese, doused in syrup, and served with powdered pistachio and in this
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The Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World. What is cool about this shot is that you see three religions: paganism, Islam (Isa Bey Camii mosque on the far left) and the Basilica of St. John on the far right.
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Am I the only one laughing out loud over storks building a nest atop the Temple of Artemis, a tribute to the goddess of fertility and childbirth??
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St. John's tomb in his basilica, which is where John the Baptist spent most of his life after the cruxification of Christ.
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A turtle roaming the ruins - they say he's about 50 years old.
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Baptism altars in the basilica.
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I get so excited about large earthen pots like these. I took several archaeology classes in college and we washed and analyzed shards from the Cahokia Mounds in southern Illinois, then spent hours piecing them together. To uncover items almost in their en
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At Kebap Evi run by brothers Mehmet and Alibaba, some of the nicest guys I met in Selcuk. Here is their mama in the kitchen.
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Meet Mehmet - he'll teach you how to play backgammon on a wooden picnic table under a pomegranate tree in his patio, give you a free ride to Ephesus, serve you nargileh for free - basically, you become a friend as soon as you sit down at his kebapci!
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A mixed mezze plate of antep salatasi (a spicy salsa from Antep), imam bayildi (stuffed eggplant), biber dolma (stuffed pepper) and haydari (yogurt with garlic and mint).
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Adana kebap, the most ubiquitous kebap of them all. I am also addicted to bulgur.