Thursday, October 7

Kusadasi, Turkey. As we sailed from Bodrum yesterday, we passed both the Wind Star and the Wind Spirit. These gorgeous four-masted sailing cruise ships each separately blew their whistles at us three times, were answered by us with three blows, then tooted once and we tooted back once. A fun send-off. Of course, their line is also owned by Carnival which owns Holland America. The Wind Star was docked alongside us when we arrived at Kusadasi. Also here was the Arethusa from Overseas Adventure Cruises.

This morning was cloudy and definitely cool, but as we went ashore around 12:30 p.m., it began to clear off and turned into a truly perfect day weather-wise.

Boys-o, boys-o, as my grandmother would have said, I have now been spoiled to a whole new level of luxury! One that I will probably seldom attain again. I hired a private van and driver for this afternoon’s tour of Ephesus and Sirence....very expensive, but what a joy to not be rushed onto and off a bus and to arrive back not totally drained and cramped up.

Our guide was named Tuch...or maybe Tooch...and was quite good. Ephesus is about 15 or 20 miles from the dock, through the city of Kusadasi (pronounced Koo-SHAH-dah-suh) and along the plain created when the port of Ephesus silted up long ago so that it is not about 4.5 kilometers inland. We wandered at our own pace (slow for me) from the lower gate along a cobbled walk beneath wonderful 60 year old pine trees to see the ruins of Roman baths, shops, and the magnificent amphitheater that would seat 25,000 and the Harbor Road. Ephesus is the best preserved city of that early time, and is, even now, only about 30% excavated.

Next we headed up into the mountains to visit the little village of Sirence. From the number of tour buses there, I at first thought it would be way too crowded. However, we found a parking place near the entrance to the grounds of the Artemis Restaurant which had originally been the village’s school. The grounds were lovely, and the views were fabulous! The little village, the surrounding mountainsides covered with vinyards and orchards, and a very comfortable table to sit and relaz under more pine trees. Jill had Turkish coffee and a kind of Turkish pancake filled with cheese and spinach, and I had Turkish tea which is strong enough to curl your tonsils...all for only 5€ (euros). Tuch sat with us and had his lunch...a pancake with lots of different fillings and a milky-looking tonic drink of some sort. We talked of all sorts of things from information about the village and general area to cruising in the Caribbean.

On the way back to Kusadasi, we passed what is left (one column) of the Temple of Diana, another of the Seven Wonders. Then we paused briefly outside the Basilica of Saint John (of the Book of Revelations fame). He evidently lived here for quite a while before he died. Then back over a ridge of mountain to Kusadasi with a fabulous view of the bay and port. It was easy to see why this is such a popular resort area. If I lived in Europe, I wouldn’t mind spending my vacations here.

To continue my ratings of driving in various countries...here in Turkey, or at least in this area, the lines on the roads are much fainter, but the drivers seem to believe in them more.