Kusadasi – Selcuk

We’re now in Selcuk, near the ruins of Ephesus which we’re going to visit tomorrow.

We’ve been through more Roman ruins at Aphrodesia and then were on the bus to Kusadasi yesterday. A little black cat (above) followed us for  about an hour through the ruins, before finally taking off to shelter when it began to rain.

We stayed at this incredible old caravanserai which was used to shelter the traders as they travelled along the silk route! It’s been done up of course, but the walls are still a good metre+ wide, and there are archways everywhere.

We saw a show there last night out in the open courtyard. Like the other ones we’d seen, it had a mix of singing, traditional folk dancing and modern bellydance. The solo dancer was okay, but had absolutely no facial expressions at all – she looked bored witless! The final act was a trio of dancers though, and they were amazing. Really gymnastic in their movements, plus they were playing big drums that were slung around their backs and they spun around with them! We all just sat there with our mouths hanging open.

Kusadasi is a real tourist town. The big cruise ships that tour the Greek Islands all stop there, so there’s a lot of day trippers. The market is very much attuned to this! We wandered around a bit, stopped in a handcrafts and “genuine fake watch” shop where they were playing very cool music. We started dancing around, much to the appreciation of the owners! I eventually bought R a “genuine” Rolex there, almost missing the bus!

In Selcuk we’re staying at the ANZ Guesthouse, a b&b/backpacker place. The staff are great, especially the inimitable Mehmet! Nothing is too much to do, for him.

Today we had a visit to another carpet shop, run by Mehmet and another guy. This wasn’t the slick tourist operation like the last one. This was a lot smaller and more personal, but the carpets weren’t as much to my taste. They had some divine geometric patterns in deep reds, but they were pretty expensive. Not as expensive as the touristy one though! Anyway, I’ve so far managed to not be coerced into buying a carpet! I’ve bought heaps of other stuff though, mainly jewellery and textiles – throw rugs, a bedspread and the obligatory pashminas.

We’re finally getting some sun, and I’ve been able to not wear my jacket for a few days! There’s talk of going to the beach tomorrow afternoon depending on how our other sightseeing operations run. Bathing in the Aegean!

The gardens here have been lovelly – very mediterranean (strangely enough), but everyone has food gardens. They all have olive, pomegranate, citrus, quince, apple trees, and some pistachio, walnut… then the vegie patches with sunflowers, eggplant, tomato, melons, corn, marigolds, herbs, cabbage, squash… very cool. Gave me lots of ideas!