Ephesus, Turkey

Ephesus is an ancient city in Turkey’s Central Aegean region. Its excavated remains reflect cultures of history from classical Greece to the Roman Empire. Although a great deal of the area has been recovered, archaeologists anticipate that it will take another 200 years before their work is complete. The library has become symbolic of the city, and over 2 million visitors pose in front of its imposing facade every year.

Following our visit to Ephesus, we rode back to the port city of Kusadasi, a shopping paradise. Doug honed his negotiating skills in a shop offering “almost free and almost real” Rolexes, getting the price down from $60 to $25, then walking away.

We also watched an interesting demonstration of the techniques used to weave silk and hand-tie the famous Turkish rugs. We had no intention of buying a rug, but one caught our eye that we simply could not resist. Doug did a great job of negotiating, but I’m sure the seller still made a handsome profit. It will be a lasting souvenir of a lovely day in Turkey.

Sailing away from Kusadasi, we noticed a statue of Mustofa Kamal Ataturk standing high above the city sign. Ataturk came to prominence for his role in securing the Ottoman Turkish victory at the Battle of Gallipoli (1915) in World War I. He was the first president of Turkey, serving from 1923 until his death in 1938. He is well-respected as the Father of the Turkish Republic, and revered for his sweeping progressive reforms which modernized Turkey into a secular democracy.