Our stop in Kusadasi, Turkey was an eventful one and definitely one of the highlights of our cruise! We decided to take one of the cruise ships excursions for this stop and were assigned to Bus #20 . . . our guide never did let us forget our bus number, exclaiming "Bus numba 20" in the most annoying voice constantly throughout the day.
Bus #20!!
The Basilica of St. John was our first stop of the day. The building was built in the 6th century and is now mostly in ruins. The highlight of this stop was to see the believed burial spot of the apostle John located within the ruined basilica. After it's completion, the basilica was regarded as one of the holiest churches of it's time. It was here that dad was lured aside under some ruins by a local and offered to have him purchase some "ancient coins" he had dug up at the site. Dad was excited, but nervous as he did not know if he would get in trouble. After all . . .they were coins that were thousands of years old and he could get them for $300!! He became slightly suspicious when the local then dropped the price to $150 as he was walking away. Mom was also hassled by these same locals as we were leaving the basilica and had to get somewhat violent with them. LOL! Our guide informed us that this is a great way for the locals to obtain easy money . . fake coins are made to look old and then sold to unsuspecting tourists who are wanting a keepsake of ancient times. Luckily dad kept his money safe in his pocket. They emerged unscathed!
Tomb of St. John in the background
Baptismal
It was extremely windy this day making it hard to breath or talk through the sand that swirled about our faces. The landscape was grey and gave a solemn feeling to our surroundings. In the distance we were able to see what little was left of the ancient temple to Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It was destroyed in 401 and only the foundation and sculptural fragments remain at the original location.
From here we continued on to see the ancient city of Ephesus. . . as did the rest of the cruise ship. It was packed! We could barely turn around without bumping into someone! Ephesus was amazing! Although the city was in ruins, with a little imagination one could almost see the city as it would have been in it's prime. We walked along the main street admiring the ruins of baths, temples and the great houses of the day. The Library of Celsus was the highlight. This three storied Library was completed in 135 AD and was built to hold over 12,000 scrolls as well as serve as a monumental tomb to Celsus. The interior of the library, along with it's scrolls, was destroyed by earthquake in 262 and only the façade survived. The façade survived only to be destroyed at a later date by another earthquake that shook the city. Restoration began in the 1960's and 1970's to restore the façade of this great library.
Original Mosaic floors above and original restrooms below
Library of Celsus
We then stopped for a "biblical lunch" in which we were served food in the manner of biblical times. We were offered bread and oil, fish, dates, nuts, some sort of rice mixture, honey and yogurt. It was interesting, if not very filling.
Our excursion then took us to what is believed to be the House of the Virgin Mary. It is a Catholic and Muslim shrine located a short distance from the ancient city and is believed by some to be the last dwelling place of the Virgin Mary before her assumption. Although the Catholic church has never pronounced in favor or against the authenticity of the house it remains a popular pilgrimage destination. It is a small stone house consisting of two rooms, one is believed to be the sleeping place of the Virgin Mary. We then visited a well outside of the house which is believed to have special miraculous powers of healing and fertility. We were given a small ceramic jar with which to collect some of this "holy water" . . . unfortunately our "holy water" was gone in a matter of two days . . leaking all over clothes and other belongings. We were able to be present in a special mass that took place on the site before our departure.
Our "holy (and leaky) water"
Our next place of business. . . a Turkish rug gallery! Here we were given a demonstration of the collection of threads from the silk worms, how they were dyed and eventually woven into these magnificent pieces of art. They were indeed beautiful! We were "buttered" up with some delicious Turkish tea and then set free to explore on our own (so we thought!). I made the mistake of entering one of the many side rooms and was promptly cornered by a sales associate. I made it clear that I was not interested in purchasing a rug at this time. He insisted on showing me some. I picked out a couple that were not your ordinary Turkish rugs but were a patchwork rug of older rugs pieced together. I really did love them!! (but not for $800-$3000!) My mother and husband watched with smirks on their faces as I tried time and again to inform my persistent friend that I had no interest in purchasing the rug . . oh the deals he made me! He could ship it for me. . . . he could wad it up in a small ball so I could take it with me. . . . he could give me 5% off. . . he even brought the manager in. Agghhh!! And then they had the nerve to be upset when I finally did leave for good without purchasing the precious piece. Sigh. . . I guess it was a fun experience :-)
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