We are still in Turkey but only just, at a town called Kusadasi. One of the things I really like about cruising is coming into port. The light is always lovely as the sun comes up. The temperature not too hot and sitting on the deck with my camera and a coffee is hard to beat. In Kusadasi we watched the fishing boats all returning to port.
Today we are going to Ephesus with is evidently one if antiquity’s best-preserved cities. Excavations have gone back to the 10th century BC. I am a very fickle historian. One minute (or more likely hour or two) I find it all so very fascinating and interesting but then reach a point where I care not, obviously depending on the temperature of the day, the toilet facilities or lack of, the crowds and whether or not there are any moaners in the vicinity.
It is such a lovely view from our balcony that it would be easy to sit here and wile away the hours, watching the coming and goings of the port,
UNTIL……….(jaws suspense music playing in the background)
this berths right next to us on the other side of the berth. I kid you not, this is not zoomed in. So it’s on the bus to Ephesus, which I must say does not disappoint. I learnt loads although it’s already a day later so my memory fails me but I know that it used to be the main port and centre of Turkey, but now it’s Istanbul, because now it’s over 5 miles to the ocean. It slowly silted up and of course earthquakes and landslides. I also learned that only 15% has been excavated the rest still lies beneath.
Whilst picking out the photos i just remembered something else. The Amazon woman would chop of their breast so they could shoot their bow and and arrows better. If they survived the operation, which of course had no anaesthetic, then they would leave there scar visible for all to see as it gained them great respect from the men warriors. This is why the statues of amazon woman only show the covering of one breast.
The excavation teams are still there digging and there is much to see as we wander amongst what has already been unearthed. So far my attention is still intact despite the 30 degree heat and crowds building. Although our guide tells us its a good day as its not to hot and not too crowded.
Last fun fact for the day. The city had fancy public toilets, but just for men (don’t ask where woman went they don’t really get much of mention unless they chop off their breast). When you went into the toilet to do your business you were given a stick with a cloth on the end of it and once finished they could wipe themselves and then scrape the cloth into the pit so the stick could be reused. This is where the phrase -“the wrong end of the stick” came from.
