Emphasis on Ephesus

Kusadasi. Meh. I will likely never again visit a Turkish bazaar, and shall die without regrets.

Now Ephesus - that's worth a revisit.

The ship docked in Kudasi, and the port exits straight into the bazaar. Thus is basically shop after shop after shop of the same old crap, and hundreds of well dressed and charming Turkish merchants who just can't shut the ☠☠☠☠ up.

They know it drives foreigners nuts. We stopped outside one store with the sign "no hassle shop" in the window. Great idea, flawed in execution:

"No hassle shop, missus. Come inside, just looking OK... No hassle... See something you like? More like this inside. Lapis lazuli, very nice, inside, more inside, please come in and see, no hassle..."

A bit later we pass a shop and the guy to the right says, "no hassle shop." Two seconds later the guy to the left says, "hassle shop. I like to hassle." We laughed. I had no intention of going into his shop either, but I respected his honesty.

There was one thing about the bazaar I loved. The signs for "genuine fake watches".*

We were chatting to a shopkeeper who wasn't a total PITA. She explained that it wasn't illegal to sell fakes, but it was illegal to pass them off as authentic watches, hence the signs. 

Apparently it's perfectly fine to pass off stainless steel as silver, based on the line of nonsense one guy fed to Emma and Anna about a pendant he was flogging. Real silver - but don't use silver cleaner on it. Yeah, sure.

In one of the main streets a waiter tried to drag us in. Half a dozen "no's" later he tried a new tactic, and recited the entire menu in eight seconds. Now that was impressive. I almost stopped and offered him five Turkish lira just to do it again.

Eventually Emma fled back to the ship, Anna and Mario kept wandering, and I caught my tour to Ephesus.

So what's the big deal about Ephesus?

At one time Ephesus was the administrative and cultural centre for the eastern part of the empire, and the second largest city in the Roman Empire with a population of 300,000 people, which is massive by pre-industrial era standards. When the port began to silt up the river turned into a swamp, one well suited to breeding malaria-carrying mosquitoes. The city was ravaged by malaria, and completely abandoned after a massive earthquake.

Like many ancient cities the location was forgotten for centuries, and rediscovered in the 19th century. Today it's the second most complete reconstructed city of ancient times after Pompeii. It's estimated only 10% of the site has been excavated, but what they have found is magnificent.

Currently the main area open for tourists is a street leading past several temples, arches and fountains, as well as dwellings and shops. Highlights include the Temple of Hadrian, Trajan's Fountain, and the absolutely stunning Library of Celsus.

The tour finished at the Great Theatre, which has been used in recent times for concerts by Elton John and Sting. Personally I'd take the malaria.

The only real downside of the tour was the guide's unfortunate overuse of the phrase "dear guests".

"And let us move on, dear guests. This way, down the street, dear guests. This brings us to the Library of Celsus, dear guests. You will notice, dear guests, that the building has..."

She meant well.

Back in Kusadasi we were taken to a Turkish carpet-weaving demonstration. There wasn't any weaving in evidence, but the owner did spin a fine line of bullshit as the staff displayed carpet after carpet after carpet...

In the evening I watched White House Down on the top deck. The cold kept the others inside, but my hoodie, leather jacket, hat and two blankets kept me warm. As for the film, I'd describe it as "Die Hard in the Whitehouse". Possibly the dumbest film I've ever seen, although it was enjoyable enough with my brain turned to the off position.

Which was a good place for my brain to be in preparation for the next day sea day (#2). But before that we have one more stop in the Greek Isles...

* Julio Delgado, the ship's tour guide said in the port guide video that many of the fakes are quite good. "Some will last all the way back to the ship."

** In the lift down after the movie some guy deadpanned, "best movie ever." Riotous laughter followed.