October 22, 2005
We are here in the lovely little town of Selçuk, which lies only 3 km from the ancient Roman ruins of Ephesus. We arrived here through a combination of bus, plane, bus, bus and bus. Phew. On the next leg of our journey, we'll try a simpler combination of taxi and airplane.
Today we wandered through the fantastic ruins of Ephesus (approx 500 BC to 600 AD). Pictured below is the amazing library which was built complete with a cooling system to keep the 12,000 scrolls at the right temperature. Also, one of several surviving roads through the city--this one called the Sacred Way. Also at Ephesus is the Great Amphitheater, which could seat 25,000 people. While in days of old it seated the locals for theater performances etc, today it fills daily with groups of (mostly European) tourists, all of whom seem to receive similar performances by guides in all languages (at least based on the hand gestures and antics of the guides).
At left you will see that apparently a "Kate" has been here before to Ephesus...After walking the 3 km back to Selçuk, we found that it was market day. The produce was truly amazing--radishes the size of your fist, eggplants of all shapes and sizes, figs (fresh and dried), huge quinces--and here is Frank, modelling the biggest cabbage I have ever seen!
