Seljuk

I am going to resist the temptation to do this post about what has happened most recently and revert to the more organized, chronological approach.

Two weekends ago we had a long weekend to mark the end of Ramadan. I seized the opportunity to get outta Dodge and went to Seljuk for the weekend. I postponed buying my bus tickets for too long and got the last seat! And it was still two weeks in advance. This is one of those "traveling holidays". I got to Seljuk and met up with my friend Lily the rug salesman (many of you have met her) and, almost immediately, she sold me two new ones!

Then I went exploring Seljuk, the museum, the Basilica of St. John, etc. I also went up to the really neat hill town of Sirince. I spent that night at Lily's house and met her folks. The next day was all set to visit Ephesus again, with the advice to be sure to visit the newly opened excavation of the terrace houses.

While packing up that morning, it suddenly became clear that I couldn't find my camera! I would love to say that I was mugged by 3 burly guys who stole it from me, but the truth is, I think I left it in a public restroom. We spent the morning searching but to no avail. So, I got to go to Ephesus, the most remarkable archaeological site ever, with no camera! (Only my son was rude enough to ask if this was a ploy to keep from putting pictures on my blog!)

Anyway, the site was fabulous. Six years better than before. The terrace house area is newly opened but has been a long time being excavated by a primarily Austrian team. After about five years of exposing the frescoes and mosaics, the deterioration was so bad, the Turkish government yanked their permits and demanded a good cover to protect the site. $7 million later, there is a very high tech covering and the best part is a series of see-through pathways that let you walk through the rooms without damaging anything. Some people gripe about the additional charge to get into the houses, but never has $10 been better spent. It is so fascinating and requires very little imagination to picture the rich and famous of Ephesus living during the 1st century.