We arrived at the Turkish Airlines counter in Dallas and they made us an offer we could not refuse. We upgraded to Business Class for $1399 on our trip to Istanbul complete with lounge privileges both in DFW and IST. We must have had a solid 8 hours sleep along with our gourmet meal on the plane nonstop DFW to Istanbul. Oh wow!
We transferred to Izmir and met our group. After a nice meal and an Efes Beer we went to bed. On to Didyma and Miletus, an ancient city and temple and a lessor visited site in Southwestern Turkey.
The night we spent by the sea in Kusadashi. The evening meal consisted on no less than 10 starters and a kebap to follow. How could you not love the food?
We hit the Virgin Mary house first thing in the morning before the crowds. Mary was said to live her last days here in the tutelage of St. John. The spring trickles out holy water is a serene setting visited by pilgrims year-round.
Ephesus never disappoints. The excavations are ongoing. The Terrace Houses are open for inspection. The toilets are reopened. Over a year ago a tourist fell into a pit and safety measures were taken. It seems one of the resident cats got itself caught in one of the pipes and perished giving off a terrible odor. We did not spot Garfield the resident king cat with his own Instagram page. Part of the library façade was covered by scaffolding. Dodging the hordes of people we managed to have informative talks along the path gently going down hill and ending by the theater where St. Paul caused a riot. The Church of St. John provided a view of what was the harbor of Ephesus.
We made a lunch stop at Thyatira dining where locals do cafeteria style in a very small cafe. The Pergamum Asklepion was the fat farm of antiquity. We learned of the magic waters that induced diarrhea and vomiting to reduce weight. Interesting. On the hill was the Acropolis and Great Theatre. Luckily we drove to a perch near the summit before our climb up and down through the magestic site with great views of the valleys that surround it.
Assos proved to be a challenge at it was a steep climb up a cobbletone path to the ancient city. Our guide asked us to support the vendors along the path which I did purchasing a set of candy dishes and other trinkets. After Assos we drove to Alexander Troas where St. Paul met up with Luke. Later in the day we toured the 11 layers of Troy. We walked up and down a boardwalk observing the ancient city. Unfortunately climbing into the wooden horse was closed for some reason. I have a photo of my daughter peeking out from above take in 1999. In Canakkale there was another wooden horse along the waterfront. By this time the weather turned a little chilly as we were a few hundred miles north from Didyma.
We ventured on to Nicea. I wanted to stop in Bursa, but we did not have time. I would suggest adding a day to visit the Silk market in Bursa for any private group. In Nicea we toured the St. Sophia Church, where the Nicene Creed was written. Unfortunately Erdrogen turned the church into a mosque. On to Istanbul we go. We missed the ferry so we had to drive a round about way and arrvied at our hotel about seven pm.
