Turkish Delight-Part 2

Kusadasi, pronounced Kush AH das, was a delightful surprise!! Much more comfortable than Istanbul and the tour guide was wonderful. In fact we exchanged addresses! Now I have a friend in Turkey! We arrived at the port an hour late, the dock was not available in time, so we arrived in the afternoon for a change and many people were out on their balconies watching the amazing way the captain got this giant ship into what seemed like a very small area to dock. Then we left for our tours. By the way, we were in Asia today, the part considered Asia Minor.

This is a small village by comparison. Our guide told us the crime was %0, (that is how she said it and I thought that was cute) and everyone was friendly and it certainly seemed that way on our trip today. Very comfortable! There is a statue of the first president of the country on the hill in front of where the ship docked. She told me that he was a very good man, loved by all like our George Washington. He became the first president in 1938, not so very long ago! I don't understand a lot of the history of this era, of the Ottomans and Romans and Greeks, but will be interested to learn more when I am home.

We left and headed up to the hills towards the house where the Virgin Mary was supposed to have been when she died (I think). We did not go all the way to the house, it is a long, rough road our guide told us, but we went to a beautiful statue of her that was a gift from France, she compared it to the Statue of Liberty they gave us. On the way we passed and were able to take pictures of the famous, ancient city of Ephesus, one of the seven ancient wonders of the world. We saw parts of it for miles and she said there is much more to be excavated. It is hard to imagine it was started about 100BC and was active until about 300AD. I have some amazing pictures of the city remains from the hilltop and from inside the Ephesus museum. I actually touched a piece that is believed to be from the year 200AD! Can you even imagine?! What a thrill it was to see so much that is from so long ago!! We passed the Greek amphitheater that is still the venue for famous people, and she listed many who had performed there. A smaller one was in the city of Ephesus, a Roman theatre she told us. So many facts it is hard to remember them all!

When the president took over the country he arbitrarily moved the Greeks who were living in Turkey to Greece and the Turks who were in Greece to Turkey. Men actually just showed up at the homes and people were forced to leave immediately with their children a few of their belongings and their money and they were taken to homes in the other country. So if you were Greeks in Greece, you suddenly lost your neighbors who were Turks. Our guide told us it was the hardest on the women to leave their friends behind. She said people still visit the other country and find the homes of their grandparents. Imagine?? In a way it reminded me of the stories I heard in Poland and Estonia. So sad for so many but she said many believed it was the right thing to do.

After visiting the fascinating (by the way we were told the derivation of the word fascinating while standing in the bordello section of Pompeii-look it up, fascinating!), museum, which by the way did include some remnants of the ancient city's section 'of love', we proceeded to a little mountain village. It was very pretty and we were able to have a wine tasting but I decided to pass on that, the road was curvy and I didn't need anything that might add to my tendency for motion sickness! I had the delicious apple tea instead! I had asked the guide where I could purchase turkish delight, you know I have to try a food in each country! She walked to a little market in this village and bought a box for me and a box to share with all the people on the bus. You see she said their big celebration starts tomorrow, the end of Ramadan and it is a time to celebrate with everyone so she wanted to give us a gift. Most people loved it and I will enjoy my box of treats too!

After that village we were told we were going to another village, which in fact was a large carpet making store. I loved seeing the women sitting around actually weaving the elaborate Turkish rugs! We even saw how they get the silk from the cocoon and although I felt terribly sorry for the worms inside, the whole process is very interesting! We actually watched the silk being taken from the coccoons (?) and made into the thread for weaving!! And then we once again saw the amazing carpet demonstration while eating a nice place of cookies and drinking apple tea. Our guide had told us that this was a very good place to buy a rug because they are very fairly priced and this shop and weaving school was owned by the government. So yes, I am now the proud owner of a very small square of Turkish rug, all silk! I'm crazy, I know that, but it is beautiful. And it is a design that could only be used for the sultans before 1928...so I am sure I will feel like a sultana every time I see it hanging on an old wall in my home, paint peeling, metal showing, but an authentic Turkish silk rug will be hanging there! I liked this place much better than the one in Istanbul, and the young man spoke wonderful English and shared such interesting information. Even the colors of the rugs have meaning and along with the patterns tell you which part of Turkey they are from. I don't have all of that information about mine yet, I have to email the salesperson to get that. It is a deep rich turquoise with other colors in the design. Absolutely beautiful!!

We returned to the ship and I enjoyed looking at a few souvenirs, but nothing much was interesting enough to buy. So I am coming home with a few things from Turkey, a bookmark, the tiny pretend rug, 2 pashminas-one casual and one dress, and my authentic Turkish rug! AND the memory of a wonderful experience today and a new Turk for a friend! This is a delightful place in Turkey to visit! (Now I probably know the source of the candy name.)

A wonderful day in Kusadasi, Turkey!! And now I'll have a nice dinner and a good night's sleep and awaken tomorrow to explore Athens, Greece! Adventures abound...