Would you like some cranberry sauce for that TURKEY?

Turkey was really cool.  It seemed more european than any other muslim dominated country I've visited.  Very few women had their hair or faces covered.  Alcohol seemed to be commonly available. I bonded with a waiter as we discussed slayer and skateboards.  People were very friendly and the food rocked.

We started out the day by taking a cab to Ephesus which was about an hour away.  There, we went by Mary's (the mother of Jesus) house.  We don't know for sure but it's speculated that Mary went with John after Christ was crucified to Ephesus to spend her last days.  Local legend has it that the house below was indeed the house she lived in.

As you can expect, the house has become a shrine to Mary.

Messages and prayers to Mary

After that we went to explore the ruins of the ancient city of Ephesus which was founded in 6,000 BC.  6,000 BC!!!!  Ephesus was once the second largest city in the world.  It was established by the greeks but later taken over by the romans.  We were impressed at the amenities that the city offered it's citizens.  Several gyms with hot tubs, steam areas, cold pools, weights, wrestling areas, library, public restrooms with crude plumbing, several theaters and other stuff I can't remember.  The city also had some of the largest and most advanced aqua ducts found in the ancient world.

 

 Library of Celsus, one of the wonders of the world.  At one point in housed 12,000 scrolls.

 Shortly after taking this pic, I ate it big time as I attempted to walk down the stairs leading to the library.  People gasped and an old british guy tried to help me up.  I felt like a winner.

Unlike many well curated museums and ancient ruins around the world, in Ephesus you can touch and hang out with the ruins.  It's actually rather unfortunate as these artifacts deteriorate much more quickly as a result.

Even their drains were beautiful and ornate 

This theater/stadium held 25, 000 people.  It was originally used as a theater but then was used for gladiator fights during the roman times.  Paul taught here (see Acts 19) and was almost lynched by an angry mob that shouted "Diana is great" for 2 or 3 hours in defiance of his message.

We saw a recreation of a roman spectacle involving dancing and gladiator fights.

 The city also houses one of the biggest gladiator graveyards in the world.  It is awesome and worth going to.

Next stop:  Split 

Athens

We had a lot of preconceived notions about Athens and Greece.  For one, we had heard that Athens was extremely dirty.  In our own minds, we could picture the famous ruins and grandeur of the Olympic games, but we came in guarded prepared for graffiti, smoke, violence and litter.  We definitely found some of those things, but loved the history, great museums, delicious food, and in the end wished we had had another day to explore.  We came away completely impressed and moved by this ancient civilization that has formed the foundation for so much of modern-day, western thought/architecture/design/politics/philosophy, etc... 

It definitely had tons of graffiti and a lot that wasn't very charming, but we were also standing in places where the concept of democracy was founded, Socrates and the ancient philosophers stood and taught, Paul preached to the people, and the idea of the golden mean originated.   Without going into too much detail we came away grateful for the many advances the Greeks have given modern day civilization.  

there were piles of ruins and architectural pieces

lego like pieces of new marble are part of the restoration

Standing on the hill where the concept of democracy was founded 

waiting for a tasty dish of gyros with extra tziki sauce and some baklava

our favorite pose 

sweet friezes (if you look closely) of the centaurs fighting the greek warriors because they tried to steal their women 

modern concerts are held here

on off bus tour