Kusadasi, Turkey

Kusadasi (coo sha daa see) is now the port city for this area of Turkey.  They have improved the port to encourage tourism and cruise ships to visit Ephesus.  The tour guide was very friendly, said that he was a Roman History teacher for high school aged students, and had three daughters.  The country is about 98% Muslim, and he said that he was in the minority as a Christian.  He carried “worry beads” that are supposed to relieve stress and calm you down. They were always in his hand.

The ruins at Ephesus are at about a 15% renovations, so this site will improve with time as more and more buildings are uncovered.  It used to be the port, but the entrance has been filled with silt over the decades and it is now 5 miles from the sea. 

The gold statue is of Mary, and a gift from the people of Lima, Ohio.

The round domes are the ruins of a Turkish bath. The holes in the ceiling let in light.

Two well preserved and interesting statues found at Ephesus are in the small museum in the town. This little museum is well done and I took a lot of photos so I will write more about this in a later post.

We also stopped at a rug making school.  The girl is demonstrating how silk is removed from cocoons.  She gets four or five pods unraveled, then hooks them to a spinner that combines the individual threads into a thicker one which is then put on a spinning wheel.

The presenter at the rug school, aka rug shop, was explaining/justifying the cost of the rugs based upon the materials used (wool, cotton, silk) and the number of knots per square inch.  The size of the rug is also to be taken in to consideration.  We were told that the first quality rugs were kept here so that we are getting a chance to buy the best.  I’m not in the process in my home renewal to be able to select rugs.  The 3’x4’ ones were about $400, shipping was included. (We had 15-20 minutes to tour at each site and an hour at the rug store. Our group revolted, and we ended up on the bus and leaving 20 minutes early!!)

The countryside was filled with farmland, fruit and nut trees. (later)

The last photo shows some seaside condos with the Crown Princess in the background. (later)