Celebrity Mediterranean Cruise - Kusadasi, Turkey

We were woken by a phone call telling us our breakfast was on its way just before my Centro alarm went off. We ate our continental breakfast of raisin bran, milk, coffee, croissants, and danishes as we got ready for our private tour of Kusadasi booked through Ekol Tours of Turkey.

We met Wade, Charlie, Steve, Marcy, Stan, and Claire on deck 6 and headed down to deck 3 to exit the ship (we were docked today). We made our way to the terminal and once we exited the terminal, we easily saw our Ekol tour guide, Inan, holding a sign with my name on it.

He led us to another mini-bus – this one a bit smaller than the one we had in Athens but still very comfortable.

We also had a driver for our tour so that Inan spoke to us with a microphone and also guided us through the various sites. Inan had graduated from college with a major in archaeology and art history so he really knew his stuff. Our first stop this morning, he explained, would be the House of the Virgin Mary so that we could avoid some crowds in this small site.

Inan described the history of Turkey referring to us frequently as “Dear Guests”, and pointed out various interesting sites on our way to the House of Virgin Mary. There were few buses in the parking lot when we arrived and the weather was still cool. Inan pointed out the baptism pool as we made our way to the house walking past a post office and the souvenir stands. There was a religious ceremony being conducted as we walked by. Photos were allowed outside but once within the house, guests were asked to remain silent and no photography was allowed.

There was a short line into the house and we silently filed in and out of the house then lit candles outside.

We made our way down the steps and saw other tourists pull out small bottles to put the blessed spring water into. Further down the way was the wish area where anyone who wrote a wish on a piece of paper or fabric could tie their wish to the wall. Seth and I each put a wish on the wall.

We walked back to the front area and purchased some post cards then took some time to address them and write short messages to loved ones. Inan had pointed out to us that post cards mailed from this post office would be stamped with a unique Virgin Mary stamp. I sent a postcard home to the kids and one to the office although I suspect that we’ll be home before the postcards make it there. We waited around for the post office to open at 9 am and I bought a cute purse at the souvenir stand for 10 Euros. After mailing our postcards (about 3 Euros for 5 postcards) and exchanging some Euros for Liras to take home to the kids, we boarded the bus to head for the ruins at Ephesus.

I had already read on the Cruise Critic website how amazing Ephesus was but to see it for ourselves and to walk the pathways that ancient people had also walked really gives you a true understanding of how magnificent this place is.

I’m sooooo glad that we also opted for the Terrace Houses. I had not seen any pictures of Ephesus or the Terrace Houses before our trip (not that I hadn’t looked) and, for some reason, had envisioned something different for the Terrace Houses but was wonderfully surprised during our tour. I have to give credit to Inan whose background in archaeology and art history gave him a passion which was evident in his explanation of the ruins as he led us around to specific areas describing what life was like thousands of years ago and how to read the clues in the ruins. He commented on how unhappy he was that tourists in other tour groups were taken right up to the odeon and were allowed to climb all over it. Inan really avoided taking us to any part of the ruins where others were climbing and pawing around out of respect for the ancient sites. We took a zillion pictures and marveled at the craftsmanship and genius of these ancient people and wondered about the dedication they had to their gods and goddesses immortalizing them in marble and stone and honoring them with temples at every turn. We saw Medusa, the guardian of temples, Athena Nike, Aescepulus, and snapped pictures by the very earliest caduceus carving.

Even after being amazed by the ruins we had seen so far, we were furthered impressed by the Terrace Houses which are a separate area within Ephesus. Our tour was $10 USD per person more for this part but well worth the added expense. In fact, another tourist had slipped into the entrance of the Terrace Houses in front of us and was asked to pay 15 Euros for entry. This part of the tour was also a little more arduous with a lot of stair climbing but the entire ruins were covered/sheltered from the sun and the walkways that we took were clear so that we could see the ruins below our feet. We explored room after room from above and saw detailed drawings, stone inlays, marble walls, clever plumbing, and wonderful architectural feats.

We left the Terrace Houses and climbed down the stairs, walked past the Library of Celsus (although Seth and I stopped to examine it and take pictures including one of the token cat sleeping in the Library), and met back up with Inan near the exit of Ephesus within the gauntlet of tourist shops.

We chuckled at the signs advertising “genuine fake watches”.

We reboarded the mini-bus and were taken to what remained of the Temple of Artemis – one of the 2 Wonders of the Ancient World in Turkey Inan proudly pointed out. The temple was in ruins with only one column remaining. The site had once held over 120 columns and was one of the largest temples ever built. Inan told us that a lot of the temple ruins were taken and used to build St John’s basilica. We walked around briefly and admired the column and ruins complete with a huge stork’s nest at the top of the column.

Our next stop was a Turkish carpet weaving facility. We were warmly welcomed by our host/owner who showed us a woman working at a weaving loom tying wool knots with incredible speed. He demonstrated how the knots were tied and I was even given a chance to sit at the loom and tie a knot. It was a good thing that I was paying attention – I didn’t realize there would be a test! He showed us the tools that the weaver used – huge shears to trim the knot fibers and a heavy device used to knock the knots down and compact them. Depending on the carpet pattern, a carpet can take 3-6 months to weave.

We were then shown into the facility and stopped by a large machine that turned out to be a silk extractor. It was fascinating to see the silk cocoons and our host pointed out that every cocoon contained a dead insect. The insects were sacrificed before they could burrow their way out of the cocoon and disrupt the silk fibers. A woman demonstrated the tool she used to stir the cocoons floating in a vat of water to find the beginning of each silk fiber. The machine was then hand-cranked and pulled the silk fibers together into a thread which was wound onto a spindle. The thread was then collected and dyed with natural dyes. We saw a beautiful silk carpet on the weaving loom and our host pointed out that carpet quality was, of course, dependent on the number of knots per square centimeter – the more the better. Some of the silk carpets had thousands of knots per square centimeter.

The next room we were taken to was the show room where we sat, were served tea or coffee, and enjoyed what resembled cheese spring rolls made with Lore cheese.

They were delicious as was the tea served in their traditional Turkish tea cups with a small saucer and spoon. We were given more education about the differences in carpets: size, wool on wool, wool on cotton, and silk on wool. He gave us tips on what to look for in quality carpets and even invited us to take our shoes off to walk barefoot on the carpets to appreciate the way they felt. The carpets were luxurious and we learned quite a bit about carpet fibers and the way true Turkish carpets change colors depending on what side you view them from – the “dark” side and the “light” side.

Seth and I had already discussed getting a carpet for our great room in front of the fire place. After the demonstration, we split up from the other passengers into separate rooms for the hard sell from the owner’s staff. We described the colors that we were interested in and were immediately shown a large variety of carpets and we settled on a 6 ft by 9 ft carpet with reds, blues, black, and some green with a design somewhat resembling a southwestern style with what I called “bugs” – designs that, to me, look like scorpions. We paid 2300 Euros for the carpet which included shipping.

Our last stop was a leather factory where we were taken into a small room with a runway, were served apple tea, and watched models with a wide range of leather coats, shoes, and jackets parade by to strobe lights and loud dance music. It was kind of funny to watch until Seth and I were pulled up to the stage to be “models”. This will be the only time in my life, I’m sure, where I’ll see Seth dressed in a leather jacket and beret.

For me, I was given a beige leather jacket to wear. The models were not the friendliest people on the planet – they never said a word to either of us and really seemed to give off the vibe: “I just want to get this over with”.

We were shown in to the showroom and were allowed to browse around a bit after a brief lesson by one of the staff who showed us the “silk leather” line which was incredibly, buttery soft and strong as well. Apparently, the leather making process has not added a new part that renders the jackets waterproof. If I hadn’t just bought a leather jacket in Toronto this past spring, I may have considered buying a new jacket.

At this point, we were driven back to the port terminal where we paid Inan and posed together for a group photo. The group split up and went our separate ways with Seth and I heading to the Grand Bazaar just down and across the street from the terminal.