Pamakkule and Ephesus

After spending a lovely afternoon walking around Ugup town we caught the shuttle back to the airport for our flight to Kusadasi and were pleasantly surprised with this town. It is very similar to Mt Maunganui in that it has beaches and lots of hotels and shops (Wayne wouldn't give me time to go into the shops!)

The view from our room was absolutely lovely and was a great place to enjoy a bottle of wine and the atmosphere.
Higher up the hotel was the swimming pool and this view.
Even at night time the view was sensational. This is what we say when we went to bed but when we woke up there were 3 cruise ships docked.

The next morning it was up for breakfast and then to be met for a tour to Pamakkule (thermal area). It was long drive down (but not as long as to Gallipoli) and we were ready for a walkabout when we got there. In some ways we were disappointed as it was nowhere as beautiful and as extreme as Rotorua. It did have lovely terraces and it meant we could imagine what the Pink and White Terraces may have looked like.

It was quite beautiful but I was disappointed in the temperature of the water.

There were some ruins nearby that from the Ancient City of Hieropolis, dating back to the Roman times. Fascinating to see that some of the structures are still standing. Wayne is walking along an ancient road.

These are some column in a mosque we looked at while waiting for the rest of the tour party to arrive. It was so old and the local shops had all donated carpets for the floor.

We met up with the rest of the group and were amazed at the storks on the top of Artemis Temple. From here we could see two other temples but only visited Artemis Temple which has only one column left standing.
Back onto the bus, only to find that some guy was shifting our bags to take our seats...telling us he thought they were his nephews...but their bags looked totally different. It was a short bus ride to Ephesus which was one of the seven churches of Asia that are cited in the Book of Revelation. (That bit of information was straight from a book.) It was originally Greek (one of twelve cities during the classical Greek period) and later it was the second largest Roman city after Rome.
This one of the roads that everyone walked down. It was amazing to be able to imagine what it may have looked like in the old times.
Wayne is under a doorway. The intricate carving on these was incredible.
Above is the Greek Goddess Nike.
Wayne is sitting on a latrine and that is our lovely guide behind him. They had running water near their feet to wash their hands in afterwards and the 'business' was also washed away with running water. Quite sophisticated for their times.
This is what remains of the Library of Celsus. We used this to shelter in as the heavens opened in a rush and no one had umbrellas or coats from our group.
Our last important stop for the day was to visit the House of the Virgin Mary. It is said to be her final place of residence.