Turkey - Day 3

Ok. It is taking me far too long to write these, and as much as I wish I could say I will finish the blogging on Turkey this weekend, I don't see it happening :) The best I can do is aim to finish Day 3 tonight.

This was the day we flew to Izmir, where we would spend the next three days visiting excavated ruins of ancient cities. On arrival in Izmir, we were met by our guide and driver, Harry and Jamal. From there, we headed straight for Bergama, to visit the ancient ruins of Pergamon (Pergamum), which was built by one of Alexander the Great's generals after his death.

We stopped at a service station for gas for the VW van, and the family headed inside for some drinks and snacks. There was fresh pomegranate juice, but sis and I had one craving. After only 2 days, we wanted potato chips! What can I say, junk food addicts, really.


At Pergamon, Harry pointed out some of the interesting features of the city, such as the marble columns and the intricate carvings on the marble, the arches that have withstood numerous earthquakes while everything around them have crumbled, the famous library.

It was a fairly cold day, apparently the first they'd had for a while (just our luck, really, to get to a place where they'd had beautiful weather up til the day before we arrive!), but it was still fascinating to see the ruins and listen to Harry's explanations, insights, and points to ponder.

We then had a late lunch, then were brought to a hali (carpet) place. It's not a factory, as there were no machines. It's somewhere where carpet makers can come to make the carpets that are specific to their tribe or clan, more like a cooperative than a factory. After much bargaining and unrolling of carpets of all different shapes and sizes, we decided on one piece after almost 3 hours.

Finally, we drove back to Kusadasi, to Atinc Hotel where we would be staying for the next 2 nights. Dinner was provided at the hotel, but we got there so late (after 8.30pm) that we had to eat straightaway, because the kitchen closed at 9pm. The service and live entertainment were great. The wait staff, whom we would see a fair bit of over the next 3 days, were more friendly than the ones we'd come into contact with in Istanbul. And the live entertainment: a solo singer on the guitar who sang English and Turkish songs. He was playing some oldies when we first sat down to our meal, and sounded quite good. I was impressed. Unfortunately, the food was nowhere near as good as what we'd had the previous 2 nights. Think we had become a bit too used to posh food! :)