Ok. This morning was not good. Mainly because my head felt like I had a Frenchman living in it: Lots of banging.
We also still not had our laundry. We managed to accost the reasonably sane owner and he shouted inside and it finally appeared 10mins later. There is nothing like a pair of fresh pants to put a spring in one's step!
We had gotten up really early to try and get a transfer to Ephesus. Unfortunately Simon was the only person about. 'Yes Yes. Ephesus. Transfer carpet shop. Maybe now. Later. Maybe... Yes!' We were dismissed by a wave of his hand. Another gem of information to digest. I stored it with my list of useful things; like chocolate teapots.
We found the carpet shop and got the transfer to Ephesus. It is a wonderful place to visit. Early settlements of this city date back to 800 BC. It was once a great Antonian, and then later Ionian trading centre. Of course the Romans got their hands on it and totally transformed it. Much of these intact ruins are what you can explore and walk around today. It is also interesting to note one of the ancient wonders of the world was once here: The Temple of Artemis. Unfortunately it was destroyed in a fire in 356BC. This never ceases to amaze me: In the UK we were still bopping around in mud huts.
The main reason this place is such a wonderful place to visit is because so much of it still stands intact. You can enter the amphitheatre and walk to the very top. The view is spectacular. You can also walk up the original streets and off into houses, terraced streets, baths, and even latrines. It really is the best archaeological site I have ever been to. It was pretty overrun by tourists and this was out of season. I really recommend it though. Although, in hindsight, perhaps not with a hangover.
We got back to the hostel and decided it time to split Selcuk. We bought tickets for a bus that was supposed to leave at 3pm but left at 4pm. And was supposed to be direct.. but wasn't. A tip for travelling in Turkey. Buses are great - but they are never direct and rarely leave on time. You need to get over this; although I admit, it took me a while.
Some parting notes on Selcuk. Father Christmas is buried 100km south of here. Yep it is official kids. He's kicked the bucket! Also Mary as in the Virgin Mother - Maryam Adhraa in Aramaic - travelled here with St John The Apostle. It also rains a lot.
We finally got the bus and to Pumakkale. On the way - and it was a long way - we got chatting to a girl who could speak good English and also Turkish. Her name was Fatima. She told us she was from Germany and was travelling with her boyfriend, Thorsen (pronounced Torsen). We all arrived in Denizli together. Denizli is about 20k south of Pumakkale. Remember that direct bus? We all got grabbed by a hotel tout and bundled into a car. We were all too tired to care at this point.
We ended up in a reasonable hotel with a pushy owner who was trying to sell us tours that evening. We got an acceptable room for a out of season price. It had a very special shower though - with cold water. Marcus and I went out for dinner with plans to meet the German couple. However the restaurant we chose were entering a tour group of around 80 people. So we didn't get hour food for over an hour and then it was different from what we ordered. Ne'ermind - we got hammered on red-wine. We missed Fatima and Torsen for a drink later on. Then went to bed.
Oh - there were mosquitos.
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