[Turkey] When I get old..

Location: Cafe in Cappadocia

...I will not go on tours. NOT because I don't like tours (which is also part of the reason), but it causes trouble for other people as well. Travelers not participating in tours have to agree that they have been annoyed by the flag-waving, matching-hat, camera-addicted group of retirees at least once. Don't get me wrong, I'm not completely dissing them or saying that no one should go on tours. It's just that, when they clog up the line or decide to talk the whole time instead of seeing the monument/museum, it can get annoying. A lot. That's all..

Anyways, I walked from the Selcuk otogar to the Ephesus ruins. Probably about a 3km walk..which I assumed to be a breeze after walking over 10km in Istanbul with a 25kg backpack. And the walk didn't turn out to be bad at all. It said in my guide book that it's a long walk along the

highway so it's a long, dangerous, boring walk. But it actually alright because there actually sidewalks a bit off from the main road (so it's safe), there was a nice view of the ruins the entire time (so it's not boring), and it was only 3km (depends on your definition of long). 3km, which is about an hour max, is doable.

And I met a Japanese lady on the way there. No, not a tourist. She actually lives there and she supposedly does the walk everyday with her 2 years old kid. So again Lonely Planet (my guidebook), NOT dangerous. I think he's married to a Turkish man, because the kid looked only half Japanese. Japanese-Turkish. That's an awesome mix. She told me that the berry-like fruit thats on the ground is eatable, so if I got hungry I can just pick up the ones that has just fallen and eat it. So I did as I continued my walk to the ruins. It tasted like berries..but without the sourness or tanginess (is that a word?). It was pretty good, so I had like 30 of them. I noticed many other people were picking it up and eating it as they walked. Even the military men guarding some building were eating it.

Even better, it comes in variety. Red, white, and blue. I call it the Capitalism Berry. Capi-berries. Bon Appetit.

After the 3km walk
Ruins of Ephesus, a Roman city that dates back to 1000 B.C., is known to be one of the best preserved in the country and in the world. It's sort of like an open-air museum, where you pay an entrance fee (20TL) and then walk around to see all sorts of ruins. I didn't realize how famous this place was until I actually entered and realized that I've seen some of the ruins on TV before.

For example, the Ephesus Theatre (I'm sure that's not the original name), is one of the most significant remains that you can see. It wasn't used just for musical performance, but also for gladiator fights, sporting competition, or any other entertainment events. What's more interesting about it is that, it's still used as a popular locations for musicians to perform on special occasions. Elton John and Louis Armstrong are just two of many artists who has performed here (I forgot the others).

This is the hallway behind the center stage, where musicians and gladiator fighters probably often used to move around and get to the other side. Probably functioned as a back stage as well. You can tell how neatly these stones where put together. And to think that this was built thousands of years ago, and that it has survived through numerous earthquakes, is simply amazing.
Oh and I'm sure you've realized the number of tourists. I understand that tour guides have to keep calm and neatly explain each feature and displays, thus cooperation from tourists are essential to efficiently get through the tour without delay. When they stop every 2 step to take photos, sit down, and complain about the weather, it really doesn't help the tour stay on schedule. Moreover, as I mentioned, think about all the other people who has to wait for the 40 people group, probably 4000 years old and 40 diapers in total, to move on to the next display, only to wait for them to move on once again.. But don't worry lonely travelers, I'll think of a solution for this within couple days.

The library is also one of most valuable remaining of the city. I'd just like to point out that in Troy, everything was discovered and restored after excavation, meaning that none of it was in the current form until small pieces were separately founded and put together. But in Ephesus, a lot of what is there are actual remaining. However, much of it are replicas because the originals are kept in museums in Istanbul or Ankara.

The famous common washroom. Basically bunch of holes in a stone. A friendly-atmosphere. I'm not sure whether the rationality behind this particular design was to create unity and a strong bond amongst men, whether in war or in toilet..possibly. I asked a random tour guide where the females did their business, and he said "boy, females are angels, they don't need toilets". I agreed and walked away. By the way, a public washroom like this was the first in the world at the time, so in a way it was an invention that has an influence on us today.

I took this photo only because most tourists I saw passing through this gate, walked right through it without knowing that it's the famous Gate of Hercules. It's placed in one of the entrance to the city to protect the people inside.

Disneyland
The Disneyland effect is what I call it. More and more tourist locations are innovating only to match expectations of those who visit. And by those who visit, I don't mean intellectuals or curious-georges, because they have, more or less, an objective in traveling. If a goal to be accomplish exists, the mean for travel is to satisfy that goal, not for leisure. So yes, once again, my definition of a "visitor" are tourists who are only there because it was included in the package they have paid for. Tired of my repetitive criticisms? Well..I'M SORRY. Now build a build a bridge and get over it (and please keep reading).

"Welcome to the Magic" and "Happiest place in the world" are just two of many phrases to suck in kids into the "magical" and "dream" land. I don't understand how the happiest place on earth can exist in 6 different places (they're talking about building another one in Shanghai next year), or how the magical place is accessible from my house using the number 5 highway. Anyways, putting that aside, the reason why Ephesus, the most well preserved Roman city, reminded me of Donald Duck and Goofy (my two favorite of Disney characters), is because of this.

The call

The arrival

They even said "Take photo time" (probably in this way to make it easier for asians to understand). Am I the only one to be offended by this.

Of course, the gladiator fight.

They did this short, 7 minute show probably 5 times within an hour. I saw one show, then I stayed in the same spot to read the guide book, then within 10 minutes they came back to do the same exact show. Surprisingly there was a huge crowd surround the show every single time. Tourists hurried their way to see the show when the 3 warriors blew their trumpet (which was fake. I saw them talking and laughing while "blowing" the horn. It's just a recording) and some even left the monuments they were seeing just to get a good spot for the show. Felt like Disneyland. Though it was good for me because it drew away crowds of tourists.