A Little Turkish Inn

For our final days in Turkey, we all went to a village near the ruins of Ephesus. It was such a sweet little place.
This is our bedroom.

 We arrived in time for dinner on Saturday evening, a wonderful meal of traditional Turkish food, served in a colorful dining room with the other patrons.

These pictures were taken from the roof-top terrace.

 The temple to Artimas was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient world, but only one collum remains today, which we could see from our roof.

This is a library built in the 14th century. We could also see this from our room.

The breakfast was wonderful. I never took time to take pictures of our multi-course dinners.

 Les is standing in the doorway of our Inn.

During  dinner, we visited with a man from Australia and a woman from India, who now lives in Portland, Oregon. Since they  also planed to tour Ephesus on Sunday, we agreed to all go together, which added to the fun. One theme of this trip would be, "Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold". (from my old Brownie days). What a joy to meet people from around the world and have instant connections.

The walkway leading into the ruins of Ephesus was lined with vendors, some selling some interesting products.

 Next post will be loaded with pictures from Ephesus.....!!!!!!!!!

The Seven Churches in Asia..right there

In the book of Revelation, Jesus sent messages to the seven churches in Asia
Rev 1:10-11 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, "Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea."

These seven churches are today in Turkey, on the West coast, right where we were! The city of Izmir, where we flew in and out, is on the site of the city of Smyrna. Thyatira is now Akhisar, near Istanbul. The ruins of Sardis, Philadelphia, Pergamum, Laodicea, and Ephesus have been excavated and are open to tours.  Tarsus, the city that the Apostle Paul was from, is actually in Turkey, with a population of 3 million people at this time, but there are few ancients sites that have bee excavated there.

Pergamum is actually still a town, fully inhabited and operating. But, above the current town of Pergamum are the ruins of the ancient city of Pergamum, which dates back to 400BC at least, and which we were able to tour. Here are a few of the pictures I took. I just could not stop taking pictures.  An ancient city that is mentioned in the Bible, a city where an early church gathered, was just so amazing.

 Most of the ruins are on the top of a hill, but you can see that the city cascaded down the hill originally, and was home to around 200,000 occupants.

We are standing at the top of the amphitheater, which was very steep, and could seat 10,000 people.

 The site is littered with remains from pillars, altars, other structures, many of which have  intricate carvings and writing. 

These pillars were incredible. I took pictures from a very close vantage point... because I didn't see the sign that said to not get on the wall because of danger of collapse. OOPS! But I did get some great pictures!

I just could not get over the fact that we were right there, walking amidst the ruins of an ancient Greek city.

 

More Coastal Cities

 

On Tuesday, we drove down the coast to an old fishing village. Our first stop was a hilltop plateau called The Devil's Table. Situated on a peninsula, the location provided fantastic views of the coastline and several islands in the Aegean.

 

            

   

Those views were incredible. We tore ourselves away and drove down to the shore. We met a young woman who is a scuba instructor. She told us that she had worked in a bank in Istanbul, but heard a speaker who had a huge influence on her. He said, "If you are not happy, then make changes. If you don't like where you live, then move. If you don't like your job, then get a new one."  When she heard that, she knew that she had to make changes. She quit her job and moved to the coast, where she works on a boat and teaches scuba, and she is happy! We enjoyed visiting with her... and, she spoke English! She even escorted to a restaurant that she recommended, then realized that we would never be able to find it on our own. We had a delicious lunch there. 

 That afternoon, the fisherman came into shore with their catches from the morning.

 

 

 

 

Our Home Away From Home

We are so grateful. Our friends made it possible for us to rent a duplex for the two weeks that we are in Turkey, for MUCH less than the cost of a hotel room. We have more than we need; a full, complete kitchen, living area, three bedrooms, TWO bathrooms, and it is a short, 5 minute walk to their house.
First, this is where I am sitting right now, working on this post. A patio area off the living room.

This is the view from the living room,  through the security gate.

And this is inside the living room. Remember, I said a fully equipped house? Yes, it even has a guitar. I don't know what Les would have done if he had to go three weeks without playing a guitar.

 

 

The duplex is three stories, with the master bedroom on the third floor, up three flights of stairs.

We get a little extra exercise.

 

 

But, once we get up here, this is the view, from the third floor balcony. Actually, the view is much better. The picture does not do it justice.

And this is the view from the other side of the balcony.

 

These are  taken from the two master bedroom windows.

 

This is the outside of our duplex.

 

And, these are pictures taken around the complex.

 

 

So, so blessed by everything about this trip, including this wonderful home.