We were thrilled to have the Cardwell/Kowal family join us in Turkey, there was such excitement meeting up in Istanbul main Airport (IST) on our way to Izmir. We are very grateful that they have decided to travel with us throughout Turkey. We began our journey together in Selcuk, staying at a large Airbnb together and enjoying catching up. We spent the following day exploring the famous ruins at Ephesus, as well as viewing the ruins in the city of Selcuk, including The Temple Artemis, which is now just a few columns and the statue of Artemis, it has been named one of the Ancient Wonders of the World. The city of Ephesus, built in the 10th century, is one of the best maintained ancient Greek cities. Much of it has been restored as many building in the city were destroyed when the Roman empire conquered the port city it in 129 BC. One it best known features is the restored Library of Celsus and the large amphitheatre. In this ancient city women held prominent intellectual roles and equal rights to men (before the Romans arrived). There are female statues celebrating women’s intellect adorning the two-story Library of Celsus. There is an active archeological site where they are currently excavating the houses of very wealthy. It was amazing to see the ornate mosaics floor tiles, I thought the most impressive was a lion mosaic. Thanks to the archeologist work you have clear views of many of the wall paintings and the complex layout of the houses. The public latrines gave us more information about how different life would have been in ancient Greece. On Ephesus site there is also an incredible museum, a modern virtual immersive experience, that takes you through the history of site and some of its key historical figures, it also provides some hints to what life would have been like in ancient times. That evening we had a great meal sampling many different Turkish foods, the adults enjoyed sharing Turkish Meze. During our travels together Olenka and Sophie have bonded on their love of the Turkish Cats and Dogs that seemed to be everywhere, many homes had bowels of food and water outside the doors and the dogs where tagged showing they had been immunized, most looked healthy.
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