The Journey Continues: June 2013

The cosy dining room in my homely lodging. There is even a shelf of books for guests.

The "Lovely Breakfast", as claimed by the owner. I feel so loved =)

The Ruins of Ephesus - the main reason why people come to Selçuk.

This ruins is larger than it looks. Quite a few paths that extend to nowhere.

Ephesus used to be a Greek city, then a major Roman city, with population more than 250,000 in the 1st century BC, making it one of the largest cities in the Mediterranean world.

The iconic Roman theater. I wonder what kind of performance did they watch here...

Off the stage please, time for me to perform.

The weather was really hot and dry, and there are hardly any shelters anywhere >_<

Imagine walking through this ancient city...

Stone remnants laid out nicely and orderly.

The Roman Library of Celsus. The library was built to store 12,000 scrolls and to serve as a monumental tomb for Celsus.

Woah...there is still a hill to go!

Written in Greek? Roman?

Temple of Hadrian.

Almost couldn't spot it! Haha...meow meow is feeling hot too.

Finally made it to the top of the slope. Harder to climb than it looks because there are no steps and the slope is pretty steep.

What!! Another set of slopes to clear?

Ruins ruins everywhere. I've been seeing ruins for this entire trip lol.

There are still much to explore in this ancient city. But actually most of the worthy artifacts have been shifted to the Ephesus Museum (featured in the previous tome).

Lol...I notice Westerners love to pose in place of statues.

Another smaller Roman theatre. There are really people who stood in front and sang! Haha. There was applause too of course.

Farewell to Ephesus. =)

Back to the pension, there was a free champagne party at the rooftop during sunset time.

Enjoying the view while taking a sip of wine.

Good things are always so transient. I shall miss Homeros Pension.

After the champagne party we had a lovely dinner!

Bus is the best and most convenient way in travelling between cities in Turkey. Turkey is not very well connected by rail network and it's usually much faster to take a direct bus than train. Fortunately buses in Turkey are pretty efficient and comfortable. Since there are so many bus companies serving several routes, you needn't be afraid of not being able to go from point A to point B.

Istanbul main bus station. It's so large and easy to get lost in. And there are countless bus companies to choose from.

Of course for the comfort and reliability, I chose to go with the more reputable and established bus companies, though it may be a bit more expensive. I recommend Kamil Koç and Metro, especially Kamil Koç - my favourite bus company in Turkey hehe.

Onboard the overnight bus with Kamil Koç to my next destination! The seats resemble those in economy class airlines, with in-bus entertainment too!

The start of the 8-hour long bus journey. Was pretty excited at first but then the excitement slowly died down as fatigue sets in.

Bus steward! Haha. Didn't know that such narrow aisle could allow a trolley to pass through. Apparently in this part of the world, it's the men who do this kind of service jobs. (I've never seen a female bus attendant in Turkey)

Yes...the snack trolley is major reason why I like Kamil Koç so much. Snacks and drinks are served frequently and you can always take more if you like. Haha. The choice of snacks include my favorite Cin!!!! Cin is really so addictive I can't stop munching lol.

Okay, this is the 8-hour route I took from Istanbul to Selçuk. As you can see from the map, there is a portion where it crosses the inland sea. The bus will hop onto a ferry that will bring it across the other side. And I missed it -___-...was half-asleep the way thru and didn't notice we were not the ferry =(

The bus was comfortable indeed , but definitely not a place where I can sleep well in. The bus stopped twice for toilet breaks ($$$ required...zzz), including one supper outlet.

Anyway in the bus ride we met a solo traveller from Taiwan. It's not common to see Chinese in Turkey so we decided to travel together for the next couple of days. She was an exchange student in Istanbul and was making use of the weekend to explore other cities in the vicinity.

After the tiring overnight journey, we finally arrived at our lodging in Selçuk (pronounced as Sell-juk). A neat room with pretty Turkish deco. I feel like sleeping...zzz

Homeros Pension - highly recommended for travellers to Selçuk. Prices are reasonable and has a very homely atmosphere, like its name haha. Most importantly the owner is really kind and friendly. He takes effort to speak to every guest and ensures that they enjoy their time there. Unfortunately we are staying for only 1 night.

Visited the market in Selçuk. Very friendly smiles from the shopkeepers =)

Saw a nicely-built bird nest on top of this wire pole. So cute!

Is that a castle on the hilltop? Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Lol.

Visited the Ephesus Museum, which stores artifacts from the nearby ancient ruins of Ephesus (will cover it in the next tome).

Eros (holding a rabbit for some reason) on the left, and the Greek goddess Artemis on the right.

Ooh...Artemis Temple - one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World! Never expect myself to see another Ancient Wonder with my own eyes following the Great Pyramids.