2022 Fall Travels, Part Two - Turkey - Izmir, Ephesus, And Bodrum

We left Cappadocia, a hard act to follow, and flew to Izmir on the Aegean Sea coast.  We were picked up at the airport and dropped off at our hotel In Izmir.  This day was a travel day which is always tiring.  After arriving at our hotel the Wife and I took a short walk to the sea wall to see the Aegean.

Prayers left at the home of Mary.

The next day our guide (the third guide in Turkey ... all three were great) picked us up and we drove to Ephesus.  Our first stop was one of the houses where it is believed Mary lived after Jesus' crucifixion. 

The library of Celsus in Ephesus.

We then walked through the remains of the city of Ephesus.  It was a hot day and it sucked the energy out of all of us but the history and architecture was very interesting and we found water and ice cream along the way.  On the way out we passed through some shops where we bought more magnets, souvenirs, and the Wife bought a couple dresses.

We were supposed to go to a vineyard but, since we were tired and not wine drinkers, we skipped it.  Instead we went to a modern shopping center so the Wife could buy some blue shoes to go with one of her new dresses.

The sunset from our restaurant.

That evening we went to Adabeyi, a restaurant near the waterfront located in a building designed by Eiffel (of Eiffel tower fame).  The Wife wore her new dress and shoes and looked magnificent.  The rest of us looked pretty shabby next to her.

The restaurant on the lake.

The next day we drove south towards Bodrum.  We stopped at a restaurant on the coast of a lake for brunch.  Unfortunately we hadn't known we were stopping for brunch and had all had breakfast before we left Izmir so we really didn't want to eat any more.  I think our guide and driver were a bit disappointed.

The Bodrum Castle.

In Bodrum we stopped at an amphitheater (our ... I've lost count ... third amphitheater?) before going to the Bodrum Castle, location of the Bodrum Museum Of Underwater Archaeology.  You could probably spend all day exploring the exhibits in the castle but we are not museum people and our tour mates weren't either so we zipped through at a fairly quick pace.

Our last stop of the day were the windmills on the hill overlooking the city.  The mills used to grind flour in the 1700s and 1800s.  Their location gave you a nice view of the city and Aegean waters.

The sunsets on the Aegean coast were always spectacular ... this one is from our hotel.

We checked into our hotel and ate a late lunch/early dinner at the bar on the beach.  We later walked down the beach looking for shopping (which we never found).  The path we took followed the coast and we had a great view of the setting sun.  We got back to our room after dark.

Our gulet.

The next day we took a gulet and cruised the Turquoise Coast.  The gulet stopped at four different spots along the coast where we jumped off the boat into the water.  I swam around the boat and had a good swim at a couple of the stops.  We ate lunch on the boat and, when we weren't eating or swimming, relaxed on the lounge cushions on the deck.  I would have to say this was the most relaxing day on the Turkish portion of our travels and possibly the entire forty-four days of our fall travels.

The turquoise coast.

The next day we flew back to Istanbul.  We had a free afternoon before we went out for our goodbye dinner.  We were picked up by this giggly girl with a purple fake fur coat.  She took us to a rooftop restaurant where, for the last time in Turkey, we were over fed.

Our last day in Turkey was spent sitting in the lounge/bar waiting for our airport pickup.  It turned out to be the purple fur coat girl from the night before.  Things went smoothly at the airport.

Turkey was a much more relaxing trip.  Unlike Israel, the pace was more leisurely.  Part of that was due to the long lunches and dinners that gave everyone some time to rest and recuperate.  All our guides were delightful and knowledgeable.  I had a good time in Turkey but I was now tired of Roman history.  It was time for a change.

We left Turkey behind us and flew to our next destination: Cairo, Egypt.

Photos can be found in my Turkey 2022-09 Google Photos album.