While Malua was still on the hard I took a trip with some other cruisers to Ephesus, Hieropolis and Pamukkale. It very easy and great fun. On Malua's trip north we stopped at Kusadasi and then revisited Ephesus. Here are Denny and my notes.
We caught the minibus near the top of town and were dropped off at the road entrance into Ephesus which was just 150m up a small incline.
We spent more than four hour wandering around the site. The highlight was the villas under cover. Not only are they interesting but there are no crowds and it is cool.
The Library entrance dominates the area. It is imposing with the four statues of the then virtues between the columns. Not much is known about the library except it was burnt at one point so the scrolls were lost!
When we were finished with the site we went into the Selcuk Museum to see the finer pieces uncovered at the site. The famous statue of Artemis in three form is on display. Just around the corner is the Byzantine gateway into the Temple of St John - the same fellow who wrote Revelations on Patmos whose cave we saw on that island.
The next day we took at trip to Priene which we had seen against the mountainside when we sailed up the coast. It is huge with little restoration but the temple of Athena has some interesting interlocking stone slabs. The I gave my special speech at the well preserved bouleuterion -council chamber. Ther was only 1 of the possible 640 deligates present who as usual made some irrelivant objections - but that is normal! We returned to Sokok to get the bus back to Kusadasi after purchasing some fresh fish from a local merchant who cleaned and fillited it for us. Great taste and value.
Images of Ephesus