travel photography

plane's wing

Goodbye Istanbul, on to our next stop, Selcuk.

below

drying

After an hour car ride from the airport to Selcuk we checked into our hotel, Hotel Bella. It was lovely — quaint and homey. We were brought up to the roof terrace and were given drinks and a light breakfast. I walked around the terrace photographing every interesting thing; like this roof. Something seems to be drying in the morning sun.

Selcuk

A view from our hotel's terrace of the town nestled in the hillside.

the grand fortress

morning coffee

hotel roof terrace

I spent the majority of my 'hotel time' up here, photographing, writing, drawing, and making friends with the cook and waiter.

bright white

Most of the buildings were painted white. Not the most practical for seeing when the sun is shining — intense glare.

hotel bella

The front of our cute little hotel.

view from the hill

column tops

Not far from our hotel was the Basilica of St. John. On our first day we ventured over there to explore and see the famous site where St. John was buried. This was the great church of Ephuses and was constructed by Emperor Justinian in the 6th century.

once was a church

standing tall

scenic overlook

brick and marble

around town

hill with a view

After we ran around the ruins of the Basilica of St. John we headed over to the Grotto of the Seven Sleepers. Truth be told it was not worth seeing, so my brother and I climbed the hillside and ventured off the beaten path. This was what we saw when we looked one way.

dried flora

crepes

Our lunch was cooked by a local near the Seven Sleepers site. She specializes in crepes; sweet crepes, meat crepes, and vegetable crepes. They were delicious, especially the banana and chocolate crepe. We sat on pillows on the ground and ate off a low table - traditional seating.

lunch spot

This was what the seating for the crepe place looked like. All outdoors and only a couple ceiling fans to keep us cool in the almost 100 degree heat.

ionic columns

With full stomachs we headed to the major tourist attraction of the area, Ephesus — the ancient city of Anatolia. They appointed Artemis to be the "lady of Ephesus" and built the Temple of Artemis (one of the seven world wonders) in honor of her. Ephesus underwent many changes during its different rules by different cultures. During the Classical period the temple of Artemis was burnt to the ground and rebuilt in the Hellenistic period by Alexander the Great. In the late 80BC Ephesus feel under rule of the Roman Republic, who made Ephesus an even greater city, second in size and importance to Rome. However in 263 the Goths destroyed many temples and buildings, bringing a decline in the splendor of Ephesus, which was eventually abandoned in the 15th century.

theater

The first site we come across is the smaller theater, which was originally covered. There are an 22 stairs leading to the top of the theater.

the audiences view

once was a great city

Ephesus used to be a sparling prosperous metropolis. The site contains the largest collection of Roman ruins East of the Mediterranean.

centered corinthian

arched gateway

ancient writings

I don't know if it is Greek or Latin.

temple's remains

Curetes Street

gladiators

reconstructed entrance

keystone of a goddess

public toilets

the Library of Celsus

Carefully reconstructed, the facade of the Library of Celsus is exaggerated enhancing its perceived size. Built by Gaius Julius Aquila in memory of his father in AD 125, the library used to hold almost 12,000 scrolls.

the setting sun

modern goddess

grandiose

statue of a goddess

genuine fake watches

At the end of the trek through the ruins of Ephesus you are greeted by little shops and cafes. My father found this one to be amusing.

herons

In Selcuk, herons nested on the tops of anciet Roman aquaduct columns. There was a nest right next to our hotel, so we could watch the babies wait for their mother to come home and feed them. We waited one night to see the mother come and feed the babies. When she came I snapped this of the babies eating while she cleaned herself. And yes there really are two (large) babies and a mother in that photograph. The babies were almost at the age to fly away.

looking out at the Aegean Sea

On our second day in Selcuk we decided to head to the beach and have a day full of fun in the sun. We signed up for a boat with about 40 people take us around the coastline of Turkey to three private beaches. It was a beautiful day, nice and hot and very sunny. The boat has places to layout on the top and then a covered area with tables and benches. The boat filled up and we headed out in the Aegean Sea. It was breathtaking.

sailboats

leaving port

hillside homes

lookout tower

turkey pride

The flag of Turkey.

my feet and the sea

my mother

party boat

So we get moving and suddenly they blast horrible old school electronic music over the speakers. And then people begin to dance. And we realized we were on a party boat. People were drinking, they had a guy with a video camera taping everything, women were dancing. It was a bit wilder than I would have liked.

a castaway

the first beach

This was the first beach and it was beautiful — crystal blue water and a spectacular view.

relaxation

afloat

My father was surprised at how easily you could float in the salty salty sea.

water against rock

zipkin

zipkin 2

the rocky cliffs

the second beach

my father

late afternoon

That night we decided to head down the street and into town to eat dinner. the sun was setting behind the mountains. Perfect lighting.

little street

mosque

Do you see the heron on the dome?

watermelons

modular homes

nesting

Every aquaduct's columns were occupied by a family of herons.

my sister

After dinner we walked back to the hotel and up to the roof top terrace where we joined the staff who were watching the Euro Cup. Turkey was playing against Germany in the semi-finals. It was an intense match.

Hotel Bella staff

Just some of the people who worked at Hotel Bella. They were so kind to us and very welcoming. If you ever go to Selcuk I recommend staying there.

my brother

goal

Whenever Turkey scored everyone would get up and start dancing and singing and cheering loudly. Sometimes you could hear shouts from other homes. Everyone was praying Turkey would win. Unfortunately they lost and the town got quiet.

lunch

We went to bed tired and sun burned so decided to take the morning off and sleep in. Once we all woke we rode up the mountain side to a small old village called Sirince. Originally it was named Cirkince which means ugly to keep their beautiful town a secret and foreigners out. After many years the village's name was changed to Sirince, which means pretty. Sirince is also known for its local fruit flavored wines.

stone streets

lunch time

sunflowers

dried chillis

oh me oh my a beard!

As we walked through the narrow winding streets of Sirince we came across a little covered market. A couple of kids began to follow us, making jokes about my brother's beard and taking napkins to create one on their own face. I decided why not snap of shot of them either making fun of or wishing they had a beard.

deep red

Sirince was a beautiful quiet town. Along the narrow streets were many little European looking homes, with pots by their front stoop with beautiful flowers.

tiled roof, blue sky

Most of the homes were painted white with red clay tiled roofs. The blue sky in the background made for a perfect setting.

old village streets

broken door

The village is very old, so a lot of the buildings were falling apart.

soccer

old woman

bright blue trim

When I turned the corner and came across this house I could not seem to tear myself away. Its perfectly bright white walls reflected the sun into my eyes and the bright blue trim and shutters was just the right amount of color to give this house character. I called it my dream Sirince home.

bright blue and white

contrast

sirince landscape

mosque minaret

tucked away home

entry

house

little boxes on the hillside

The small village of Sirince climbing the mountain side.

pink and blue

sisters

My mother took this of my sister, leaning out of our hotel room window, and I before we strolled down the hill into town for dinner.

dinner at okumus

"hippies"

After dinner we walked to a small shop which sells the best Turkish delights and then towards the town square. We saw a large crowd so decided to see what was going on for ourselves. The crowd was circling a couple of local nomadic "hippies". They began to play a tun and two women danced around. Interesting.

The Cave of Zeus. This way

Our last day in Selcuk we spent exploring Dilek National Park. We rented a car for the day and drove along the coast line. It took about 40 minutes to get to our first stop, the Cave of Zeus.

cold blue water

Zeus's cave has freezing cold blue water and that is about it.

prickly

seaside homes

buying bread

inside the park

We drove into the park after buying bread, cheese and waters for lunch. It was breathtaking – lush greens surrounded us, the road curved around the mountain side and the sea would show itself at lookout spots. We stopped here to snap a couple.

the road

beach time

After we drove as far as we could (the peninsula the park is on is the militaries, so you can only go so far), we turned down a side road that descended to a beach. We changed into our suits, grabbed our towels and books, and headed to the shore. It was a rock beach with random wooden slat beach chairs. The water was extremely cold but after you went under it felt great. A perfect way to cool off on a very hot summer day.

rocks

the crowd

madelyn

shader

last night sun set

We were blessed with a beautiful sunset over the castle on our last night. We had a feast on our hotel's roof top terrace. Selcuk and Hotel Bella you will be missed.