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I had been in Greece no more than an hour and here I was already at a water-side café.
Greece and Turkey, September 1994
Dougburnett2003-11-22 11:11:32
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During my walking the previous day I had discovered the bus station. Did I say station? Well, actually it's just a corner where the dolmus (shared taxis) stop. I walked over and asked around for the correct one. The advantage of a tourist town is that it's easy to find English speakers, so I didn't have any problems finding the one I wanted. Dolmus are large minibuses that hold about 10-12 people. As soon as mine was full - maybe 10 minutes - we were off. Rolling north along the coast we stopped frequently to let off passengers and pick up new ones. With all this activity, Turkish lira were constantly being passed up to the driver and change returned. The driver did all this and somehow still managed to stay on the road. Luckily the young man sitting next to me spoke excellent English. He helped me, and two other Americans in the dolmus, to get off at the correct stop - which was not marked.
We were dropped at the head of a dusty road that slowly climbed up hill. We started to walk and visited as we went. They were two retired schools teachers from Philadelphia and were on their way home from a sailing cruise of the Greek islands. The day was dazzlingly sunny and getting hot. Everything was bone dry and all the vegetation had turned yellow and brown.
When we reached the parking lot - a 10 minute walk - I was relieved to see that it was not full of buses. I learned later that most tours make a quick stop here, early, and than head inland. After getting our ticket ($1.50) we headed in. Ephesus was a ancient Roman trading city and is now filled with crumbling buildings. The stone streets are lined with sun-bleached columns and weathered statuary. Some of the ancient buildings have recently been reconstructed - the best of which is the spectacular Library of Celsus. The site is huge and requires a lot of walking - all under the blistering sun. Don't forget to bring a bottle of water and comfortable
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See photographs from:
Turkey Gallery
,
Greece Gallery
