A few pics from our recent road trip to Ephesus.
For anyone thinking of taking this trip under their own steam, its an easy drive - dual carriage way all the way. Other than missing the fact that the D550 makes a 90 deg left turn in Aydin (we went straight on) it is absolutely straight forward.
Anyway, here's a few things we spotted on the trip....
Day 1Curious rock formations:
A damned big dam just south of Cine (apparently one of the tallest in the world at 137m). If you look carefully you may spot a white van, about the size of a dolmus just to the right of the yellow crane at the top right of the dam wall.
Kebabs in Cine - I think it was Colwyn that told us Cine is known for the best kebabs in Turkey. They were certainly good, but I guess I'll just have to try them everywhere else to confirm if they are the best.
We stayed a couple of nights in Selcuk where there are ruins of Roman aqua ducts in the tow centre:
Also in Selcuk, the ruined church of St John. Not sure if you get to see this on a standard trip to Ephesus, but its actually quite amazing - the pics don't do it justice.
Day 2I'm sure many of you have been to Ephesus, so I won't bore you with pics of the main attractions, other than to show you what its like without the crowds (in late April):
And, if you are on the standard tour, you may not get chance to visit the "Terraced houses" - in the covered section (costs extra!). They are however truly amazing - original mosaics and decorated plaster:
Day 3Baffa Lake is very quiet as I was told, but its worth a visit if you are up that way. Byzantine forts and city walls all over the place. We didn't see any other "tourists" at all!
And tombs carved out of the rock at the lakeside:
We had lunch on the terrace at the Kaya Pension Restaurant here:
Looking out over the lake and the ruins of a monastery on the island:
Finally, we visited Akyaka, which reminded me of Gocek before it was developed. It does also have a nice beach (which I didn't photograph).
We took a delightful 30 minute boat trip up the river.
The water was so incredibly clear you could easily see the plant life and fish:
All in all, a good 3 days and just over 700km (including a few local trips around Ephesus), but I'd highly recommend doing this on your own and taking your time rather than rushing round on a coach tour - but that's just my opinion.
Ian