A puff of Nagila - Turkey

Turkish Welcome

We dropped anchor at midday in Kusadasi’s beautiful harbour and got off the boat to a welcome from a Turkish band. At first my best laid plans didn’t go so well… we were a big group with too many chiefs and not enough Indians. So I teamed up with Steve, Ai and Akiko and together we made the most of Kusadasi. We climbed the hill where a statue of Ataturk overlooks the harbour and we were joined by some kids who wanted to play guide. They led us down to the causeway that connects to Pigeon Island and its small fort where we sipped a strong Turkish coffee. Then in latish afternoon we bussed to Ladies Beach and I had our first swims in the Med.

Kusadasi View

Kusadasi an unashamed cruise ship port and its prices reflected this, so we had to skip on the Turkish baths. We mulled our next move over a Kebab and decided to seek the Kusadasi beyond the port area. We found a little local place and we didn’t move from our backgammon, teas and nagila pipes until our stomachs told us to. Up this end of town meals were a more realistic price and we split a selection from the menu. We then stumbled upon a Turkish bar (far away from Top Street) and were warmly welcomed amongst the locals. The Turks have a great sense of humour, much less dry than the Egyptians. Akiko is a drinking lightweight and was easily convinced by the waiters to shake her booty on the dance floor with some Turkish women. Borat-esque men watched from the corners. We had our laughs and left.

At Ephesus

The next morning we caught a few local buses to the roman ruins of Ephesus, which were indeed ruined. Unfortunately the site was overrun with tourists (yes, I know I’m one too) which distracted me from my imaginings on what must have been a thriving and beautiful city in its day. From here we wanted to wile away the day somewhere beautiful eating great food and drinking a lot of wine. Shirinje (spelt phonetically) is a quiet little village in the hills nearby that had all those things. It was actually a Greek town and the houses, churches and lanes have retained their lovely quaintness. Here time moves more slowly. And so we wandered around and found a picaresque hilltop restaurant and drank and ate and drank the day away.

Photos, of course, are in photolog > peace boat > turkey

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