September 26, 2012
Today was a day spent sightseeing part of Turkey. We took a guided tour to Ancient Ephesus! What an awesome place! The area is still being excavated and new discoveries abound. Many stones have been found from an ancient city once destroyed by people and earthquakes.
It was inspiring to walk the same cobblestone street where Paul and other Christians lived, worked and taught. One can only imagine the beauty of this place as it once stood in the first century. One of the strangest parts is that Ephesus was once a seaport city. Today, the sea is 6 miles away!
After we returned to Kusadasi near our ship, we took a tour of a dealer of Persian rugs. It was very interesting! The rugs were professionally made by hand weavers from various types of wool, silk, and a combination of wool and silk. It is said that some of the rugs would take several people over two years to complete. I'm sure that the intense labor is the driving force behind the price of these rugs, yet the material is also costly!
Next we stopped in a leather goods shop. Turkey is noted for rugs, jewelry and leather coats. Nancy bought a red leather jacket and I bought a dark, reversible leather jacket.
Strolling down the mall, with shops on either side, you can barely imagine how many times someone tries to hard sell to you! It is relentless! One behind another selling rugs, purses, shoes, shirts, hats, leather works and food. I told one young man at a jewelry shop, as we walked by, "Please don't let our women see this store!". As we turned around later and walked by his store, he made a point to tell Debby to look at his store; that it was my idea! Ha Ha!
Soon, Ron and I had had enough and we decided to return to our ship and get some lunch. The girls wanted to do more shopping before they came back on board.
Had another great dinner tonight right after the ship began to pull away from town. Now we are readying ourselves for our next port excursion into Athens tomorrow.
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