Kusadasi and Bodrum

After a few days in Istanbul we caught a flight to Izmir to explore Turkey's coastline. 

Scotty does such a great job driving in foreign countries. I always like to take a picture of the kind of car we get. Another tiny vehicle, this time a Ford Fiesta!

Our first stop-Ephesus. Ephesus was part of the vast Roman Empire, and was said to have a population of 50,000 people at its hayday in around 100BC. Scotty and I have traveled to many ruins, and Ephesus is high up on the list.

Quite a few interesting columns and statues.

Scotty really wanted me to take a picture of the public toilet. Apparently the wealthy had private bathrooms, but the commoners shared this public space. There was a flow of water underneath these seats to 'flush' the waste away.

Fancy tiles down Main Street.

A good view of many of the ruins from the main drag called 'The Sacred Way.'

The most impressive ruin is the Library of Celsus. If you look closely you can see it's taller in the center than on the side: many archeologists believe it was built to give the impression that it's larger than it really is.

It was almost 90 degrees when we visited. We look like happy campers, but in reality we are melting.

The Odean, or theater. By this point I had dreams of swimming to cool down so we didn't take many pictures.

This row of columns led to the city's water entrance.

After enjoying Ephesus, we made our way to Kusadasi, noteable as the nearest cruise point to, well, Ephesus. While it wasn't the most charming city, this little castle on the water was pretty cool.

Cruise ship central.

While it wasn't my favorite spot that we visited, the sunsets were fantastic.

After Kusadasi we drove to Bodrum, but stopped at another roman ruin on the way. The site of Didyma is known as the site of the Temple of Apollo. While the site is smaller than others we've seen, the columns are HUGE.

A picture of what it looked like when it was finished.

Medusa was originally on the top of the structure to keep evil away.

The columns are the biggest I've ever seen.

The designs at the base of the columns are quite intricate as well. It's hard to see on camera.

A toppled over column.

Another day of wilting in the mid-day heat!

Enough exploring, time to relax. Our room with a view.

The hotel we stayed at had a beach club right on the Mediterranean. This was our view for much of the day.

The water was very relaxing.

Sunset in Bodrum.

Last but DEFINATELY not least-we saw a few places where you could dress up as a Sultan, and I finally talked Scotty into doing it. I'm not sure if you can tell, but I'm cracking up under that veil. Too funny. We loved Turkey!