Ephesus

The mother of all Roman ruins site in Turkey is Ephesus.

Founded by Greeks, acquired by Romans. Earthquake-ravaged. It was an incredible site.

As promised, we were at the top gate at 8am when they opened. We had the entire place to ourselves for a full hour before the masses appeared. The only other people we saw that early was a small group of Germans, who were really taking their time with what appeared to be a very in-depth, serious tour.

The other good thing about getting there early is that you got two hours of morning cool and long shadows to ease your journey. Once it got to 10am, you were left roasting. No shade and not a lot of places to buy water here until you left the site. The sun here is no joke, especially for people who are quite used to the cool damp of a Parisian spring.

The thing to do is to start at the gate at the top of the hill and pick your your way down towards the water, As all the major ruins are located in a valley corridor that leads to what used to be the ancient port.

The facade of the library still stands. Things were mostly well labeled, with architectural drawings of what used to be. Temples and stadiums and more temples and bath houses and merchant houses.

There was a huge covered area that were once apartment buildings and a tantalizing view of how people lived. A puzzle of mosaics laid out on tables, original wall paintings and graffiti, a whorehouse.

By the time we made it to the bottom of the hill and climbed up the enormous amphitheater, it was indeed roasting. I went through two big bottles of sunscreen this trip, and I couldn't drink water fast enough.

Off to pick up the shuttle to Izmir airport to catch a quick flight to our final Turkish adventure.

Istanbul!