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Kusadasi and Ephesus Vathy Iraklion, CreteSeptember 1, 2004 Hi Folks, We are finally down here in Crete for another week until we start our major 500 mile passage across to Sicily. We’re looking forward a visit to Doug Caldwell a friend from Toronto who will be joining us for that leg. We have had good but heavy sailing down the Greek Aegean, having to wait out strong winds a few days, and now here in Crete the winds are against us and the direction (west) we are travelling. This log gets us into Greece, finally having left Turkey, our favourite country so far. Enjoy the log. All the best, Aubrey *************************************************************************** Log #33d Kusadasi and Ephesus Vathy We ventured out of Sarpdere Limani next day, August 18, at 0620, with a double reef tied into our mainsail, clearing the entrance in a light force three NNW breeze. We were under sail, with engine off and full genoa, by 0640. However, within an hour the winds shot up to force six from NNE, allowing us a heavy but fast run. By 0800, rounding Take Burnu, the winds were up to force seven to nine with gusts 45 to 55 knots and we had reefed the genoa 50%. It says something about heavy weather sailing when we consider 30 to 40 knots of wind a lull! By 0900 we had cleared the cape, and were running with full main and full genoa, wing on wing in a lighter force four to five for the next 32 miles across the wide bays to Kusadasi. Arriving at 1430 we were escorted and helped into Setur Kusadasi Marina, using their lazy line stern moorings. The marina impressed us quite favourably with well sheltered solid concrete docks, water and power supply points readily available, a helpful office staff, restaurants, travel agencies, a good chandlery, large clean showers and washrooms, a laundry, and the ultimate amenity for Judy, a book exchange. The ladies at the laundry spoke no English, but indicated we could have a service wash, or do it ourselves. I took the do it ourselves option and purchased two tokens for 3,000,000 TL each (a total of about $6.00 Cdn). I got the wash started, and when I asked how long, the lady indicated the time, but also offered to switch the clothes from the washer to the drier for me and it would then all be ready in 90 minutes. Very pleasant and co-operative! Judy and I went to the chandlery to get a valve for our galley water pump which stopped working enroute. It would be here in only two days. Fine, as we were going to spend some time here anyways going to Ephesus. Judy then took a bag load of books over to the book exchange, and was quite happy with her new haul. Judy is a voracious reader, and can go through three books a day quite easily, and had read all the books we had on board, some several times. She was almost suffering withdrawal symptoms, and was reading reference books and ship’s manuals to stave off the literacy pangs. We met a few British boaters, and saw Solara, a Canadian vessel, but no one was aboard. We were surprised that we did not meet any boats we had met before. To get to Ephesus, we caught a local bus to the dolmus terminal in town, and a dolmus to the Ephesus stop. There we were approached by a taxi driver who offered what we thought to be a good rate to go to the Church of The Virgin Mary, then to the upper entrance to the ruins of Ephesus. This seemed better than the two mile walk from the dolmus stop to the lower entrance, from which we would have to walk uphill to see the area and then back down to the lower entrance to catch the dolmus back to Kusadasi. However, we had limited funds with us and when we found out that there was an 18,000,000 TL entrance to the Virgin Mary site, and an even more expensive one to Ephesus proper, we bypassed the Virgin Mary area and went back to the upper entrance. It would have been far cheaper to have just taken the taxi there directly. Oh well, these things happen. Ephesus is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Turkey. There were hordes of tour groups, tour buses, guides soliciting us to use their services, dozens of kiosks outside selling souvenirs, books and refreshments. We used our Lonely Planet Guide which had a good account of what to see and a map, as well as a guide book we purchased from our taxi driver, and were not interested in the trivia a guide would provide. We prefer to wander around as we wish at sites such as this. Ephesus is nestled in a beautiful, fertile, but mountainous part of western Anatolia, its first historical reference dating back to 2000 BC as being near the temple of the mother goddess Kybele, later to be called Artemis. It has hosted civilizations from the Carian and Persian to the Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Arabian, and Ottoman. The area has been a centre of religion, commerce and the arts, at one time having a population of over 250,000. It was a major port until the river silted up, and is now about 8 miles from the Aegean. One of the many statues of Artemis was considered one of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World, but now only a rubble mound with a single column forlornly marks the site. It was at one time the Roman capital of Asia, and an important Bishopric in the Christian church. St. Paul spent five years here trying to proclaim the new religion and to get the people to accept the Christian God and shun the worship of Artemis and other gods. This was the thrust of his Letter to the Ephesians in the New Testament. The Apostle St. John spent his last remaining years in Ephesus where he wrote the Gospel of St John and where he is buried. He also cared for Mary the Mother of Jesus after the Crucifixion, and she too was at Ephesus where she died. The Church of St Mary, the House of St. Mary and the Statue of St. Mary in the Olive Grove are important religious sites still today. The ruins are primarily from the Greek and Roman eras, and feature wide marble avenues lined with pillars, a small Odeon and a large theatre that would have seated 25,000, and the dramatic two tiered Corinthian columned façade of the Library of Celsus. On the more mundane side of the ruins was a concrete and marble latrine and carved into a marble street slab were images of a footprint, a coin and a woman to indicate the way to the local brothel. The town had running water and a sewage system. The ancient piping was still evident in many places. A classical joke about the ancient Romans is that if two Romans got together they started building an aqueduct. Back in Kusadasi, we resupplied Veleda as we hoped to spend many days at anchor on our trip through the Greek Isles down to Crete. I was able to return the three Turkish gas bottles for a refund as part of our preparation to leave Turkey next day. The departure was not complicated, but caused some delay as Judy was sent over to the passenger terminal for the Passport Police who said she needed the customs stamp first, and back to the marina to Customs and then back to the passenger terminal, with a wait for the officials at each location. Fortunately the marina provided Judy with a ride the second time around over to the Passport Police. However, we got off at 1330 leaving Turkey for the last time for the 20 mile trip across to Pythagorion on Samos to check into Greece. Turkey is by far our favourite country. The people are friendly, the scenery is spectacular, the history and archeological sites date from the dawn of civilization (after all the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers originate in Turkey) up to the present, including Turkey’s application to the EU and unfortunately some current terrorism from Kurdish separatists. In spite of the latter, Turkey is a safe place. We will miss Turkey and the many friends we made while enjoying the country. |
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