Gordie: Turkey

The place to stay in the Kusadasi area is the Ephesus Boutique Hotel in Kirazli. Ask for room number 10- it’s the one with the fireplace on the second floor. Try not to pay more than 130 euros a night. We’ve stayed there twice and find it to be very comfortable and conveniently situated. In the unlikely event that number 10 isn’t not available ask for the “round room”. Let me know if you’re going to go and I’ll give you some restaurant suggestions.

There are several fascinating sites in the area. At the more distant end (maybe 250-300 kms round trip) is ancient Hieropolis, now known as Pamukkale. On the way to Pamukkale are the ruins of a Roman town called Aphrodisias. It’s coming to be considered the second greatest archeological site in Turkey after Ephesos. I’d agree with that. It’s very big day to try to do both from Kirazli. I know, because I’ve done it and have the speeding ticket as proof.

Hierapolis has a good archeological museum; so does Aphrodisias. As between the two, Aphrodisias is by far the more interesting site. If you want to do both you might consider leaving Kirazli at a good time in the morning and going first to Aphrodisias. Explore it to your heart’s content and then go to Pamukkale. Spend the night there, get an early start in the ruins the next morning and drive back to Kirazli when you’re finished. There seem to be lots of hotels in Pamukkale.

When we went to Hieropolis last year I found it significantly less enchanting than I’d remembered, and Aphrodisias significantly more so. In fact there has been much work done in Aphrodisias over the past 30 years. I don’t intend to go back to Pamukkale, but I do intend to return to Aphrodisias- hopefully more than once.

In the more immediate vicinity of Kusadasi you must see Priene, Miletus and Didima. You can do all 3 comfortably in a single day, but get started at a good hour to avoid being rushed at the end. Each one of them is wonderful in its own peculiar way; three very different sites and experiences. You’ll visit them in that order. Priene, at the foot of the landward side of Mount Mykale which stands opposite Samos, is the most extensive and takes the most time. Miletus consists of a marvelous, well-preserved theatre, and some other interesting bits that require a little walking. Didima is principally the temple of Apollo- relatively condensed but, to my eye, rich and magnificent.

Then, of course there’s Ephesos to which I try to give 2 days whenever I can. Don’t miss the Terrace Villas at Ephesos at the bottom of Kuretes Street. The Selchuk Museum is small but wonderful; the various iterations of the famous Ephesian Artemis are just the tip of the berg. Then there are the pathetic remains of the Artemesion, one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world (I wonder what happened to it!!), the Church of St John, the home of the Virgin Mary, the Cave of the Seven Sleepers et cetera. All within a 10 km radius of Selchuk.

I strongly recommend The Western Shores of Turkey by John Freely. In fact I recommend anything that he’s written on Turkey- I’ve read pretty much all of it. He’s far and away the greatest modern authority on Istanbul, and he’s no slouch on the rest of the country. He is to Istanbul what Augustus Hare was to Rome in the 19nth.