The next stop on our cruise was Kusadasi, Turkey. Turkey was a really beautiful place, and we saw so much while we were there. Like in Athens, we hired a tour guide beforehand, and we started seeing the sites as early as they'd let us off the boat. We started off by going to Mary's house (or, what they believed to be Mary's house), which was up in the mountains and in a very quiet, serene place. You can walk around, see the grounds, and go through the house (now a worship area). After the house, there's a fountain that's supposed to grant fertility (so of course, everybody made us drink from it...), and then a wall where you can put wishes.
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| on our drive |
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| the entrance |
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| coming out of the back of the house |
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| drinking from the fountain of fertility |
I'll let you know what I wished for, once it comes true ;)
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| this bug was HUGE...literally the size of one of my hands |
At Ephasus (this stuff is thousands of years old!)
These were their toilets (and, they even had entertainers near the toilets!).
This was their library.
The amphitheater
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| coming out of underneath the amphitheater |
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| Not sure what this was, but I thought it looked like a graveyard (it wasn't though). |
After visiting Ehpasus, we went over to St. John's Basilica. The roof wasn't on the basilica anymore (because of how old it is), but there were still several cool things to see, including a baptistry (where they fully immersed people who were baptized).
This was the front of the basilica
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| Our tour guide for the day |
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| One of the baptistries |
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| All the ladies (including our tour guide) |
Different parts of the church
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| The baptistry (North, East, South, West) |
The views were beautiful!
Last stop before getting back to the ship: a rug-making factory
Our tour guide took us to get an authentic Turkish lunch, and afterwards took us a rug-making factory. We were able to see how they make rugs, and I was even able to do one of the steps (with assistance :). Watching them make the rugs really gives you a whole new appreciation for rugs. Some of the rugs, they told us, take a year and a half to make. It's absolutely incredible.
Lunch (and, I really liked it!)
The whole process of getting the thread
Me, getting some practice with rug-making
The women's working stations
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| The guys rolling out the rugs |
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| The men trying to make a sale |
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| a silk rug (these take WAY longer than the normal ones & they're much more expensive) |
I love all of your post! It makes me want to go back! Did you buy a rug? I ended up getting a small one to hang on the wall when I was in Turkey :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm jealous you bought one! We had to pass, but I look forward to going back someday and buying one :)
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