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Ephesus
Today is Pam's birthday! She
decided to treat herself to a day of leisure and forego the
tour to Ephesus. I certainly understand; it's her day and
she can do whatever she wants. We arise and take the elevator
down to the Colonnade Restaurant that is on the tenth floor
where a great breakfast buffet is available. Since it was
dark by the time we arrived at our room last night and since
our room faces the city, not the sea, this was our first glimpse
of how the city of Izmir is situated on the Aegean coast.
The day is crystal clear, a welcome change from Istanbul's
nasty weather yesterday and the sea is bright blue with numerous
large boats and ferries plying from shore to shore.
It will be grand weather for
Turkey's celebration of the birthday! Well, okay, they are
not all celebrating Pam's birthday, but today is also their
Fourth of July. On October 29, 1923 (I think), the Turkish
Republic was created, thanks in large part to the efforts
of a rather amazing individual, Kamel Attaturk, the father
of modern Turkey. He is a revered figure here, and rightfully
so, it seems. In preparation for the festivities - parades,
speeches, etc. - the businesses and many homes are draped
with the Turkish flag: a solid red banner with a crescent
moon surrounding a star. It's quite a clean design and truly
a handsome national emblem. It is heartening to see how the
Turkish people take pride in their nation. As I've said, it
appears to be an excellent east-west bridge and plays a strong
role in world affairs.
Our guide today is a fine gentlemen,
Oskan the first name, who had a great sense of humor as well
as the requisite knowledge of history. I will leave the details
of the tour for Pat or Ashley. Let me say, however, that it
gives me a unique and almost disconcerting sense of history
to walk on the same streets that the Apostle Paul did, and
see the sights that he saw. I want to go back and read "The
Acts of the Apostles" and "The Letter to the Ephesians" again.
It will carry a lot more meaning now. You will see in the
pictures how much restoration has been done - the city was
abandoned when the river silted up so much with sediment that
the shoreline moved miles away! - and there is still a lot
more that could be done.
We stop at a carpet-making cooperative
and receive a splendid tour from the manager. His English
is excellent and we learn about - and actually see - the silk
worm cocoons being turned into silk strands, the strands being
joined together into thread, and then the actual hand-making
of the excellent Turkish carpet. Forget Persian! Go for Turkish!
Once again, we find ourselves in a carpet showroom. I discover
that Pat has a major problem that I sensed in Istanbul and
am confirming now…He is addicted to Turkish/Persian carpets!
Poor fellow. However, without any help from Ashley or me,
he was able to resist temptation and buy only one, not two,
pieces today. Way to go, Pat! Wow! The carpets are absolutely
beautiful! I could easily catch the addiction myself. Again
we see evidence of how horribly the economy has been hit due
to the drastic reduction in their currency valuation and the
decrease in tourist travel. The poor co-op is almost giving
carpets away, and yet there are no prospects to view them!
Quite seriously, readers, if any of you are in the market
for great carpets of this type, you could take the money you'd
spend in Scottsdale on them, fly to Turkey, stay in the finest
hotel, buy your rugs, have them shipped home, and be lots
of money ahead! Truly.
We slept most of the way back
to Izmir, about an hour drive. Another sign of the dead tourist
business: There were the three of us, Oskan, and the driver,
in a huge MB bus that could seat 12 passengers, not counting
guide and driver.
Back at the Hilton, Pam and I
celebrate her birthday at a very nice Italian Restaurant on
the first floor and turn in for the night. We had asked Universal
to fax us preliminary flight plans for the legs tomorrow to
Cairo and Dubai, to verify that the winds would allow us to
make the long Cairo - Dubai leg without a fuel stop in Saudi
Arabia. It looks good! Tomorrow: We start our gauntlet run!
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