- Fact
#1: Everyone in Turkey speaks English better than I speak
Turkish.
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- Fact
#2: All hotels in Turkey are conveniently located next to
minarets (prayer towers)
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- Fact
#3: Most of Turkey's electricity is used at 5 AM to
supply power to prayer tower
loudspeakers.
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- Awake at
5, up at 7. Wanted to find an Internet café to
send yesterday's letter. Found one about a kilometer from
the hotel and spent an hour sending a prepared letter -
good thing I can compose in my hotel or I would be
spending most of my time at Internet cafes. I am leaving
for Selcuk this morning (Ephesus). It is about 2 hours to
the south in the direction of Antalya (see yesterday's
e-mail). Hope to have an uneventful drive, but we will
see.
- It is
now 4:45 AM on the 9th. I did drive to Selcuk and the
drive was relatively uneventful until reaching Izmir
(nothing really bad happened Betty).
-
- Damn,
there goes the "call to prayer" - either I was wrong
about the 5 AM thing or Selcuk is on a slighting
different schedule than Istanbul.
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- Anyway,
back to the trip - Izmir is a large, modern, Turkish city
(big enough to have an airport). I need to amend my
theory on driving directions: You can use the "dead
reckoning method of destination location but be aware
that many cities are used at random as your compass
heading." Selcuk is in the direction as Antalya, but
depending on the whims of the "Sign Composition and
Placement Committee in Izmir," you may also follow the
routes to Aydin, Ankara, Konya, or Denizli. Now, mind
you, none of these cities are anywhere close to Selcuk,
nor do they necessarily lie in the same direction, but
since the destination of Selcuk is never used on a road
sign you must make due with what you have. Well, I got a
very good tour of Izmir and had numerous opportunities to
practice my Turkish driving skills:
-
Fact #4:
Beware of "The Crazy Suleyman Maneuver."
- This is
a term I coined after "The Crazy Ivan Maneuver" from the
movie Hunt for Red October. "The Crazy Suleyman" occurs
when the driver next to you in multi-lane traffic, makes
an abrupt high-speed lane change across you bow.
(Example: driver in far left lane moving at sixty
kilometers per hour notices his exit is on the right in
about ten feet. He immediately accelerates (horn may be
employed at this point), cuts across three to four lanes
of traffic, and assumes no one will hit him. "The Crazy
Suleyman Maneuver", when executed properly, can be
beautiful and exhilarating for all parties involved.
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- After
passing through Izmir, finding my way to Selcuk was
relatively uneventful.
- Note:
Employ the "follow the signs to Aydin" system once you
have reached the southern outskirts of Izmir. Trip took
about three hours:
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- Fact
#5: Travel time estimations in Turkey are subject to
numerous factors:
- Horses
and tractors on roads, minor accidents, and getting lost
by following the signs to Konya when any damn fool knows
that on the southern outskirts of Izmir you need to
switch headings to Aydin.
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- I
arrived in Selcuk around noon and decided to go
immediately to Ephesus. I had scheduled shooting
Ephesus the next day, but the weather was great and the
day was young. Ephesus was more wonderful than I could
have possibly expected: pristine excavations, monumental
monuments, and the most imposing theatre yet. The "Great
Theatre" at Ephesus is Great. The smaller second theatre
at the site, "Odeum (Bouleuterion), is only considered
small because, well - the "Great Theatre" is greater. I
shot well over five-hundred pictures of the two theatres
and was finished at closing time, around 5. Not many
people to be found at Ephesus. I needed bodies for scale
in my photographs, but trying to round up a German tour
was almost impossible. Met a couple from Korea and we
took pictures of each other.
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- Bought a
couple of books and headed for the hotel - did not know
where it was, but headed there anyway.
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- Fact
# 6: Outside appearances of buildings in Turkey are very
misleading.
- The ANZ
Guesthouse in Selcuk is only slightly distinguished by
its mustard yellow, white, and pink stucco exterior and
single entrance gate. (I drove past it several times
while looking for something that would remind me of a
hotel). The inside of the ANZ is quite different: it is a
labyrinth of exotically decorated rooms (see photo) and
levels, a courtyard garden and a roof terrace restaurant,
bar, Internet café, and movie viewing lounge. The
owners are Turkish/Australians. You are immediately
called "mate," taken to the rooftop bar and offered a
beer, asked about blokes you met on your "walkabout." The
rooftop bar is roughly modeled after a restaurant from
the "Jungle Cruise" ride at Disneyland, but with a
Turkish flair - carpets and pillow accents.
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- I had a
drink, got to know Ken and Dave, an Australian and a guy
form Ireland. Checked into my room (decided to upgrade to
a slightly larger room due to this being Betty and my
anniversary and I needed a desk for my computer - cost me
$25 per night instead of $15 but this room has a monster
Jacuzzi). Had dinner in the "Jungle Cruise restaurant -
$4 - went to my room and collapsed at around 10.
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- Well it
is now 6 AM - so I will go to the Internet café
extension to the Jungle Cruise bar and try to find a
computer connection.
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- By the
way - I know why both Paul and Mary (not from the singing
group) lived here: reminds me a lot of southern
California - same climate, palm trees, mountains, ocean,
but with minarets and a 4:50 AM wake-up call.
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- Your
Ephesus enlightened, but slightly sunburned
photographer,
- Tom
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