Touring Turkey (Part 1): Izmir, Ephesus and Selçuk

Hello from a train somewhere between Izmir and Denizli! I’m currently on my way to Pamukkale – where I’ll be staying for the next few days – and thought that now would be the perfect time to wave goodbye to my British cuisine series, and tell you about what I’ve got up to so far in Turkey! From wandering around ruins to sampling local delicacies, I’ve managed to pack quite a lot in already, so grab and snack and prepare for a long read!

Day 1 (28th August)

Getting to Izmir

I had all sorts of worries, in the days leading up to my departure, about getting from Cambridge to Izmir, but my journey ended up being totally problem-free. I took an early morning train to Gatwick Airport, and a few hours later, I was high in the sky, fearing death as always, but ultimately excited for the adventure ahead. After presenting my e-Visa on the other end, I took the Izban (Izmir’s intercity metro) into the centre of town, and walked from Alsancak station to my hostel (In House Hostel). I’d made this journey the night before, using the Google Maps street view tool, so luckily knew exactly where I was headed.

Seeing Izmir by night

After checking in and setting my luggage down in my room – I was taken to a mixed dorm, despite having booked a bed in the female-only one, but the situation was quickly remedied – I decided to head out and explore the streets surrounding my accommodation. It was, by now, approaching ten o’ clock, but many shops were still open, and many people still out and about. After trying and failing to find a towel (you always forget something essential, don’t you?) I walked a few more blocks down to the seafront.

If the shopping streets had been lively, the waterside park that awaited me was even more so. Here, groups of friends sat drinking on the grass; there, whole crowds cheered as dancers boogied in time with live music; everywhere, there was a sense of joy and carefreeness. It was quite unlike the uptight, conservative Turkey that i’d read and been told about.

After stopping off for a bite to eat at Popeye Chicken (I promise I’ve eaten more traditional food since!), I wandered slowly back to the hostel, and, after politely declining a date offer from one of the men working there, I made my way upstairs to bed.

The many uses of kitchen roll

There may have been a heatwave in Britain just before I left, but it certainly wasn’t enough to prepare me for the stifling weather conditions of Turkey. My first night was, therefore, a little challenging to say the least. To make matters worse, I couldn’t very well turn the air conditioning on in my room, since a lady was sleeping soundly just beneath the vent, nor, for obvious reasons, could I remove any clothing.

However, with a bit of kitchen roll – and a lot of thinking outside the box – I was able to remedy the situation! I used one wad of the stuff to dry off after cooling myself down with a freezing shower – since I didn’t have a towel, this was my only option – and another, dampened under the bathroom tap, to cool my face down as I attempted, for a second time, to nod off. Oh, the invaluable life skills one acquires while travelling!

Day 2 (29th August)

One terrible night’s sleep later, and I was back out of bed again, ready for my first day trip. The ancient Greek city of Ephesus was my destination, so I walked half an hour through the serene Kültürpark to Izmir’s Basmane railway station, and hopped on a train to the small town of Selçuk.

I’d read in one of my guidebooks that it was worth walking between the two places – rather than catching a dolmus (shared taxi) – so once I’d arrived at the point of disembarkation, I set off along a busy main road. The walk was rather tiring, and not as picturesque as it had sounded in the travelogue, but all was not lost, because I stumbled across a few treasures along the way!

The Temple of Artemis

The first of these was the Temple of Artemis, one of the wonders of the ancient world. Not much now remains of this structure – aside from a few columns – but a street vendor showed me how it would have looked back in the day, and all I can say is: when are time travel machines going to be invented?

Also on my not-so-scenic stroll, I passed a couple of roadside weaving stations, all of which had beautiful rugs hanging outside them. They looked rather deserted, so I didn’t end up going inside any (I was slightly worried that I’d be expected to make a purchase if I did). However, if and when I have a house to decorate, I know where I’ll be coming for floor decorations!

Exploring Ephesus

Forty minutes after getting off the train, I made it to the archaeological park itself. I believe my ticket was about 130TL (equivalent to £18): not the cheapest, but certainly worth it, especially since I got to see inside some of the terraced houses on site (more about that later!).

After a quick security check, I began my journey through the old city. Arcadian Street (or Harbour Street) was my first port of call. This roadway once led down a harbour, where sailors and traders would arrive from across the world. There is no water to see now, since the dock became blocked with silt many centuries ago, but a few interesting columns still line the street.

From here, I made my way to the Great Theatre. This amphitheatre is renowned for its acoustics, so the place is usually abuzz with people testing them out. That day, however, construction work was being done on one side of the building, so all I heard was the sound of drills and hammering. Still, the view from the top row was fantastic, and it was nice to be able to sit down and rest my legs for a few minutes.

After regaining a bit of energy (I’d only had an ice lolly for breakfast, so you can imagine that I was not on top form!), I wandered slowly along Sacred Way, past the old Agora (markeplace), towards the Library of Celsus. This structure – which was once home to tens of thousands of scrolls – is the one you’ll see on all the postcards, and let me tell you: it’s no less magnificent in person!

I was, however, surprised by the size of the building – it was smaller than I had been expecting – but, after reading my guidebook, I understood why I was confused. It turns out that the library was actually designed to look a lot bigger than it is: not only are the outer columns smaller than the inner ones (making them seem more distant), but also the base of the facade is slightly curved. They say that good things come in small packages, though, and if this monument doesn’t serve as evidence of this, I don’t know what does!

When I’d seen all there was to see here (from the statues, to the wall inscriptions, to the two hidden passageways), I headed up to see the busiest street in the complex: Curetes Way. After stopping to admire the latrines in an ancient communal toilet, I scanned my ticket a second time, and went to look inside the Yamaç Evleri: the remains of some ancient terraced houses. The glass pathways built above the rooms were ever so slightly vertiginous, but only a few were more than a couple of metres off the ground. However, most of the time, I was too distracted by the stunning, and brilliantly preserved, mosaics and frescoes dotted around the place to notice.

Back out in the sun once more – and rather wishing that I hadn’t already drained the contents of my water bottle – I continued onwards up Curetes Way, past the beautiful Fountain of Trajan – as a few raised platforms which offered panoramic views across the whole archaeological park – towards a former gymnasium.

By this time, my hunger and thirst were quickly catching up with me, so I whizzed past the sights up here – among them were a small theatre (the Odeum), and some cool cave-like rooms filled with inscribed stones – before making my way back to the entrance to get some lunch. A very slight detour took me to the ruins of the Church of Mary (or Double Church), the very first house of worship to be built in name of the Mother of God.

Unfortunately, I’d rather underestimated how much cash I would need that day, so all I could afford was some water and a packet of crisps. To make my dietary choices slightly less shameful, I decided that I would at least pick a flavour that I couldn’t get back home, so feta and olive was my choice! The taste was pretty spot on, so if these foods are up your street, be sure to look out in Turkish supermarkets for the purple bag pictured below!

Selçuk

Since I was short of money, I decided to save my pennies and walk back to Selçuk. After standing in direct sunlight for two or so hours, I was actually quite relieved to return to the shady tree-lined pathway that had led me to Ephesus, although I did fear for my life slightly when crossing the busy road to reach it. As I strolled, I listened to an episode of the Receipts podcast, which I highly recommend if feminist discussions are your cup of tea.

Back in Selçuk, I climbed up to the hilltop Ayasulug Castle, but then – since it was closed to visitors – wandered back down to ground level, peering through some gates along the way to see the remains of the Basilica of St John. I had half an hour left to kill at this point, so I browsed some shops, then bought my second ice lolly of the day, which I ate on a bench in the station.

Izmir

Two hours later, and I was back in Izmir, watching the sunset from the Kordon Boyu Recreation Area. The evening before, I’d stood in this same spot, feeling pangs of loneliness, but tonight, I was in seventh heaven. If you’re thinking of embarking on a solo trip, yourself, rest assured that any ‘have I made a huge mistake doing this?’ moments will quickly pass.

After dropping my bag back at the hostel, I went off in search of food. I was determined to have a wholesome meal after a day of malnourishment, and yet somehow I ended up, once again, filling my stomach with complete trash! McDonald’s was my first stop, but actually I’m glad I went, because I was able to rave to my friends back home about the ridiculously cheap menu – six McNuggets cost under a pound here!

From here, I moved on to Reyhan Pastanesi, a restaurant-cum-bakery, where I’d heard that the city’s best profiteroles were served. These I ate on a park bench – and I can confirm that they were second to none! – while watching a group of stray dogs parading across the busy streets together. I was afraid that one of them would get hit by incoming traffic, but they seemed to have mastered all the necessary road-crossing techniques!

Finally, after a quick spot of retail therapy in a jewellery shop called Gadjo Concept, I wandered back to the hostel. There, I chatted to some fellow travellers for a bit, wrote part of a blog post, and then headed upstairs for a much better night’s sleep!

Final thoughts

My decision to visit Izmir and Ephesus was fairly last minute, but I’m really glad I ended up going through with it. If you are planning to visit the ancient site, yourself, I have a few final tips to offer:

1. Get there as early as you can (you’ll beat the crowds, and you’ll be less likely to get sunstroke)

2. Bring a bottle of water with you (you’ll need one, especially if you’re there in the summer months)

3. Look out for cats (there are about as many of these creatures as there are ruins, and they are all utterly adorable!)

4. Take a guidebook (there are signposts next to each structure, but you’ll get a lot more out of your visit if you have a very detailed description of the things you’re seeing)

5. Bring money for the dolmus (the walk between Selçuk and Ephesus is perfectly manageable, but you will lose at least an hour of time if you choose to go both ways on foot)

End of part one

So there we have it: the first installation in my ‘Touring Turkey’ series! I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my adventures so far, and that you’re excited to find out what I get up to in Pamukkale. Look out for part two, coming very soon, and in the meantime, I encourage all of you to go out and chase your own dreams. Life is too short to stay at home in bed (unless, of course, this is all you ever want to do!), so be sure to make the most of yours!

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