Wednesday, January 29, 2014

You can’t teach old dogs new tricks.

This morning (Wednesday) we woke up in Pamulkkale having seen the white rock “ski slope” and done the day trip to Aphrodisias yesterday.  You must understand that our plans on this Turkey vacation are day by day, two-days by two-days at the most.  So in our decaffeinated state before breakfast we had to make a decision – now what?

There were little in the way of ancient ruins left to see within an easy day’s drive to and fro.  And the rain, wind, and cold threatened our old bones.  Do we venture a great distance southeast  to Antalya and conquer circle number 6 of 10 on what I now call the Great Circle Route, or is there a viable and comfortable alternative?

Viable and comfortable won the day!  Backtrack to Selcuk, stop at the minor ancient ruins of Loadicea on the way, stay where we left only two days ago, and relax and absorb what we have already seen and wish to see again.  We have a three day plan.  So be it for the Great Circle Route.  It will have to wait.

Loadicea is just now being unearthed and reconstructed, and it’s only a hop, skip, and a jump from breakfast in Pamukkale.  The workmen are friendly, wanting us to take pictures of them, their fellow workers, and what they are doing.  Someday this should be a site as impressive as many we have seen this week.

[As I write this, I am having the pleasure of watching a flock of homing pigeons circling repeatedly over a house jn Selcuk and coming to roost (right word?) there next to the Isa Bey Mosque.   That’s about as peaceful and idyllic as can be.]  [Now a second flock has arrived and is circling.]

After arriving in Selcuk today we took a very short drive to a house said/believed to be the house where the Virgin Mary lived out here final years in Selcuk/Ephesus.  The site is now that of a chapel which has been visited by Popes Paul VI, John Paul II, and Benedict.  My advice is read the guide book for the story, buy a post card, let the Popes doo the visiting, and save your 15 lira each plus parking fee for the offering plate at church or for a glass or two of Raki.  It was our first real disappointment on this trip.

  

Speaking of Raki, it’s getting on dinner time and time for that Raki and for making tomorrow’s yet to be established plan.  (The temperature here in Selcuk reached 16 degrees Celsius today, about 61 F, and it was sunny with a few beautiful clouds).