Ephesus

The ancient ruins of Ephesus are not that far from Izmir. They were the reason for our visit. We wanted to  experience the Greek/Roman/Christian city for ourselves. 

Unfortunately, our hotel had a nice, warm indoor pool, with lots of fun jets and fountains. This made walking around Ephesus in the cold a hard sell to the kids. They knew what they wanted to do, and it involved bathing suits. 

So we postponed our visit for a few days, and relaxed around the hotel, venturing out into the old town of Izmir for food, hot apple tea, and even a haircut.

He loved it. 

Eventually we jumped on a train and made the trip to Ephesus (actually to the town of Selcuk a few kilometers away. As luck would have, the annual camel wresting competition was taking place the next day in Seluck.  Sounded exciting and different, but the kids had no interest in coming back. They are opposed to animal violence I suppose.  

Ephesus did not disappoint, It was very large (it was one of the biggest cities around during its day). Like many other sites in this part of the world, it went through a number of periods, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk,Turkish and so on. It was destroyed and rebuilt many times, thanks to fires, earthquakes, raiding armies and barbarians.  That is until the river and harbour silted up, trade floundered, and the town died in the 15th century. That was a long run. 

There are a number of impressive buildings, like the elegant Library of Celsus, the enormous amphitheater, the lengthy harbour road

It must have been quite an imposing cities. It even boasted the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

For sheer size it reminded me a bit of Pompeii, but without all the horrific instant death and destruction.

We all enjoyed walking around, and only had to share the site with a few Korean tour groups. We opted to forgo the audio tour (actually the person manning the booth was out to lunch).  Oh well, what could we have really missed in the 550 acre site.

Before we left Izmir, we spent a day with some friends who live there. A wonderful and warm family. They were so proud to show us their city.

We did a lot of walking, eating and talking. It was great.

Weston and Shaynie took some time to hone their marksmen skills. Balloons, a BB gun and open water.  What a simple, genius idea!

I am surprised I have not seen this more often around the globe.

We decided to finish off the trip with a day at the spa. Or should I say Turkish bath.

Weston enjoyed the steam room, switching from a Roman senator to ghastly zombie with the addition of steam.  Maybe that is not such an impressive stretch.

Meanwhile Rebekah was covered in suds, and having dead skin exfoliated and scrubbed away on a hot slab of marble.

She invited us all in to enjoy the scene and experience. This was kind and brave of her, given what she was (or wasn't ) wearing under the bubbles.

Then it was out for some last minutes treats, to include some handmade, flavoured  lollypops.

This was, of course, a disaster, and we had to find a public water fountain to wash away the sticky sweet, gum like material that our kids managed to get everywhere. They both said it was delicious and worth it.

Our true final stop was the Turkish Airlines lounge in Istanbul. This is my favourite airline lounge at the monument, as far as fresh food, entertainment, size and selection. The kids were hesitant to leave for our cramped coach seats.  Who can blame them. 

An offer they could not refuse...

December required a trip to Italy.  Given my families love for Pizza, gelato, and history, it was too good to pass up.  Thanks Ryanair.  After a series of zero dark thirty departure times - we found ourself in Naples!

First stop - Pizza!  We were all famished (again - thanks Ryanair).  Weston could not believe his luck. The pizza's were hot, large and cheap. The city did not disappoint on that front.  As the supposed birthplace of pizza in the 1860's, we were spoiled for choice. 

Naples is also famous for their Nativity sets. In fact, they have a narrow alley that sells them all year long. Since it was already December, the street was packed with visitors.  They are a bit different then the ones we know in the US; lots of moss, caves, bark etc...  In many ways it is more like a miniature train set. You can pick and choose your elements and pieces.  Tired of shepherds and wise men, no problem. Why not add a barber, butcher, villagers, or even someone making pizza? It was not unusual to see the manger scene, set in a cold lonely cave, with a a busy middle age cafe scene next door. 

However, the real reason for our side trip to Naples, was to explore Pompeii. We are studying Roman history at the moment.  There are not many places to get a better idea of what daily life was like in Ancient Rome. 

The size and scope of the old city is amazing. Hard to imagine it was lost under the ash and debris for so many centuries.  And the digging continues. Unfortunately, the government  does not have the money to do it justice. 

It must have been a terrible day in 79 AD. It is hard not to use your imagination. 

Rebekah found herself selling imaginary fruit at old stalls

in awe of breathtaking mosaic's (like this one of a famous greek paining depicting a victory by Alexander the great. It was inside the private villa of a rich citizen)

And enjoying some of the colours and designs that still cling to the walls of peoples homes and stores.

It was raining the day we were there, so we had much of the city to ourselves.  They missed out on Weston's performance. 

He was gutted. 

We could have spent hours exploring the city. It just goes on and on - a sprawling ancient ghost town. with functioning cobble street, gutters,  and pedestrian cross walks

But we had wet shoes, socks and cold feet.  So we made our way back to Naples. 

And more Pizza. We even went to a place that has been serving basic pies (only Margarita and Marinara) since 1870.

In fact, this one was used in both the book and movie "Eat, Pray Love". Rebekah sat underneath a picture of Julia Roberts, enjoying her own warm, soft buffalo mozzarella margarita pizza. No sharing!

After 35 pizza's in 24 hours, we were off to Sicily.  Of course, we had to leave in the wee hours of the morning.  This allowed us to see some of the bustling market streets before the stalls came to life. So... that was the silver lining there I suppose. 

In Palermo, we lucked out and had a great old house. It was huge and recently remodelled.  To bad we did not spent much time inside.

Going to Sicily it a bit like a time warp.  Even the Christmas street decorations felt like something from another era. 

There were church's and cathedrals around every corner, mixed in with buildings sporting scars from the devastating bombing in world war II by US forces. 

The landscape is remarkable. Rocky hills and deep green valleys. It felt like Cape Town in some ways.

We had to the chance to rent a car and drive out to an old Greek temple in Segesta. Legends says it was built by people who escaped from ancient Troy. Sicily was home to so many cultures before becoming part of modern day Italy in 1860; Greeks, Phoenicians, Normans, Arabs, Romans....

Once again, we had the temple to ourselves.

Apparently it was never finished, and has just sat vacant over the centuries.  Maybe that is why it is still around - nothing to loot.

Then we rushed to enjoy the sunset in breathtaking Erice, a medieval walled city perched on top of a mountain jutting straight up over 2000 feet.   Like so many locations here, this was another Phoenician settlement, that had since been conquered by a myriad of empires and civilisations over the years.

more pictures?

Then it was back to Palermo for more pizza and gelato. Seriously. Rebekah even went for a gelato sandwich? Apparently a breakfast treat. 

Speaking of appetizing... one of the more bizarre things we did was explore the Capuchin catacombs of Palermo. Dating back to 1599 AD, over 8000 people (men, women and children) were placed here, fully clothed and exposed.  They have been separated by gender, social status and even profession.  If you have a fear of Zombies, it was an unsettling place to be. 

However, many of them seem to be happy and smiling? Bizarre.

One particular little girl was very well preserved. I am not sure that is the way I want to go out. 

Then it was time for another disgustingly early morning flight to Rome. We were not there long, but managed to fit in a few sights (and food of course)

In all the times we have been to Rome, we have never visited the Colosseum. We did this time. 

It is truly a remarkable structure, and architectural feat. It must have ben amazing when filled with statues, colours and sparkling white marble.

You have to hand it to the Romans, they knew how to build a thing or two.

We also found a few minutes to stop by and visit the vatican. 

However, we could not stomach the idea of waiting in another huge line, so we opted not to go inside.  We are lazy tourists. As luck would have it, we happened upon the Pope (in real life - not the statue above). He was on his way back from blessing a holiday (feast of the immaculate conception). We only saw his motorcade.  Weston swears he saw the Pope inside waving to the crowds?