Turkey

Turkey might have been my favorite country we visited.

It's beautiful, rich in culture and history, 

and the people were so welcoming and friendly.

We first stopped in Kusadasi.

Kusadasi is a small resort town on the Aegean Coast
that is only a 20 minute drive to Ephesus.

Ephesus was amazing.

 

Its crazy to think these streets are 2000 years old.
Ephesus was one of the biggest cities in the Mediterranean in the 1st century BC with over 250,000 inhabitants.

 Today there are probably 250,000 cats.
They were everywhere.

This is the agora, or marketplace, where Paul preached for 2 years.
Its also thought that the gospel of John was written in Ephesus.

This is the Library of Celsus.
It once housed 12,000 scrolls.
Celcus was a Roman Senator,
 who paid for construction with his own personal wealth.

My favorite part of Ephesus, was getting to tour the "terrace houses",
where the wealthy Romans lived.

Just look at those fresco's and mosaic floors.
The pictures don't do it justice.
It was amazing.
They had indoor plumbing, and even heating,
where they had hot water running underneath the floors and behind the walls.
These houses were 4000 square feet each with 3 floors.

This is the theater...believed to be the largest in the ancient world with a seating capacity of 24,000.

The escavations are believed to be only 15% complete
because its so expensive and the Turkish government doesn't have the money to fully fund it.
No telling what's lying underneath.

Next stop, was Bodrum.
Bodrum is a beautiful fishing village on the Aegean coast.

If you look closely, you can see the Castle of St. Peter, built by the Crusaders in the 15th Century.

We took a wonderful excursion on a Gulet, a traditional Turkish wooden boat,
where we cruised some of the many coves along the coast line.
They made several stops for us to jump off and swim in the sea.
They also had a top deck with nice sunbeds for sunbathing.
It was so relaxing!

One stop we made, was at Camel Beach and I got to actually ride a camel!
I couldn't believe it! Camels are my favorite animal!

I'm wearing my swimsuit and coverup...not exactly camel riding gear,
but I had no idea when I got dressed that morning this opportunity would present itself.

I thought it would be kinda like riding a horse, but it wasn't at all.
Camels are a lot  taller than horses,
and he had to lay down for me to get on and off.
It was fun and I would totally do it again.
Although, my camel was really stinky and needed a bath.

Notice his muzzle so he won't spit or bite.
It was an experience.

After the gulet cruise we walked around Bodrum...here's another boat shot for the boys.
Turkey is definitely somewhere I'd like to go back to someday.

So that's the end of our trip!
I hope you've enjoyed the recap.
The whole trip was pretty surreal and we had so much fun.

I hope everyone comes back tomorrow to see our big souvenir we bought for the house!

xoxo - Bethany

 PS- Thank you, Jason, for being my patient, constant companion on our trip
even when I was difficult and tired. I love you.