the pihlaja kids have experienced ruins a ton this year while in turkey...and i appreciated their willingness to go to yet one more with the lindbloom...
i really was not sure what to expect at ephesus...when in rome last year, some of my most memorable stops were ruins and i was really impacted by them...
ephesus was once a city of over 200,000 people...and the uncovered ruins are many...there is so much to see and yet you know that there has to be more, so much beneath the earth to accommodate the many thousands of ephesians who once lived here and walked these uneven stone streets...
this is a picture of the largest theatre space...
paul preached here (yes i am talking about the biblical paul)...it was here he delivered a sermon to the ephesians about paganism (at least that is what the audio tour said)...
it seems strange...feels weird...to be in these historic places...to stand where others stood...
the most impressive of the ruins is the library...really fantastic...
on a side note...it was one hot day...although allegra over heard a tour guide saying how cool it was compared to other afternoons...the kids and i took a granola bar and water break at the library...i am looking in need of such a stop i would say...
the trip to the latrine was also a highlight...i was tickled at the thought of this community outhouse...oh the business :) that must have been accomplished here...with a set up like this how could it not be a social event...
the blue sky made for a great backdrop....
this is hercules...
the view from the top of the street...
a little time out in the shade...
joce is also a shutter bug...so the pics at the end of the day are many...i am loving the hat :)
after the heat we stopped for something to drink and eat...this is a potato gozleme...like a crepe (sort of-not as eggy)...yum!
we left the entrance and made our way to the taksi stop to ask about pricing for transport...they wanted too much so we decided to walk...we were followed on foot and by taksi with drivers lowering the price and trying to gain our business...they were not able to meet joce at her "rock bottom" price and so the walk to the road to flag down a dolmus (mini bus) began. it was great fun...
haakon is playing angry birds on my iphone and i am singing to him...some crazy old camp song...
 |
| apparently we are quite entertaining...the "look back" from joce and allegra confirms |
after a cozy ride on the dolmus we arrive at the aegean sea...
here are 4 johnson-pihlajas bobbing in the aegean...this is the saltiest water i have ever been in...was soooooo good to cool off after our day in the sun at ephesus and the ride in the dolmus...
allegra...
i love this pic...here are the j-ps at the dolmus stop...i am not sure what caught their attention...it was not long though and the dolmus picked us up...homeward bound...
when we returned we rinsed the salt...put on clean clothes and hit the streets...these lanterns caught my eye...after a fantastic dinner (am loving turkish bread-tonight the bread basket came with fresh lavash) we hit the shops and i ended up buying a few lanterns for the porch at home...
tuesday, the fourth of july, we are going to spend the day at turkey's largest water park...i have to admit that i am really enjoying traveling with leggy and haak...not sure a water park would have been on the agenda without them here...i am really looking forward to the day...slides...pools...the hot turkish sun...and a swim with dolphins...yep i said a swim with dolphins...this has been a "dream" since i was 10 i think...so haak, leggy and their abla kirsten (that's me) are going to take a dip...
kir :)
No comments:
Post a Comment