First blog for year 2 in Tarsus, Turkey. It has been quite the whirlwind start to the school year this time around. I am happy to be teaching fourth grade with my teaching partner from last year. A new kindergarten-4th grade campus has just been finished (about a month behind schedule). A few weeks into the school year and finally all of those students are getting settled into this new campus.
About a month ago, there was a long weekend for everyone in Turkey in honor of Victory Day. My friend Athena and I took advantage of this long weekend to go to Bodrum, Turkey. I have been itching to go to Bodrum for a while now. All of the Turkish people I know rave about how it is a wonderful place to visit with beautiful seaside views. We got in late on a Thursday night and were scheduled to go on a day trip to Kos, a Greek island just off the coast of Bodrum the next day. Unfortunately, due to visa issues, we were not allowed to leave Turkey to go on this trip. Thankfully, the company we booked with were able to put us on a day cruise around the Bodrum harbor. It turned out to be a really beautiful and relaxing day in the sun. The captain stopped a few times for swimming breaks in the sea, which really just can't be beat. Here are a few photos from the boat cruise:
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| One of the harbors where the boats are docked |
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| Bodrum Castle |
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| The white buildings on the hill facing the sea were absolutely picturesque |
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| Just a beautiful day out in the Mediterranean |
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| Cool sunset to end the day |
The next day, Athena and I woke up bright and early to go on an all day tour of Ephesus. Ephesus is an ancient Roman city, the largest eastern city of the empire. We were really lucky to get an excellent English speaking Turkish tour guide. Our guide was full of facts and information about the history of Turkey and Ephesus. He spoke very candidly of his compulsory military service, which I had never heard anyone do before. At Ephesus, he first took us around the section of the city where "regular" people lived. Historians estimate that 250,000 people lived in Ephesus. Around fifteen perecent of the city has been excavated by archaeologists. Here are some photos of the "regular" people's section of the city:
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| Ready to see Ephesus |
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| Walking through one of the old streets |
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| Sitting in the commoner's amphitheater |
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| Ruins from a two-story temple |
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| Frescoe of Nike |
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| Ruins of the Roman bath house |
The second part of the tour featured the "VIP" section of Ephesus. The first look at this part of the city from the top of the hill is truly spectacular.
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| Sweeping view of VIP Ephesus |
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| One of the statues lining the road |
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| One of my favorite parts of Ephesus, this used to be a fountain |
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| The massive library |
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| Entrance to the VIP bathhouse |
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| Community toilets. Our guide said the VIPs had slaves who warmed up their seats in the winter. |
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| My favorite picture from Ephesus |
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| Cheers to our awesome guide! |
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The 25,000 seat amphitheater, the largest in the ancient world.
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Our day trip to Ephesus was incredible, and most definitely recommended to anyone visiting Turkey. There is still more that I wanted to post about Bodrum, but I will have to put it in another entry since this one got really long.
