Kusadasi-Ephasus

Kusadash—Ephesus—hot!

Kusadasi is a beautiful port town that has become a major tourist center. It has changed dramatically since we were here about 10 years ago. There are beautiful, new buildings at the port. I had arranged a guide ahead of time via internet . He was a delightful 31 year old man, who owned the company While all previous cars/vans were adequate with good A/C, he had a new, very large, high domed van with seats for maybe 16-18. Since there were only 4 of us, we had plenty of room. The ride from Kusadasi to Ephesus is fairly short—maybe 15 minutes tops. I think the only ruins that surpass Ephesus are those at Pompey, and Ephesus has many that are unique.:

*the famous communal toilets—about 30 toilets side by side where the men would sit and do their business. There was running water beneath the toilets with a pool of water in the middle. The Roman amphitheater is very large carved into the rock and is supposed to have excellent acoustics. The best part was the section they had excavated since we had been there 10 years ago: the terrace houses consisting of about 7 houses of the rich people of the time with beautiful frescos and mosaic floors covering a HUGE area.

The most fascinating part for me was watching the archaeologists restoring

Large jars by putting shards of pottery together like a jigsaw puzzle. They are continuing to excavate Ephesus—only a small percent has been uncovered, yet it is huge.

Our guide drove us by his apartment: 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, 1 living room, and kitchen for which he paid the equivalent of $65,000.

He knew we were Jewish and took us to a beautiful, old building with a patio of shaded trees and introduced us to one of the ubiquitous carpet salesman—only this was no simple carpet salesman. He is a Sephardic Jew who owns half of downtown Kusadasi. His daughter goes to Pepperdine College n CA.

He let me use his computer, gave us iced tea, and took us around and introduced us. He said all the Jews of Turkey were very “comfortable,” and they look out for each other. He said that most of the Spanish tour guides are Jewish. Even though they have been living in Turkey (one of the few countries to take Jews during the Inquisition) since 1492, they still speak Spanish and Ladino. I asked him to say something in Ladino—it sounded exactly like Spanish to me.