First, I would like to point out that I think I reached a stage where I cannot take in very much history and monuments anymore so my reactions to them might clearly not be representative of how other people in a different mood would react.

After visiting Galipoli, Stewart, Charlie and I, we took a night bus to Selcuk where we arrived Saturday very early in the morning. We checked in at a cool place a bit out of town called Attila’s Gateway. It is a very relaxed place run by a mix of Turkish and Australian people. And the best part is definitely the swimming pool that I missed so much not having while I was in Istanbul.

The ancient roman city of Ephesus is the main reason people stop in Selcuk. It is considered one of the best site in Turkey and hence is part of every organized tour of the country. And as such, it was very crowded when we visited it on Saturday morning. It is a nice place with some impressive monuments like the library of Celsus and the temple of Hadrian. But to tell the truth, I was not as impressed by Ephesus than by my all time favorite Jerash ;).

Ephesus was actually very famous in ancient time because it is where the temple of Artemis or Artemision, one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World, was located. But sadly, as it is the case for all these wonders except the pyramids, there is not much left of the impressive temple so I did not bother going onsite.

In place, on Sunday morning, I visited the Ephesus museum in Selcuk. It is a nice little museum with some great finds from the region like two statues of Artemis and a statue of the phallic god Priapus that used to be inside the brothel in Ephesus. Quite a sight!

Because of the very hot weather and my current lack of interest in exploring, I spent the rest of Saturday and Sunday as well as the 2 last days enjoying the pool and the company of some travelers I met here. I especially hung out a lot with Stewart, Charlie, Eloise (Swiss), Arthur (French), Steve (Ausie), Ben (Ausie) and Carie (Ausie).

On Sunday night, we managed to get in a Turkish wedding :). I would love to tell you a great story ala “Wedding Crashers” movie but sadly it will not be the case. We only got in by the end of the dinner and so had a chance to join for onlye one dance. Everybody looked at us like we were from another planet and everybody had left very soon after. Nothing exciting after all so we got back fast to the bar for some more beers!

I felt so well in this little hotel that I decided to stay one more day as Stewart was leaving for Goreme (Cappadocia) and Charlie for Antalya. I will join Stewart tomorrow in Goreme.

I spent the whole day laying down on a long chair or a cushion around the pool, reading a book or playing a game of chess, napping or just day dreaming. This little hotel that reminded me so much of Dahab definitely fit my fancy.