Ahmet Erkun

This morning, Mui and I met up with Deniz at the Alsancak Garı (Alsancak train station) to catch the İzban train to Selçuk … a district of İzmir that is perhaps best known for the ruins of Ephesus, the city of antiquity that dates back to as early as the 10th Century BC.

İzban is İzmir’s suburban train system. Technically, one should be able to travel all the way to Selçuk without changing trains. But the distance to be traveled for the last three stops would throw the entire schedule off kilter, so one must change trains in Tepeköy. Worth the small inconvenience considering the 1.5-hour ride was free for Mui and me (65+ dont’cha know 😊) and just $1.18 for Deniz … at today’s exchange rate.

We had no set plans for this outing to Selçuk. Having visited Ephesus countless times, we initially had no intention of going there either. But a note from Aylin advising us of a new museum on the grounds changed our minds.

Good thing we had no intention of really dallying at the ruins as the crowds would have made it incredibly frustrating. Ephesus is a major tourist attraction and it is always crowded. Today the situation was exacerbated by the preparations for an international bike race that was going to see the ruins shut down by mid-afternoon.

Anyway, after being dropped off at the top entrance, we weaved our way around the sea of people. ebbing and flowing in every direction, walked past the Odeon, and down the Marble Road and past the Terrace Houses and fountains to the Library of Celsus. A quick selfie or two. Then we continued on towards the Great Theater of Ephesus (the amphitheater), dodging people left and right until we got to the Ephesus Experience Museum.

The museum describes the immersive experience it features as follows … “Step into a world where imagination knows no boundaries … . Immerse yourself in a captivating journey through time, as this modern museum transports you to the Ephesus Ancient City, dating back thousands of years.”

The audio-visual experience is truly amazing and very well done. We really enjoyed the well-narrated, 20-minute immersive experience. That our timed-entry slot had no other visitors was definitely a bonus as we did not have to peek around people to see the images projected onto the walls.

The question is … does the museum experience justify the cost of admission, which is ₺850/person (~$30) for foreigners … half that for Turkish nationals. Regretfully, I’d have to say no. Especially since the museum admission has to be paid on top of the admission to Ephesus … which is quite hefty in and of itself. We saw a lot of people come up to the museum ticket window and turn back after finding out the cost of admission. Luckily, for us, the cost to enter both the ruins and the museum was $0 … a benefit of being 65+.

(As we were leaving the museum, we were asked for comments or suggestions. All three of us said that it was too expensive … and that they need to consider reducing the admission … for all the good that might have done.)

We left Ephesus through the lower gate and went looking for a taxi back to Selçuk. The driver wanted twice the amount we had paid to get to the upper entrance. My guess is that he really wanted to get a fare going to Kuşadası … longer ride, thus more money. We refused, of course. Instead, we walked the ½-mile or so to the main road and hopped on a dolmuş (shared taxi/van) for ₺45 (~$1.60) for the three of us.

Once in Selçuk, our next stop was at Çöp Şişçi İzzet Usta … çöp şiş being miniature shish kebabs on thin wooden skewers. This eatery has been our go to place in Selçuk for years. We each ordered the combo plate that included small köftes (meat patties). The köftes were delicious … soft and juicy; but the meat used for the çöp şiş, while still tasty, was tougher than usual.

To wrap up our visit to Selçuk, after lunch we went to Özsüt, a patisserie that has a large selection of sweet treats. Thus energized, we walked back to the train station to catch our ride back home.Read more