Virgin Mary’s house and Ephesus

Our drive to ancient land and the house of the virgin mary, a very special place in Ephesus where the first female warriors, the amazons once lived (one breasted to make using a bow and arrow easier ) and then later the greeks. We then drove past fields of ancient time fruits (figs, olives, peaches ), and beautiful white storks making nests in tall pillars and teaching their chicks how to fly to arrive at the amazing ruins of ancient Ephesus, a UNESCO World Heritage. The area is huge and the preserved ancient city, including large slabs of marble (very slippery) and reconstructed impressive library was incredible . We ate a beautiful lunch ( peter had traditional lamb kebabs and melissa had a spiced lentil soup) in a local once famous wrestlers cafe in the village. We met Ikuts friend who owned a shop called ‘Genuine fake brands’ before driving further inland to the beautiful remote Cotton Castle of Turkey, Pamukkale. we drove past houses with empty glass bottles on some roofs- each bottle indicating to other muslims a daughter who is ready for marriage and an invitation to bring their son for introductions. 70 per cent of marriages are arranged in türkiye and once the daughter is matched the glass bottle is shot off the roof. we are staying in an old, very traditional village tonight before exploring the thermal waters and travertines tomorrow.Read more