Let's talk Turkey…

Halloween is over, so it's time to talk Turkey. Yep, with a capital T. I'm talking about the country, not the bird…

Our day in Turkey was probably the most frustrating day of the cruise. Allow me to enlighten you as to why.

The only thing I wanted to do in Turkey was to go to Ephesus, which was about a 25 minute drive from the port we were docking at. We tried to book a shuttle through the cruise, but it was sold out, so we figured we'd get a cab or a bus once we docked. However, when we did debark the ship and wander around the port, the taxi drivers were trying to charge 80 Euro for a one way trip! Ugh! I was about ready at that point to just go back to the ship and work on my tan for the day, but SB was obsessed with the idea of purchasing a "genuine fake watch," so we wandered around town for a bit.

In this process, a cabbie approached us and said he would take us to and from Ephesus for 50 Euro. I, being abnormally unfriendly and skeptical, ordered the cabbie to shake SB's hand to confirm that the ride would cost 50 Euro (since I've heard horror stories about cabbies overcharging or leaving people places). We got into the cab and I started to panic. There wasn't a cab license or company information anywhere. My panic escalated as we drove further and further outside of the city and I didn't see a single sign for Ephesus. I was about ready to duck and roll out of the cab when a veritable hoard of tour buses from the cruise company came barreling down the road.

Suffice it to say that we made it safely, wandered around Ephesus (in crowds that mirrored those that we battled at the Acropolis), and reveled in the fact that we already knew a lot about the ruins from our time in Pompeii in July. The Library of Celcus was AMAZING, and we ended up picking up a 2500-year old piece of mosaic tile that was just laying around off the beaten path. Our cabbie faithfully met us at the end of the ruins after two hours and took us back to town where we spent HOURS looking at genuine fake watches and being harassed by shop owners, but I enjoyed hearing the muezzin's call to prayer for the first time in my life.

… all in all, it wasn't quite the Turkish delight I was hoping for, but was still a worthwhile day spent in a new place!