Ephesus - Blogabond

Ship arrived in Izmir, Turkey this morning. We had a tour booked for Ephesus; which is an old city built 3000+ years ago. Got off the ship once we were cleared by Turkish officials and were given a landing card; its kind of like a visa you receive it when you get off the boat and have to give it back to Turkish officials when you get back on and was told very specifically not to lose it. So we walked to the tour bus and met our tour guide, Esther. The drive to Ephesus took about an hour; we saw lots of countryside, which had cotton plants, olive trees and other fruit trees. We heard a little about Turkish history as we headed to Ephesus. Once in Ephesus we walked around the historical/archaelogical site. Only 20% of Ephesus has been excavated but it is the most complete ancient city excavated in the world so far. Ephesus is amazing, what we saw was actually thAe third version or site of Ephesus (the one built by the Romans). The roads were all made of marble and most of the buildings are marble. Donna wouldn't let me bring home a column, I thought it would make a great countertop :). We also stayed to watch a show that they put on; they were all dressed as Romans and there was a gladiator fight and some dancing, it was really neat. After that we had some time to wander the shops; bought my pashmina - yaaa! Then back on the bus. Next stop was a Turkish Carpet showplacce, where they showed us how to make a Turkish carpet (double knots and all). Then they showed us completed carpets to show the difference in materials used. Of course then there was time if you wished to purchase a carpet. I thought they were too pretty to walk on so obviously didn't buy one.
All in all it was a great day; I'm happy we saw Ephesus and didn't stick around Izmir like lots of people did.