Acropolis Goodness

Following on from where we left off, several days ago now...

Day Two in Bergama (Bergama – Selcuk)

We had managed to find the bus station and book our tickets to Izmir the afternoon before, so we knew we had until 2.30pm to see more things in Bergama. Most importantly, we hadn't been to the Acropolis, Bergama's main attraction, so that was the big priority. By all accounts (guide book, internet) the Acropolis was located about 5kms from town up a steep hill without any shade, unless you were clever enough to find a hole in the fence that shaved a few kilometres off of the journey but was a bit dodgy and steep. There was also vague mention of a cable car.

(view from our hotel of the acropolis - this was where we were headed)

We packed up, left our bags at reception after an ok but pretty basic breakfast compared to what we're used to in Turkey by now, and went exploring. Walking in the general direction of the Acropolis revealed signs pointing the way. It was 1 or 2 kms mostly up a slightly more than gentle slope but for most of the way there were dairy type shops and places you could stop to get water if you needed. Around the corner of a hill appeared a very tall modern glass complex that turned out to be the cable car. For 10 lira return trip we thought that was ok, although I found being suspended by cables in a little glass box high in the air more than a little unnerving. Greg found my anxiety amusing.

(cable car building)

The Acropolis was pretty amazing. The remains of the ancient city of Pergamon (which started out as Greek, ended up as Roman, then probably got destroyed in an earthquake like so much else from ancient Turkey, but I forget). There had been a concerted restoration effort by some plucky Germans which meant the Acropolis part of the city had several intact bits to give an idea of the overall size and scope. The theatre is built into the side of the hill and is massive and very steep, giving amazing views of the township and surrounding hills.

(Greg told me to 'Go be a column' And no that's not a pregnant/Turkish food belly, it's just my top billowing in the wind...)

American girl being cheesey with the statue

We used the LP to guide us around. It suggested heading down the hillside as there was a building that had been purpose built over some mosaics. So down down down we scrambled. Geez the bug life was extremely active once you got onto the dirt track. Huge ants, black beetles, dragon flies, butterflies, moths, large spiders, and scary buzzy things that buzzed in swarms made for delicate stepping as we descended. I wasn't a fan of the buzzy things flying at my face, again Greg was amused by my squeamishness about it.

Eventually we found the protected mosaic house. But to our dismay it was locked up tight! Stubbornly we clamboured on the tumble down stones looking for a way in because we could see through the tiny slots in the windows that it was set up for tourists – walkways and information signs were in there. After a full circumnavigation of the place we were about to give up, when seemingly from nowhere a site official turned up and unlocked the door! We (well, I) fell about saying thank you and excitedly we went inside. We weren't disappointed, the mosaics were really cool, a whole floor of 'masks' or 'ugly heads' as the LP coined them.

The place was basically Fort Knox.

We clambered around on walls such as this trying to find a way in.

The amazing preserved mosaics once inside!

We cruised around the ruins that we hadn't already seen then headed back to the top. I did some shopping at the Acropolis souvenir stores and bought another white top (The one I was wearing was starting to develop a life of it's own), a scarf and some bookmarks. I think the prices there were pretty reasonable for a tourist attraction shop – I got three bookmarks for one lira, and since then I saw a man selling them to a lady at Ephesus for 10 lira for three!

By the time we were finished with the Acropolis we had basically spent three hours climbing up and down and around a hill in the hot sun with no shade. We found out later it was 30 degrees celsius. (again, not complaining, not complaining). But we were pretty tired. We went back into Bergama proper in search of lunch. This time we went to a place recommended by the hotel lady. We found it easily enough but uh-oh it looked like a buffet set up. I asked the girls behind the counter 'Ingilizu?' they shook their head but called out to another watiress who did have some english. She explained there was a big plate option and a small plate option, and after that you just fill it up with anything. We asked how much per plate but she didn't seem to get it. “Ne ka dar?” I asked pointing at the plates, she still seemed bewildered. We persevered in English some and eventually got the prices. A bit later I thanked her in turkish and she explained that she was actually Russian – which explained why she didn't understand my Turkish (sort of – who works in a shop in Turkey without learning what 'how much is it?' means). Maybe my accent is just terrible.

Anyway lunch was once again fantastic there were stuffed courgettes and these pie things.... and so much goodness!

Once lunch was over we picked up our bags and headed to the Otogar. The bus that showed up was actually a minivan and we were rather tightly jammed in. Greg was okay because we had the seats right up the front but it was very cozy for typing a blog post! (But I did it anyway).

At Izmir we disembarked to change for a Selcuk bus. That was easily thanks to the thoughtful help of the Bus attendant (mentioned previously). While we waitied we got ice cream and practiced counting Turkish, which seemed to amuse the nearby Turks. One walked past and called out “Buon giurno!” – I guess he wanted to demonstrate that he was learning another language too? Also I have never gotten over listening to the man drumming up business for our bus... he walked back and forth and every minute or so would call out "Selcuk! Selcuk!" (which is pronounced Selchook). Even now days later in a quiet moment Greg and I will look at eachother and one of us will just go "Selcuk! Selcuk!"

(Izmir Otogar: Quite a chaotic place!)

From a stand at the station Greg bought a watch and when he asked "Ne Ka Dar?" the young chap said "On bis" and I was like "Greg! That means fifteen!". So exciting when you understand something!

The bus to Selcuk was actually a slightly bigger bus. The trip went smoothly. Towards the end of the trip Greg and I had a conversation about how much we liked the Turkish people and how in general we found them more helpful and friendly than the Greeks and the Italians. When we got into town a Turkish lady in front of us turned round and told us we were in Selcuk, which we had figured out. Then she asked us in english where we were going, and we grinned and told her which hotel we were staying at, knowing full well that she must have understood our entire conversation. She spoke to the bus driver and he pulled over. The lady helped us with our bags and pointed down a street and said our hotel was just down there. We thanked her and went our separate ways. Our hotel was literally two minutes from where we had got off the bus. Turkey amazes us again with how easy they make everything – but I guess it helps if you sit around complimenting their coutnry for ten minutes!!

The hotel this time was definitely more on the budget side of things (even though the price was the same as Bergama and Cannakale – the price of coming to see Ephesus I guess) but the owners were nice with fluent english and it met all our needs adequately. The towels were even folded into swans – what else do you really need?

(The view from our balcony - below was one of the pedestrian malls that the hotel straddled)

We were pretty beat after a morning of climbing around ruins in the sun and then two bus trips over four hours. We spent a while just chilling out in the hotel room getting things sorted out and planning the next day's adventures, then ventured out for tea. The hotel was literally in the middle of town, it was located on a strip of buildings that ran between two pedestrian malls full of shops and restaurants that were open late. It was quite touristy but not unpleasantly so. From the balcony of our room Greg had spied a restaurant that looked ok so we headed for that.

Once again a fabulous meal and lovely service. We ordered orange juice... it took ages to come but then we tried it and oh, wonderful! It had litereally just been squeezed freshly. Greg grinned at me because he had seen the man grab the oranges through the restaurant window so he had already known. Above our head a novelty fake parrot squarked and rambled in Turkish everytime someone clapped, or clinked their fork on their place, and so on. Luckily the young people behind us tired of clapping at it after a few minutes.

Food consumed, we had a little look around the shops before turning in for the night. Tomorrow we were all set for Ephesus which was to be another big day walking in the sun.