Turkiye Day 5 - Ephesus Archaeological Site (Efes), Selcuk

Assalamualaikum. Marhaba.

Alhamdulillah! Tidur yang lena tanpa gangguan albeit the day before jalan menyusuri pelbagai runtuhan tombs di Hierapolis. Poyo sangat statement kan.

8 April 2015

Kale Hotel, Pamukkale

Pagi ni bangun awal sebab bakal naik bas jam 9am. Lepas bersiap, terus turun pi lobi angkut sekali backpack. Senang kerja. Habis breakfast ndak payah naik bilik ambil beg bagai lagi. 

# 'Love notes' from the hotel's previous customers. Ramai suka Ahjumma. Memang beliau friendly & super helpful.

# Hotel stay came with free breakfast. Hari-hari makan macam ni, confirm aku dapat body retis Kpop.

Sebab the night before I sailed to dreamland without charging my hp & camera so pagi tu aktiviti charging gadgets while indulging in the healthy breakfast. Dari lobi hotel boleh nampak bas. Tiadalah kejadian tertinggal bas ketika sedang yakin-enak bersarapan.

# Took the Pamukkale Turizm bus to Selcuk. Bus fare is TL 30.
Tips: Those yang overnight di Pamukkale & intend to go to Selcuk the next day, boleh ambil bas dari Pamukkale jak. Ndak payah pi Denizli Otogar TAPI dari Pamukkale bas akan tetap stop di Denizli Otogar.

Bus arrived on time but departed 5 minutes late. Sebab ada passenger ndak jumpa bus stop. Dalam bas, sambung men-charge lagi. Untunglah ada usb ports. Pastu sempat bercerita sama 2 pria dari Surabaya. Diorang baru balik dari Cappadocia the day before, siap recommend company mana yang best untuk ber-hot balloon. 

"Demi pengalaman dong. Biayanya juga nggak mahal. Sekitar 250Euro. View indah sekali."

Kaya mamat Indonesian berdua tu oii. Aku mampu telan liur, rasa macam ada paku karat tersangkut di kerongkong. Tempting juga hot balloon ride tu tapi memang dari awal aku ndak plan mau naik pun. Budget tidak mencukupi untuk berbelon bagai.

Soon after bas bergerak, aku pun membuta. Layan feeling view sepanjang jalan...then ndak sedar aku terlelap. Aku terjaga masa bas berhenti di RNR. Masih dalam mamai, punyalah laju berdesup aku turun & cari WC. Macam kena sampuk Dewa Kucil. 

We reached Selcuk Otogari at around 130pm. Turun dari bas, terus terpa booth Pamukkale Turizm. Mau tumpang letak beg. Tiada kerja aku mau mengangkut beg berat tu sambil explore Ephesus. Ganggu konsentrasi gitu.

Selcuk, Izmir

# Selcuk Otogari

# Naik dolmus dari Otogari to Ephesus Archaeological Site. Fare TL 2.50. Cari sign Efes depan dolmus.

Kalau naik dolmus jarak dari Otogari pi Ephesus ni dalam 20 minit jak; and it runs every 10-15 minutes. Dolmus adalah jenis bas berhenti-henti. Masa ni aku pun mula risau. Sempat ka tidak untuk explore the whole site. Sebab aku kena ada di Selcuk Gari (train station) by 5pm the latest. Plan aku; mau early dinner di Selcuk before departing the train to Denizli Otogari. Naik overnight bas pi next destination.

There are three entrances to Ephesus; but based on my observation dolmus drivers will drop passengers at The Harbor entrance. While tour buses will enter the site via The Magnesian Gate (road to the house of Mother Mary). Kalau turun dari Harbor Entrance, akan jumpa site The Theatre dulu. If turun di Magnesian Gate, akan jumpa Odeon dulu.

# Deretan kedai before the main entrance (The Harbour Entrance).

Masa ni aku cuma fikir untuk cepat masuk jak. Ndak payah mau explore kedai bagai, that I can do lepas keluar dari Ephesus. Tu pun kalau aku ada spare time. 

# Ticket counter at the right side. Entrance fee is TL 30. This time I decided to forgo the audio guide.

"Ephesus, once, the trade centre of the ancient world, a religious centre of the early Christianity . Today, Ephesus is an important tourism centre in Turkey." -yahoo-

From the entrance,  I walked a few hundred meters more. Kiri kanan surrounded by tall trees; and more tapak yang penuh dengan sisa runtuhan before arriving at a 'T-Junction'.

Sila imagine what life must have been here hundred of years ago! Sailors & traders will arrived (picture below) at this street first the moment they entered the port. Pasal tu marble blocks atas jalan ni cantik tersusun; space between each block pun sama rata. And similar to the streets in Hierapolis, the sewage channels ran beneath the marble blocks.

From where I stood to take this picture, there should be gates in the form of monumental arches in front of me. But sadly, what remains now are only ruins. Hilang rupa bentuk. Both sides of the street were shops & galleries. And this was also once a lighted street. Opposite the Harbour Street is the street leading to The Great Theater. 

# The right junction. Leading to the harbour. Yes u read that right. HARBOUR!

# The left junction.

# Meow yang gebu! Sat idly like a statue in front of the Theater's entrance.

# Exercise paha! Sampai Malaysia, ukur lilit paha lessen by 0.001 inch. Sobs.

The Theater is the largest in Anatolia having the capacity of 25,000 seats. Unlike the one in Hierapolis, this time I entered the Theater via the lower section. Kiranya merasa lah dua pengalaman. View from the upper & lower section. 

# As seen in this picture, seats are divided into 3 horizontal sections. 

Lower section where seat's back made from marble; were reserved for important people. Audience entered from the upper section. This theater was used not only for concerts & plays but also for religious & political discussion. Kerlas kan diskusi dalam teater ala stadium. Sometimes it was also used for gladiator & animal fights; the most displeasing part for me. I didn't spent much time here like I did they day before in Pamukkale. I was glad I chose to climbed the steep path to the Grand Theater in Hierapolis site. Teater yang tu lagi besar & cantik! The reliefs pun berdiri kukuh still.

Moving on from The Theater, I walked upon the Marble Road to reach the Celcus Library.  

# Whats left today; a portion of the Sacred Way that will also lead to the Temple of Artemis. 

# Arch entrance to the Commercial Agora & Temple of Serapis. Principal God of Egypt is called Serapis.

On the Marble Road, there are some drawings on the marble block. They are also statues of important people put up along the street. Letters from Emperor were carved on blocks to let people read. It was said that in ancient times, one of the most popular spots to visit in Ephesus is the Brothel. Or perhaps the sign pointing adirection towards it. Refer picture below. There is a footprint, a woman's head, a heart, a money purse & one finger showing the direction to the Library.

Footprint tells to turn at that point, u've arrived at ur destination; The Brothel! Woman's head symbolized the women waiting there. While the heart sign showed the women are eager for love. Gitu!!

# First advertisement in history. 

Finally, highlight of my trip to Ephesus! The Celsus Library. I promised the bestie to visit this place; kiranya on behalf of her for she didn't get to visit this place when she went to Turkey a few years back. We share the same minat towards ruins. Susah mau explain, kan Ernie kan!

# Alhamdulillah! Dreams are made of this!

Never had I imagined I would stand before this library. Walau cumalah sisa library. Sebelum sampai, layan gambar orang jaklah di instagram. Bila sudah sampai for real, terus rasa macam mimpi. 

Celsus Library was actually a monumental tomb for Gauis Julius Celsus; built by his son Galius Julius Aquila. Grave of Celsus was beneath the ground floor; near the entrance. The library has two stories. Columns & three entrances to the library on the ground floor. Three windows opening on the upper floor. 

# Considered to be the most beautiful structures in Ephesus.

The virtues of Celsus lies on the statues located in the niches of the columns at the entrance. The statues symbolize wisdom, knowledge, intelligence & valor. Today, the statues in the niches are copies from the originals. 

# Statue of Sophia which symbolizes wisdom. 

# Incredibly detailed cravings; remain to this day.

# Manuscripts were kept in cupboards; in niches on the wall. 

According to history, there were double walls behind the bookcases to prevent the manuscripts from any damage. Hence I reckoned, perhaps there should be thousands of manuscripts behind that wall?

# Celsus's graveyard is beneath this floor. There should be a statue of Athena over it...but I didn't see any Athena nor statue when I was there. 

Gate Mazeus built by the slaves Mazeus & Mythridates for their Emperor Augustus; who gave them their freedom.

# At the right side of the library is the Gate of Mazeus.

# That small area depan gate ni was once used as an auditorium. 

Entering via the Mazeus Gate, I arrived at the Commerical Agora area & Temple of Serapis. On the way from the Theater, lalu pintu gerbang untuk pi temple ni but it was closed. Rupanya ada tiga pintu masuk pi area agora ni. One of them is via the Mazeus Gate. 

# The other side of the gate.

Commercial agora or also known as market. Seluas alam! This is the most important trade center here. Market or pasar ni bentuk empat segi; surrounded by columns. I walked around the agora. Trying to imagine orang berniaga di sini dulu. Mesti meriah! Semua pakai baju ala-ala sari putih selimpang di bahu, rambut tocang & gulung bulat-bulat di kepala. Erk, imagination ran weirder! Di tengah pasar ni ada sundial & water clock tapi penatlah aku buat pusingan nan hado sundial yang aku jumpa. Atau sundial sudah jadi serpihan runtuhan?

# Walau zaman dulu kala, tengok keadaan pasar ni...sumpah, its super huge! 

Done touring the agora, I went out via the same laluan I went in earlier. Pastu layan ambil gambar Celsus Library lagi sekali. Then nampak sekawanan meow depan simpang Marble Road-Curates Street. Ada 5 ekor semua, gebu gebas. Diorang busy berebut makanan, ada tourist baik hati bagi snacks. Aku? Cuma mampu usap kepala diorang, tanda kasih sayang sejati. What to do, aku pun lapar. Jangankan snack, mineral water untuk basah tekak sendiri pun tiada. 

Sebab busy mencurah kasih sayang; memang aku simpan kamera terus. Instantly I missed the children masa ni. Terus cepat-cepat sedar diri, kalau layan feeling haruslah ndak pasal akan demam. Sudah rasa rindu sedikit terubat, aku continue aktiviti meng-explore Ephesus. Memang aku ndak tengok jam langsung because I know when I do that, aku akan start congak remaining time that I have to tour the whole Ephesus. Nanti stress sendiri sebab mau kejar masa. Hence, ndak payah tengok jam & enjoyed my exploration. Insha Allah sempat. 

# Taiko Curates Street. Pantau pergerakan tourist dari C.Mainland yang bising berdengung.

Once atas Curates Street...can u guess what was the first thing that I looked for? Nanti cerita. Ngeh~

Although it was only a day trip to Ephesus, I still wanted to update the trip in parts. Bear with me peeps. See u in the next entry.

eryantierdabdulkarim

Turkiye Day 4 - From Istanbul to Denizli

Assalamualaikum. Marhaba.

Semangat sikit mau sambung entry ni. Few of my friends happily told me they might be visiting Turkiye in the future mainly because of what I've blogged about the country. Like seriously, that one was so unexpected. I scribbled based on what I saw, what I experienced & the feeling I had when visiting Turkiye. Totally didn't anticipate such feedback.

However, I am glad they enjoyed reading my experiences. Maybe bagi aku ni cuma caca cerba, sharing yang ntah apa-apa but for some people; what I scribbled gave them a little bit of 'intro' about Turkiye. Terus si Err rasa ondos (keluar slang Kadazan). Give way please. Perlu ruang untuk menggembangkan diri. Gitu!

Ok mari sambung from where I last stopped (here). 

7 April 2015
Enroute to Denizli 

# RNR owned by Kamil Koc. Major bus companies have their own RNR but sometimes they stopped at public RNR as well.

# Too lazy to go down & take the whole picture of the cafe at the RNR. Sejuk oii!

Before reaching our final destination, we stopped at few bus stations. I woke up every time the bus stopped to dropped off passengers. But I don't remember how many stations we stopped. 

7 April 2015

Enroute to Denizli

# Taken on the way to Izmir.

# Izmir Bus Terminal (Izmir Otogar). 

I remembered this terminal because it was the biggest among all the bus terminals we stopped at. For those who intended to go to Selcuk (Ephesus), one can board the regional minibuses here. 

# Random pictures I took along the way to Denizli. 

I didn't get back to sleep after Izmir. Matahari sudah memancar. I had my breakfast while on the bus. Hasil tapau-an lokums & simits I bought in Istanbul the night before. 

# Give way to bebiri to crossed the road. 

After almost ~11 hours on board the bus from Istanbul, we finally arrived at Denizli Bus Terminal at 730am. Masa ni rasa macam mau ketuk diri sendiri. Why? Because I didn't expect it to be that huge. Memang ada buat research before this trip tapi ntah kenapa memang sudah set mind the terminal would look like the one we have in Double K city. Boohoo me! Boleh-boleh kau samakan level bus terminal di Turki sama KK, Bie! Sobs betul perangai. 

# Main entrance of Denizli ultra-modern Metropolitan Bus Terminal.

Bus dropped us at the parking bay located at the basement level. Pastu naik escalator untuk pi lobi. First thing first, beli tiket Denizli-Goreme. Cuma akan spend one night in Denizli. Next day will be leaving for Goreme pula. Tight sungguh schedule! P to the Yo. Lepas beli tiket, I went down to the lower level where the minibus stop (dolmus otogar) is.

# Banyak major bus companies buka kiosk di sini so ndak payah risau kalau mau keluar pi other cities in Turkey from Denizli. 

# Few cafes at the lower (minibus) level.

# Minibuses a.k.a Dolmus

If I'm not mistaken, the minibus stop for Pamukkale is at Pillar #29. IF! Ingatan aku lately sangat ke laut. Kalau agak-agak ndak confident with my ingatan...refer jak sama signboard at each pillar. Memang ada tulis destination each dolmus. Kalau rasa malas mau baca, tanya jak driver dolmus yang tengah lepak-lepak tepi dolmus. They will be more than willing to help. Turkish adalah sangat helpful walau ekspresi muka diorang macam mau ndak layan jak! Sekian.

# Inside the dolmus. Please know, dolmus ada istilah "standing seat". Fare to Pamukkale is TL 3.50.

# Subhanallah. View on the way to Pamukkale. 

The journey to Pamukkale takes about 20 minutes. With stunning view along the way. Ndak sedar pun sudah sampai area Pamukkale. Pastu pening sebab based on my research, on the way pi hotel akan nampak travertines on my right side. But all I could see was buildings on my right side. So solution adalah to asked the lady sitting next to me. And showed her my hotel's name. As expected, she doesn't know how to explain to me. She then asked the guy next to her. Alhamdulillah the guy works at a hotel nearby...and he knows where my hotel is. Long story short, rupanya dolmus from Denizli akan ikut jalan belakang. No wonder lah tiada langsung kelibat travertine yang aku nampak. Turun dari dolmus, walkertapaki lah pi hotel. 

# Another 'bukit'. Memang exercise paha jaklah aku sepanjang di Turki haritu.
Read: Arrow tu hotel yang aku stay.

Sampai hotel, syukurlah boleh check in awal. After settled semua, teruslah si Err naik bilik. Walau cuaca sejuk gila, mandi adalah perlu before continuing with my itinerary of the day. Ndak siok berjalan kalau sudah rasa rimas sama diri sendiri. Saiko sebenarnya. Kalau ndak dapat check in awal, ndak juga aku mandi. Tetap semangat teruskan itinerary. Tapi ni sebab sudah dapat masuk bilik, teruslah rasa rimas menerpa. Over! 

# My room. After shower, golek-golek atas katil kejap untuk kendurkan urat. 11 jam oii dalam bas. 

Harini aktiviti panjat memanjat. And since matahari macam memancar terik, aku pakai baju nipis jak. And layered with jacket. Matahari memang memancar, tapi haba nan hado sebenarnya. Plan asal mau bawa simit, bolehlah lepak mengudap simit sambil menikmati keindahan alam. Tapi, boleh perangai pelupa muncul di saat genting?!!? Bawa badan jaklah aku naik pi travertines tu. Hampagas betul. 

# Dolmus akan ikut jalan ni untuk balik pi Denizli otogar. Facing this road, the travertines is behind me. 

I climbed the travertines at around 11am. Angin adalah sepoi-sepoi bahasa. Tiada kejadian munculnya angin penampar. But! I got off the travertines with a charred face. Sunburn & windburn! Sungguh mencari nahas. Sudahlah aku cuma pakai sunblock ala kadar. Hmm, honestly I only put a layer of it. Akibat terlampau underestimate the weather there. 

Fuh! Biarlah muka hangus sekalipun demi cotton castle; demi hierapolis. Will continue more about the travertines & the ruins in my next entry. See ya!

eryantierdabdulkarim