Turkiye Day 5 - From Selcuk to Denizli by Train

Assalamualaikum. Marhaba.

Sudah kembali ke track sebenar nampak gaya si Err ni. Berdesup laju dia update entry. Gitulah bila hormon kunun-rajin meresap diri.

Sambung dari previous entry (here).

Sampai Selcuk terminal, aku pun terus pi picked up backpack yang aku tumpang simpan di kaunter tiket Pamukkale Turizm. Next destination is the train station. But before that, harus isi perut dulu. I've searched information about the recommended cafe in Selcuk (Izmir) via Trip Advisor. And I chose to jamu perut at TAT Cafe Restoran.

Dengan penuh yakin di dada; aku seluk poket cari handphone sebab direction pi restoran memang aku save dalam tu. Hmm, phone adalah tiada. Pastu cari lagi poket sebelah. Yillek. Korek bag, pun tiada. Siap dengan backpack yang aku baru kutip tu aku selongkar. Bila yakin phone tu memang betul-betul tiada, tangan start menggeletar. Mata sudah start tunjuk signal empangan bakal pecah. Dalam phone banyak benda aku sudah save. Hatta confirmation hotel pun dalam tu. Oh yeah, aku memang dasar pemalas mau print. Aku cari kerusi, pastu duduk ambil nafas. Perlu bertenang; kalau kelibut nanti satu hapa ndak dapat fikir.

Finally after few minutes, aku pun bangun & headed straight to the dolmus parking area. Masalah problem aku memang langsung ndak ingat plat number dolmus yang aku naik. I did take picture of it tapi! Yang tu aku snap guna camera phone. Memang drama sebabak betul. Sudahlah lapar, diri sendiri lagi cari kalut. Nasiblah drivers dolmus di Selcuk tu mostly boleh converse in English. I told them I lost my phone & I think I accidentally dropped it in the dolmus that I rode from Efes. Luckily, there was only one dolmus that just came back from Efes at that time. The driver went to his dolmus...while waiting; the other drivers tried to have a conversation with me. Mainly to calm me down I reckoned. Yalah, masa bertanya tu aku sudah tercungap paniks. Belum campur lagi bibir ketar-ketar tahan nangis. Hampagas betul bila ingat balik. Hilang macho! Hanyut ke longkang.

When the driver came back to me; with an anxious face he told there was nothing in the dolmus. Ok masa ni terduduk terus; sambil control diri. And suddenly the driver took something in his pocket; it's my bloody handphone! Seriously rasa mau peluk driver tu. Non stop lah si Err ucap tesekkur bagai. Sambil bow! Motif?? Then bila aku mau hulur saguhati tanda terima kasih; semua pun pakat tunjuk tangan as a sign "No, u don't have to."

"Use that money to buy food. U student have limited money; we know."

Ha mau ndak melonjak gumbira si Err bila diri masih dianggap student. Syukur Alhamdulillah! Masih ada rezeki sama handphone aku tu. Lepas jak terima kasih-bow seribu kali, aku pun continue plan asal. Masa untuk soru! 

The distance from Selcuk Otogari to this restaurant is roughly less than 5 minutes walking. Tu ikut pace aku lah kan.

# Depan restaurant

# Deco cushion reminded me of my bestie who loves pink + roses so much.

# Appetizer! Been wanting to try one of Turkish famous dessert; rice pudding. 

Actually before order pudding ni, aku sudah order rice + kebab (I forgot the dish name). Terkejut waiter tu dengar bila aku add on rice pudding lagi. Mesti dalam hati dia ngumpat aku; dasar tembolok gajah! And I requested for the pudding to be serve first. Perlu sejukkan tekak sebelum mencekik. 

Makanan di restoran ni memang sedap gila! No wonder ramai yang recommend. Memang berbaloi lepak sini lepas drama tercicir handphone. Makan sambil update status, update whereabout, update segala-gala; wifi free katanye.

# My lunch cum dinner. Harus ada apple tea. This arrived right after I finished my pudding. Yumms!!!

Habis makan, lepak lama sikit bagi makanan turun jadi nanti kalau berjalan jauh sikit ndak lah senak perut. Adalah dalam setengah jam lepak dalam kedai. Then baru move to next destination. Selcuk Gari a.k.a Selcuk Train Station. Ndak jauh pun dari restoran ni. Walkertapaki dengan jayanya; ikut map.

# Limpas deretan kedai on the way to the train station. Ramai Ahjussi melepak.

# Macam rupa KTM station pun ada.

# Dua ketul milik si Err. Luckily it wasn't hard to read their schedule. I just need to search for Denizli. 

# Rupa paras station dari depan. 

# Train station is undergoing some repair & upgrading work hence rupa macam station yang 'ndak siap'. 

# Train arrived & departed on time.

Masa nampak orang lalu lalang railway track tu...terdetik dalam hati; kental gila jiwa diorang ni berani mati pi seberang macam tu jak. Sudahlah ni rail untuk speed train. Yang tarik bag, yang bawa anak kecil. Sekali train aku sampai, terus si Err jadi 'kera'. Rupanya memang kena lintas track sebab platform yang ada ticket counter tu is for train going the opposite direction to where I was heading. Maka berlarilah aku mengejar train yang berhenti few hundred meters from where I was waiting. Nasiblah beban anak gajah masih boleh tolerate lagi.

# Free seating. Jadi sila lah duduk di mana yang kosong.

# Train fare from Selcuk to Denizli is 15.75 TL.

Fyi, sepanjang journey pi Denizli ni...tiga kali aku tukar seat. First, sebab aku rasa uncomfy gila dengan mamat yang duduk sebelah aku. Over friendly! Aku ni sudahlah mau layan membuta. Mamat tu pula sibuk bawa chit chat. I have read in many blogs before; mostly mamat Turki ni naturally peramah. And sometimes siapa kaki perasan, harus akan 'jatuh lagi perasan' dengan keramahan-kepetahan-keayatmanisan diorang. 

Or perhaps mamat tu ndak menepati ciri 'tall, white, mata sepet'. Tu kan kunun piawai yang aku set. So mamat train tu haruslah gagal menusuk jantung ku. Gitu kan Bie siap berpiawai; getek habis meter.

# After 1 stop, naik lah orang jual jajan ni. Simit & yogurt. Memang makanan ringan yang famous for Turkish.

# Ini! Mamat train belanja. 

Aku ni sudahlah ndak suka makan simit yang ini, tapi terima jaklah. Rezeki jangan ditolak; apatah lagi musuh. Doa makan jangan lupa; untuk hindar segala yang ndak baik. Gitu; hati-hati penting.

After nearly an hour journey & masa tu sudah mula masuk kawasan outskirt, train makin kosong. Meaning more empty seats. 

# Tukar seat sesuka jiwa. Pilih seat ni sebab window luas. Bolehlah ambil gambar; tapi hasil hampagas. Semua al-gegar.

# Kawasan outskirt katanye.

# 'Ratu Toilet' macam aku memang gumbira bila toilet dalam train adalah bersih...and ada complete facilities. 

Third seat aku; window seat juga tapi ndak berapa wide macam yang second. Aku tukar seat sebab kali ni mau charge segala mak-neka gadgets yang ada. Therefore gigih cari seat yang ada power plug. And aku tertidur lepas tu sebab view di luar sudah kelam malam gelap gulita.

Aku terjaga bila attendant train kecoh-kecoh ingatkan semua passengers pasal their belongings. Ouh mau sampai sudah rupanya. Patut banyak kali kena remind 'jangan lupa bawa barang-barang anda'. Ok tipu, dia cakap Turkish sebenarnya. Aku agak tu lah maksud dia sebab bila sampai depan aku, he pointed at my bags & mentioned Denizli. 

After merely 5 hours on board, akhirnya tiba. Drizzling Denizli greeted me upon arrival. Terpaksa lah berlari dari train station pi bus terminal. Sejuk mengigit tulang hokey! Menyesal simpan jacket dalam bag. Kunun rasa diri tu dikurniakan kulit lembu. Pasrah.

# Sebabkan sudah second time di Denizli Otogar, jadinya ndak lah aku kekok bawa diri. 

And because I still have few more hours before boarding the bus to Goreme; I decided to change my clothes. Sudah seharian pakai the same baju; siaplah ronda Ephesus bagai. Badan pun sudah start merimas. Another 'tanpa mandi' night. Tukar baju yang selesa sikit sebab 10 jam ok duduk dalam bas nanti. Ndak kan mau tidur dengan baju masam, yes? 

Pastu aku lepak ngopi. Layan tekak. Beli 5 biji buns & aku telan habis semua. Lepak sebab mau tumpang free wifi juga sebenarnya. Dasar! 

Tepat jam 1030pm, bas sampai. Sebab bag aku kecil jak jadi aku terus naik bas. Overhead compartment kan ada. The bus left Denizli sharp 11pm. Aku adalah gumbira bila seat sebelah adalah kosong! Dalam pada other passengers struggle mau luruskan kaki sebab ada bag di leg compartment diorang; ada yang sibuk atur posisi tidur...aku dengan tenang parking bag atas kerusi & tanpa sibuk atur posisi juga. Blessed! 

Kali ni aku naik bas 2+2 seating. Tiada power plug tapi ada usb ports. Small LCD screen (TV) pun ada tapi macam biasalah memang aku ndak tengok langsung. Layan lagu dalam handphone jaklah. Ada steward yang serve snacks & drinks. Wifi internet connections; which only works on whatsapp. Facebook instagram bagai memang out of reach. Besar sangat kali; nama pun mobile wifi kan. Masuk luar kawasan liputan kalu, teruslah signal nan hado. Eh tapi apa guna layan surfing, naik overnight bus oii. Haruslah lagi baik layan tidur. Lagi banyak manfaat. Recharge. Next morning perlu ada extra energy untuk explore Goreme. I only have like 2 full days there. Hence, kena manfaatkan masa sebaiknya.

Next entry...kita cerita pasal Goreme pula. Yeah, entry Turkiye akan compete ndak lama lagi. Syabas Bie!

eryantierdabdulkarim

 

Turkiye Day 5 - Ephesus Archaeological Park, Selcuk

Assalamualaikum. Marhaba.

Previous post (here).

Oh wow! It's been nearly four months since my last post. Bravo! I sincerely apologize for the eternal hiatus, peeps. Ok bercakap as if ramai orang tunggu new post dari kau kan Bie. I've been busy rearranging my life. I've got tons to share tapi habis kerja; sampai rumah automatik rasa macam tidur lagi utama. Sedar ndak sedar; I've taken too long a break from scribbling. Luckily sempat blog walking cuma memang jarang tinggal jejak. Perasan-penat-dan-sibuk memang macam tu. 

Anyhow, let's continue from where I last left. Mula mau buat conclusion pasal cerita 2015; as in new year post lah. Tapi rasa macam malas; nanti-nanti lah aku buat. When time permits or more like when I'm rajin enough. 

So upon arriving at the end of Curates Street; I turned around & started envisaging the busy life at that street back then. Semua harus berbaju putih ala-saree. Don't ask why must white; why must ala-saree. 

# Memmius Monument 

# Some of the ruins from the Temple of Domitian.

# I reckoned this must be some spot where people lepak & killed their free time. 

# Very intricate carving. Kukuh sampai hari ini. Kagum!

# Fountain of Pollio; water was brought to this fountain via aqueducts. Water distributed from the fountain by a branching system of baked clay pipes. The city provided water for free of charge at public fountains. Nevertheless, this fountain was the source for refreshment in hot summer days. 

# Temple of Domition; the first structure in Ephesus known to be dedicated to an Emperor. 

# Prytaneion; where religious ceremonies, official receptions & banquets were held. 

# The Odeon. It is a small theatre with a stage building, seating places & orchestra. Meetings of the Senate were held here. And it function as a concert hall for performances as well. 

# Hello there Miss Bulus! Enjoying yourself at the Basilica nampaknya. 

# Bath of Varius built of cut blocks of marbles. Excavations haven't been completed yet but the three sections could be seen for now. Frigidarium (cold water), tepidarium (warm water) & caldarium (hot water).

After completing my route, I returned back to Curates Street. I did not plan to exit via the Magnesian Gate because as per the personnel at the ticket counter; there will be no public bus at the Magnesian Gate. That entrance/exit are meant for visitors with cars or tour group. So berpatah balik lah si Err. Keluar ikut entrance tadi lagi senang. 

On my way out, just before the Celsus Library, I saw this huge zinc-covered building. It is situated up the hill; opposite the Hadrian Temple and Heroon. I need to buy a different ticket (15 TL) in order the enter the building. Confident habis yang aku masih banyak masa to wander around. 

Turned out that covered building is an excavation site of the Terrace Houses (Slope Houses). The excavation work is still going while I was there. So far there have been 7 houses excavated owned by the richest Ephesians. Houses are date back to the 1C AD. 

# Assembling fragments & ruins

# Many of the houses are two-storied. Each has their own courtyard & rooms without windows. 

# Spot the lion on the mosaics. Back then. they even had decorated tiles as such. 

# Note the special fiber above this complex. It not only act as rooftop but also it prevent the complex from sunlight in which could fade or damage the conservation.

# Windows & balconies were built facing the courtyard; not the street in order to keep the home safe from burglars. 

# Excavators doing their job. 

# And they have colored tiles as well. 

# Decorated floor with tiles & mosaics. Sangat detailed & neatly arranged.

Lepas ronda lebih kurang, it's time to go back to Selcuk town. Perut sudah berdangdut minta isi makanan. I decided to have my lunch before taking the train to Denizli that evening. Later that night, I will be taking the night bus to Goreme from Denizli Otogari. 

Out from the historical site, baru ada perasaan untuk intai jam. I took merely 2 hours to cover the whole site. Still plenty of time for me to stroll around. Lagipun bas pi Selcuk Otogari belum sampai. Hence I took my own sweet time; duduk di bench lepas penat. Then pi gerai-gerai jual souvenir; cuci mata. Walhal sebenarnya sempat grabbed few fridge magnets. Nampak pula pondok post office just in front of the taxi stand, apalagi...sesi tulis poskad bermula. Sempatlah kirim few postcards including untuk diri sendiri. Ngek~~

# The best pomegranate juice. Minum jus untuk lepas lelah katanye.

# Mari post poskad sebelum beredar. Kenang-kenangan gitu.

#Took the bus back to Selcuk Otogari from the same stop where we descended earlier.

Turned out, yang naik bas tu adalah orang-orang yang naik ngan aku pagi tadi. What a coincidence. Sempatlah bercerita sama Minah US yang travel solo juga. Route kami reverse. I'll be leaving for Goreme later that night where as she just arrived from Goreme earlier that morning. We didn't wait long for the bus to come. Paid 2.50 TL for the bus fare & off we went back to Selcuk Otogari.

Sampai bus terminal (otogari)...si Err buat drama sebabak. Ciskek mengharukan betul. Yang tu kita continue next entry. Insha Allah, akan rajin update lepas ni. Sila percaya.

eryantierdabdulkarim

Turkiye Day 5 - Ephesus Archaeological Park, Selcuk

Assalamualaikum. Marhaba.

Ok fine! Laaaama gila tinggal blog ni. Kunun janji mau wrap up cerita Turkiye as soon as possible but I got tangled with some businesses I ended up abandoning most of the things I used to love doing. Gitu ayat ndak menahan! Sebabkan lama aku paused cerita Ephesus ni, makanya makin banyaklah cerita di hari kejadian yang sudah evaporate from my tiny memory box.

Previous Entry (here).

8 April 2015
Selcuk, Izmir

Once standing upon the Curates Street...haruslah aku fokus tumpuan to search for the Brothel. Ngeks kan perangai. Curiosity killed the cat katanya! Ntah apa yang di-investigate sangat.

Kunun Brothel tu dapat dijejak based on the founding of Priapus statue with an oversize of phallus in the house. The Brother is just a peristyle house on the corner of the Curates Street. Didn't get to see the statue thought because it was presented in the museum. 

# Inside the Bath of Scholastica

# Please meet Scholastica (statue without head); a rich Christian lady whom built the Scholatisca Baths. 

This was thought to have been a three-storied building. But only the first floor survived. The other two collapsed. 

Climbed the stairs & I reached the Latrine; public toilets of the city. It was part of the Scholastic Baths. There was an entrance fee to use this toilet. Drainage system was under those 'seats'. Speaking of the importance of hygiene back then. Kira maju ok!

# This opened toilet was designed like this so people could still 'socialize' while doing their business. 

# Standing at the highest point of Scholastica Baths. 

# The Octagon; a monument to Ptolemy whom is the youngest sister of Cleopatra VII.

This is a vaulted burial chamber placed on a rectangular base with the skeleton of a 15 year old woman in a marble sarcophagus. Ptolemy was murdered in Ephesus in 41BC.

Next to The Octagon is the Temple of Hadrian. Said to be the best preserved & most exquisite structures on Curates Street. It was built to commemorate the visit of the Emperor Hadrian from Athens. The ornaments that are seen at the temple today are just copies; the originals are displayed in Ephesus Museum. In which I didn't get to visit due to time constraint. 

# Four columns at the facade supported the curved arch. And that relief at the center of the arch is Tyche; the goddess of victory. 

# Inside the temple, architectural ornaments depicting the story of the foundation of Ephesus can be seen. 

Just across the street from the temple is Ephesus Terrace House. Or also known as "the house of the riches". The houses was first built in the 1st Century BC. It was divided into six parcels each representing a residential unit. The rooms of each unit are grouped around a central colonnaded courtyard.  Heating system consisted of clay pipes beneath the floors & behind the walls which carried hot air throughout the house. 

The building at the back (refer picture below) is where the excavation works of the terrace houses on the slope are currently underway. It started in 1960 & as to date; two houses have been restored. To visit the houses, I paid an extra TL 20. But I only entered after I finished touring the Ancient City. Hence stories about the two houses will be in the next entry. Insha Allah.

# What was left of the terrace house. The mosaic tiles on the paved sidewalk in front of the lower level of the terrace house remain intact; albeit slightly stained. A prove the owners must have the city elites. 

# The Curates Street

I continued walking along Curates Street. Reached the Fountain of Trojan before arriving at the Hercules Gate. And I immediately thought of the Trojan back in Malaysia. Sabun basuh baju! Ngeks! Anyhow, the fountain is one of the finest monuments here. It was constructed to honor the Emperor of Trajan. 

# Statue of Trajan (now what was left is just ruins of the statue) stood in the central niche of the facade looking over the pool. 

Right after the fountain is the Hercules Gate. It marks the end of Curates Street. The gate was actually brought from another place in the 4th Century. Today, only two side of the columns remain while the other parts haven't been found yet. Heracles Gate narrowed the access to the street in order to prevent vehicles from entering. Curates Street was meant for pedestrian only. 

# Called so because of the Hercules reliefs on it.

# As I arrived at the end of Curates Street, I turned back. 

Can't help but to do my favorite thing. "Imagining what life would have been in the past along this street". It must have been one super busy street. Everyone was wearing white cloths. The ladies wearing the lofty, deeply drilled with curls & braids hairstyle. Fuh, really lah Bie. Imagine komuniti yang lavish jak!

Gotta stop here. This is already too long an entry after being dormant for nearly a month. Gitu ayat poyo. As I said, I've been busy. Perasan sibuk; so to say. Will continue sharing my Turkiye's trip in the next entry. Aigoo didn't know I would scribble the Ephesus stories in more than 2 parts. 

Till we meet again. Have a nice day peeps! 

eryantierdabdulkarim