Beyond Ephesus: Side Trips from Selcuk
Our first night at our guesthouse right outside of Selcuk, we met Mark, an American defense contractor who had been staying there for almost a month. We were flabbergasted. A month? Don’t people stay here just long enough to see the ruins at Ephesus and vamoose? Well, maybe Mark was onto something. We stayed for almost a week and found plenty of interesting places to visit, all possible as day trips from Selcuk.
Pamukkale
A saint above, hell below, and sunburned tourists in between. This is the most bizarre place we visited in Turkey. The ancient ruins of Hierapolis crown blindingly white travertine pools filled with warm thermal water. Traipsing through the pools, striking swimsuit model poses, and sunning themselves like lizards are an odd mix of local Muslims covered from head to toe, Asian tourists with at least three cameras slung around their necks, and Russians wearing not much at all. St. Philip was martyred here, and his crypt is on the hill above Hierapolis. And the ancient Greeks believed the crack near the pools that emits poisonous gases was the entrance to Hades.
Tire
A slice of rural Turkey. Tire (pronounced Tee-ray) is a small provincial town that hosts one of the largest village markets in all Turkey on Tuesdays. Of course we went. Of course we ate copious amounts of cheese, fruit, and grilled meat.
Izmir
We only passed through here, but Izmir is a good looking coastal city only an hour away from Selcuk. How bad can it be if the New York Times did one of its “36 Hours” articles here? And remember Mark, who we mentioned above? He lived here for almost a year and said it’s one of his favorite places.
Pamucak beach
There are dolmuses (shared minibuses) heading to this beach all the time from Selcuk. We heard varying reports on the cleanliness of the beach, but it may be worth a day if you’re not heading onward to the Med. Since we were, we skipped it.
Not recommended: Sirince
“Sirince” means pretty or pleasantness, but we think it ought to stand for “terrible wine and too many tourists.” This little mountain village is a quick bus ride from Selcuk, and it produces wine, so we wanted to check it out. The wine is near undrinkable. What I’m sure used to be a pretty little village has been Disney-fied for the tour bus masses. The saving grace is the sweet man I met at the museum near the Artemis restaurant. He makes felt mats, slippers, and other objects by hand, using the traditional methods handed down from his father and grandfather. His products are beautiful, and he’s happy to discuss how he uses all-natural dyes (red onion for purple, saffron for yellow) and natural hair from rabbits, goats and camels to make his products. If only I had more room in my pack ….
