Up early this morning to catch a taxi to Yenikapi ferry terminal with a reduced amount of luggage (we have left some gear here as we are returning in 8 days time) and no breakfast :-( Then spent a relaxing couple of hours enjoying the IDO ferry service to Bandirma on the opposite side of the Sea of Marmara. There to greet us was our friendly Viraj auto hire gentleman with a sign bearing our name. Half an hour later after completing the usual paperwork we were on our way, with an almost completely empty fuel tank. After first fueling the car (a diesel Fiat Linea) we hit the road in earnest with some 5 hours driving ahead of us and it being lunchtime already. Fortunately it turns out that Turkish highways are excellent and we sat on 110 to 120 km/h for most of the way. A brief stop for refreshments along the way saw us consume our first bowl of lentil soup which we later came to recognise as being a very popular soup in Turkey. Washed down with Turkish cay (tea) we continued our journey. In what seemed like no time at all we arrived in Selcuk at Hotel Nazar just in time to share cay and biscuits with the owners and their spouses. Hotel Nazar is a delightful little boutique hotel which we selected on the basis of Tripadvisor recommendations and it turns out we were well advised. A swim in the hotel pool, followed by a walk to the nearby ruins of the Basilica of St John, preceded dinner at the hotel which was an excellent meal.cooked and served by our hosts, The Basilica was built in the 6th century by the Emperor Justinian and was supposedly built over the burial site of John the evangelist, author of the 4th gospel and also Revelations. Also managed to see our first and only Van cat in the local bazaar on our walk. The cat is owned by a carpet seller from Van and no doubt attracts many curious customers. Van cats are unique insofar as they have a genetic abnormality that means the breed has different coloured eyes and not always the same as the one pictured here. Google it to see what I mean.
No comments:
Post a Comment