Hello, from a very wet Bergama, Turkey!
First, dinner last night…to be honest, it was the worst meal we’ve had in Turkey. We went to the Akropol, which is about 3 blocks from our hotel; very convenient. Lovely building, as R says, with both a wooden floor as well as a wooden ceiling! High ceilings, nice lighting…but that was about as good as it got. We both ordered beef kofte, which is theoretically ground beef formed into meatballs and then cooked/grilled. Well…they arrived looking like distended hockey pucks, with about the same color and taste; UGH! Even the eggplant starter was suspiciously bland and yucky…Left a lot of food behind, and got back to the hotel about 8:30 p.m. To bed not long after that.
Up this morning, to very grey and overcast skies. R checked the forecast for the closest city, Izmir, and it said rain today and tomorrow…so…out for breakfast a bit before 8; cheese, bread, wonderful strawberries and cherries. Then, about 8:15 or so into the car for the drive to the acropolis…well…we couldn’t find the right road! R insists that the map we got from the hotel is incorrect, and believe it or not, while Emmy had directions to the museum and the Asklepion, no Acropolis!
So…finally followed signs and ended up at the cable car parking lot – which opens at 8:30 and it just happened to be 8:30 at that moment! Parked the car and I think we were the first folks into the funicular this morning! We had the place, literally, to ourselves for over an hour – which was time enough to walk up to the top and have a leisurely look around the acropolis, temples and the theatre. The theatre was REALLY scary! It is built to seat 10,000 people and is built directly into the hillside. I’m telling you, I haven’t experienced vertigo like that since the last time I was up in the balcony of the Dorothy Chandler in Los Angeles!! REALLY felt like pitching over – but unlike the Dorothy Chandler, there were NO guard rails here! Walked down to the mid-level, where we found the location of the original Altar of Zeus (the one which was taken block by block back to Berlin in the late 1800’s). Really not much left at all, except for several courses of stone which must have served as the foundation for the Altar – and I’m sure the only reason that’s left is because the Germans thought they could build a better foundation! Ironically, the man who purchased/excavated and shipped the Altar is actually buried on the Pergamum hill! I’m surprised he didn’t want to be closer to the Altar – like Berlin! We were carrying umbrellas, and did have a few drops of rain hit us, but other than that, no problem!
All that is left in Turkey of the Altar of Zeus -
By this time it was time for a sit-down, so we had drinks at the over-priced café up at the entrance. Back down via the cable car; lovely ride; beautiful countryside – then back in the car and to the hotel. Decided that we would have a rest before going out for lunch – and I ended up sleeping almost two hours – didn’t wake up until 1 p.m. – or I should say, only woke up once or twice because of the lightning and thunder! Boy, once it started to rain, it POURED!
As we were feeling a bit peckish, we walked down the hill and into town once again. Went to the same place we’d had lunch yesterday. It was GREAT! R had stewed chicken with tomatoes and rice, along with grilled zucchini patties. I had their chicken schnitzel with French fries and a plate of green beans with tomatoes and garlic – fabulous! This is obviously a popular place, as the floor was absolutely soaking wet from people coming and going! While we were eating, crash of thunder and lightning and once again the skies opened up – people clustering everywhere for protection. Fortunately, we had our umbrellas! Then back to the hotel for a quiet afternoon – me blogging, R now sleeping – what a great way to spend a day! In fact, R just awakened by crash of thunder – he woke up wanting to know if the Syrians were here! The sky looks to be clearing a bit.
Tomorrow we pack up and head back to Selcuk, where we spent our first three days. It will be nice to see everybody at Hotel Nilya once again. Depending on the weather, we will stop at Sardis on the way – one last sight/site for the road before we leave this wonderful country!
As I have time on my hands, I thought I’d share some of our observations:
1) EVERYBODY SMOKES!!! It’s amazing! Now we can’t recall seeing any women in headscarves smoking, but other than that – it’s unreal! However, there is NO smoking in restaurants, which is great!
2) Women in headscarves very rarely make eye contact with strangers (at least us)!
3) The Turkish people must surely be the warmest and nicest group of people ever. Nothing is too much trouble; always ready to help, especially with directions and recommendations.
4) You CAN travel through Turkey for a month without buying a carpet, although we have been asked on numerous occasions if we’d like to “take a look.”
5) Turkey is a very patriotic country; statues and pictures of Kemel Ataturk are everywhere, even in hotels and restaurants and everyone is very, very proud of their heritage and historic sites.
6) Accommodations are first-rate; this is definitely a first-world country!
7) One really CAN get sick of chicken shishkabob!
8) Every single place we’ve had breakfast has at least part of a real honeycomb! Still don’t know why…
9) Almost every single place we’ve had breakfast has featured TANG; UGH!
10) Driving seems to have no rules; there are guidelines only; interesting…
And on that note, I will close for the day! More tomorrow!
m
xxx
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