Turkey on the cheap — in Selçuk

I traveled solo in Turkey for 26 days in May ’09 for a total of $950.57! This did not include airfare but did include all transportation, lodging, meals, entry to historic sites, a few souvenirs and renting several mopeds. I told about my stay in Bodrum (Oct. ’09, pg. 14); in this write-up I describe my economical touring in the town of Selçuk in the north.

The bus ride from Bodrum to Selcuk took a bit over three hours (TL20, or about $12.50). The bus company was KamilKoc (www.kamilkoc.com.tr [in Turkish]), with big, comfortable, air-conditioned buses.

I got a room for four nights at the Wallabies Hotel (Ataturk mah. Cengiz Topel Cd. No2; phone 00 90 232 892 32 04, www.wallabieshostel.com). The manager was real nice and agreed to TL25 per night, including breakfast. Though painted a hideous green, my room was nice-sized, with facilities en suite and free WiFi, and right outside my window were nesting storks! Wallabies offers a free ride out to the ancient city of Ephesus every morning.

I walked up to the HUGE castle (originally built in the sixth century) above town, but it was closed for repairs. A good photo op, though!

Then I stumbled onto the Basilica of St. John, which was well worth the TL5 entry fee. The site is huge, with tons of ruins, columns and carvings. I spent 1½ hours there. The basilica was constructed by Emperor Justinian in the sixth century. It stands over what is believed to be the burial site of St. John, the apostle, evangelist (author of the Fourth Gospel) and prophet (author of Revelation).

Next I walked down the hill and checked out the ancient Isa Bey Mosque (free), still in use today. It was completed in 1375.

I hiked back up the hill and around the back of the castle and found a fenced-off, 2,000-year-old Roman bath. There was not much left to the building, but the inside looked really cool. This was not in any of the guidebooks.

The next day I walked down to the Ephesus Museum (TL5). It is a pretty good museum, though small. Lots of marble heads and incomplete statues. There were a couple of really cool things, though, including the bronze cupid (Eros) riding a dolphin and the image of Priapus (god of fertility and the harvest), who was quite well endowed.

Next was the (free) open-air site of the Temple of Artemis. There was not much there except one huge column that looked like it was put together with the wrong pieces, but the walk to get there was easy and very pretty.

I ended up walking three kilometers all the way to the site of the world-famous, ancient city of Ephesus. Ephesus (TL15) is huge and impressive. There is a huge Roman theater that seats 28,000 people. It also has the world-famous Library of Celsus with its stunning facade.

There are dozens of marble columns and several hundred pedestals that at one time held marble statues. I spent 2½ hours going through all the cool ancient temples, baths, villas and much, much more, including the ancient church dedicated to the Virgin Mary that is part of the site. The photo ops are endless. Ephesus has the most spectacular ruins I visited in Turkey!

Two days after that I headed over to the bus station and took a minibus to the town of Kus¸adası (TL4), then another minibus to Soke (TL4), then a third minibus to Güllübahçe (TL2.50). I was heading to the ruins of the ancient Ionian city called Priene, built around 300 BC.

Priene is a big site (TL3), with a 6,500-seat theater and a HUGE Temple of Athena. The whole site is set below the sheer and steep mountainside of Mt. Mykale and overlooks the plain of the Büyük Menderes River. I spent 1½ hours roaming around the ruins.

The Temple of Athena was dedicated in 334 BC! It has five huge columns out of the 33 original standing about 40 feet tall. There are over 100 HUGE pieces of fallen, fluted columns all around the temple.

At the end of the day I had to reverse all of the bus trips. Whew! But it was a great way to see some of the countryside and a great way to meet local people.

DOUGLAS PRAKSTI

Turtle Creek, PA