The Serengeti

Serengeti National Park, Tanzania - In my mind the Serengeti is synonymous with safari. It is an iconic landscape of Africa, that Garden of Eden for herds of zebras, giraffes, wildebeests, elephants, and the big cats like lions and leopards. Needless to say, I had high high expectations for our visit to the Serengeti.

After driving on the rough African dirt roads for the better part of a day, we finally reached Serengeti National Park. We were greeted by the usual national park archway standing alone in a vast treeless grassland and marking nothing but the artificial boundary imposed by mankind. From this point the Serengeti did not appear very special, simply a dry grassy plain where a few animals were grazing and where few trees could grow due to an underlying layer of impenetrable soil called hard pan. It was not the arrival I had expected.

As we continued deeper into the park towards our campsite, the sun got lower in the sky and we began passing by the kopjes, islands of rock and trees within the grassy plains. This is when the magic started to happen. The landscape began to glow, the dull brown of the grass turned to golds and oranges and mixed with the rich greens of the trees and scattered throughout the landscape were the silhouettes of giraffes. We soon forgot about the dust and once again we were standing up in our safari truck trying to take in as much of this beautiful landscape. Even coming across a pride of sleeping lions was secondary to the landscape around us. This was the Serengeti as we had imagined and it was to be our home for the next 2 days.

Our campsite was inside the park. Civilization was hundreds of kilometres away. Here there were no lights to obscure the stars, no noise to drown out the sounds of animals, and no fences or guards to separate us from the African wilderness. Animals were free to roam in and out of the campsite. Although we didn't hear or see any lions at the campsite we heard hyenas. We knew we were in the wilderness and all we had to do was let our senses take it in for us as day turned to night.

The next morning we rose before dawn and took in the sunrise over the Serengeti and spent some time looking for lions, leopards, and cheetahs. We did manage to see a lone lioness and the usual array of giraffes, impalas, buffaloes, and other grazing animals but more incredible was being alone in this landscape. At this time of the day there were few other safari groups about and our guide led us to our on small corner of the Serengeti where we watched the sunrise.

After breakfast things got busier, more groups were about and where we saw a leopard lounging in a tree, we joined more than 20 other safari vehicles and more were coming. We felt a little silly to be a part of this circle of trucks with dozens of people taking pictures. Even among this circle of trucks, life went on in the Serengeti. Here we saw our first hyena as he trotted up to the leopard's tree and tried to steal her kill that was hanging from a low branch. Quickly the leopard woke up, retrieved her meat, and headed higher into the tree and hid. Just like that our leopard experience was over but we were treated to interaction between 2 predators of the African plains. Satisfied with our morning it was back to camp for lunch and some rest.

Later in the day it was off to the hippo pool. This one was much larger and much more accessible than the one we saw at Lake Manyara. Here hippos spend their days resting together in river pools for protection from the heat of the sun and stop from being sun burnt At night they go their separate ways as they wander across the landscape grazing. We arrived at the pool two hours before sunset as the hippos were starting to wake up. The hippos were like a bunch of grumpy old men snorting and pushing each other. Even the crocodiles knew it was best to keep their distance from this unruly mob. Susan found the hippos big yawns amusing and tried to get pictures of hippos with their mouths wide open. Of course the boys giggled as they saw hippos vigorously flap their tails and poop, splattering it on their neighbours. For us on shore it was a comical spectacle and we must have spent over an hour watching the antics of these large animals and learning not to swim with hippos.

Our last day in the Serengeti was our biggest. Heading to the less traveled southern end of the park we decided to forgo the frantic search to see the big cats but instead to see the wildebeest and zebra migration. Over 3 million wildebeests and 1 million zebras are estimated to take part in this annual migration and for over 40 kilometres we drove through it. I don't think we saw all 4 million animals but we saw 10's of thousands of them. Along the way we saw a couple of prides of lions, new born wildebeest calves, vultures picking over the carcass of a dead zebra, and the bleached bones of preyed animals before coming face to face with a group of 4 cheetahs. This is the circle of life of the Serengeti that sustains this place and all that we saw.

The Serengeti did not disappoint or as the boys kept saying, “It was awesome!” The wildlife, the landscape, the stillness of the African morning, the calls of animals at night, and the freedom of driving across this African plain amongst 10's of thousands of animals made it one of the most incredible experiences of our adventure. Here our safari became much more than just seeing the animals but about the place and everything within it.


For more pictures of our Serengeti experience check out our web album.

Manyara, Mto wa Mbu, and Maasai – Enroute to the Serengeti

Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania – Day 3 and 4 of our safari took us across the East Africa Rift Valley and into the highlands around Nogorongoro Crater on our way to the Serengeti. Along the way we would make a stop in Lake Manyara National Park but mostly these two days would involve traveling and taking in some of the African culture. Here we would visit the rural community of Mto wa Mbu (River of Mosquitoes), tour a Maasai village, and see Olduvai Gorge where some of the earliest human fossils have been discovered.

Aaron's artwork

Our visit to Mto wa Mbu was our look into a rural Tanzanian community. It was led by a guide working for the local development organization. He took us through a maze of paths and small dirt streets and in many places I felt like we were intruding into someones backyard or barging into their kitchen as people would be cooking outside over a small fire. Along the way our guide showed us, banana plantations, rice paddys, community irrigation systems, a school, a banana beer operation, and open air art studios. It was here that Aaron was given a first hand introduction to one of the local styles of Tanzanian painting but he needs a little more practice before he can begin an apprenticeship.

Streets of Mto wa Mbu

After our tour, I understood that industry in these towns is of the small cottage type; craftspeople making souvenirs for tourists and small scale farmers providing food for the local market. Here it seemed your livelihood was based on small businesses and the individuals entrepreneurial skills. There was no big employer and the only signs of multinational companies are the selling of cell phones and of course Coca-Cola and Pepsi. As our guide presented it to us, this is a place where people worked hard and were trying to help themselves and their community to a better life.

Niall and Aaron at the orphanage

I found this most evident at our last stop, the local orphanage. Here upto 24 children would be cared for and educated as best the community could provide. For the most part the children seemed happy and well cared for but at 2 children to a bed and seeing the store room with more donated pencils than food it made me wonder how difficult a task it is. As we headed off to Lake Manyara National Park, I felt a little guilty knowing how fortunate Aaron and Niall were compared to these children and I think the boys had some of the same feelings.



Dry lake bed of Lake Manyara



Lake Manyara National Park is located at the base of the escarpment of the East Africa Rift. Here streams flowing down off the highlands provides the area with a consistent supply of water throughout the year. As a result a lot of the park is heavily forested providing good habitat for baboons, monkeys, and birds. But its real claim to fame is a large shallow salt lake that attracts millions of flamingos. Unfortunately, in January the lake has receded several kilometres and from that distance all we could see of the flamingos was a line of pink near the horizon. The dry lake bed in front of us had become a grassy plain and here we saw our first herds of zebras, buffaloes, and wildebeests and of course we saw our now familiar giraffes and elephants. Our guide, Emmilian assured us that this was only a small taste of the large herds of animals we would see on the plains of the Serengeti To finish off our visit to Lake Manyara we saw our first hippos and took some more time to watch the antics of the parks many baboons.



Maasai Village



The next morning we left the Lake Manyara area and the rift valley behind and headed for the Serengeti . We drove up and over the 600 metre escarpment of the valley and headed across a plateau before climbing another 1200 metres in elevation to the lip of Ngorongoro Crater. From there it was a long steady 1000 metre descent over rough dirt roads to the plains of the Serengeti. Along the way we passed through the lands of the Maasai tribe. Here it was a common site to see small Maasai boys dressed in their bright blue or red cloaks herding herds of animals. The Maasai people continue to follow their traditional lifestyle of herding and living in small family villages of mud and stick houses. It was one of these villages where we had another one of our cultural tours.



Maasai welcome dance

Judging by the number of safari vehicles parked outside these villages, it seems to be a rite of passage for safari travelers to visit a Maasai village and we were no different. After making a “donation” we were greeted with their traditional welcome dance and led into the village. Our guide was David, the chief's son but given that the chief has many wives he was probably one of many sons. He showed us around the village and brought us into his home, a small house about 3 metres in diameter and at less than 1.5 metres high we all had to stoop down inside. Within this house a whole family would sleep and cook. By our standards the Maasai were poor and living a spartan existence but they are proud of their culture and seem to enjoy their lifestyle. Not a lifestyle for me but who am I to judge their way of life, especially since there culture has been around much longer than ours back home in Canada.




Olduvai Gorge - Where we all began!

 The last stop of our African cultural journey was Olduvai Gorge, perhaps the site where human culture began. This is where the Leakey's, a renowned family of archaeologists found some of the oldest remains of humans. Here they discovered evidence of our early ancestors walking upright and using tools to hunt on the African plains. Perhaps hunting and following the same animals we are hoping to see a few kilometres away in the Serengeti.

For more of our pictures of from this part of our journey, check out our latest web album.

First Days on Safari

Tarangire National Park, Tanzania - After an overnight in Arusha, our guide Emmilian returned the following morning to pick us up from our hotel. This time the Toyota Landcruiser was packed with all the gear for our safari which also included our cook Octavian. After a quick stop to pick up a weeks supply of drinks (28 litres of water, some juice, and a 6 pack of beer for Dad) it was off to see the wildlife of Tanzania. Along the way we got to know our guide a little better as he answered some of our questions about what we had been seeing as we drove along the highways of Kenya and Tanzania.

Our first stop on our safari was Tarangire National Park. Although, not one of the more famous of Tanzania's national parks it was only a few hours away from Arusha and with 10,000 elephants it was an ideal place to begin. After dropping off our cook at the campsite to set up camp and prepare supper, we headed into the park for our first game drive and lunch over looking the Tarangire River. By the time we had stopped for lunch we had seen our first elephants, giraffes, and even a couple of lions. And at the picnic area there was a troop of monkeys who gladly shared your lunch if you were not careful.

We spent most of the rest of the afternoon driving along the river observing elephants, lots and lots of elephants. We saw family groups with baby elephants and some very large solitary bull elephants. As we learned from our guide, the elephants will make a daily trip down to the river to drink and cool themselves off. The rest of their time seem to be devoted to eating, this probably has something to do to the fact that they eat 100kg of grass and leaves every day.

It was a great first day on safari. We were able to get very close to some large family groups of elephants. Along the way we also saw zebras, ostriches, more giraffes, a couple of lions, impalas, lots of birds, and a cheetah. We had also discovered that our guide was very knowledgeable about the animals and their behaviour as well as their habitats. Finally, Niall had someone else to ask questions and started to give Dad a break. It was a great first day.

After a good supper we prepared for our first night camping in Africa. Just before we turned in, we met the campground's night watchmen. He was armed with a bow an arrow which he proudly showed us and assured us there was no poison on the points. We went to sleep in our tents as he paced back and forth across the campground making his rounds. I didn't ask him if the bow and arrow was use to fight off robbers or wildlife, I am not sure which would have been the better answer. It didn't seem to matter as I slept well anyway.

The next morning we headed out early and traveled more slowly and through a less traveled part of the park. This morning we were to discover how much and how diverse the wildlife existed in Tarangire National Park. Our first sighting was a leopard tortoise, one of the small five. Shortly after that it was a large herd of giraffes gracefully striding among the Acacia trees. Then it was a colony of baboons coming down from the trees where they spent the night hiding from predators. They were comical to watch as some wrestled each other and others dropped baobab fruit onto the ones on the ground. Ostriches were next, feeding and taking dust baths in the middle of the road. It was after this that I realized since our sighting of the tortoise we had only traveled a few hundred metres. And amongst these animals were families of warthogs, wandering elephants, impalas, birds, and the list goes on. I was just in awe seeing so much and so many kinds of wildlife in one place. It was incredible.

The rest of the day was spent along the river again, looking for more wildlife and seeing more elephants. As these elephants walk just metres away from you, it is truly amazing to see just how big and powerful these animals are as they pull up grass and tear off tree branches with their trunks and push themselves through the bush. Then you see their gentle side as they communicate with each other with these gentle grunts from their stomachs or watch them gently caress and care for the baby elephants. There is a lot to be said for understanding an animal by observing it in its home. So far the safari had been giving us that opportunity.

Our time in Tarangire was coming to and end but our guide had planned one more stop. He had some contacts at a near by safari lodge and it had a pool and a great view. As a treat for the boys we would head there to cool off while Susan and I could enjoy the view. There was just something wonderful about sitting on a patio of a safari lodge looking across the African landscape and watching 50 elephants go about their lives. I couldn't decide if I was part of this place or just a lucky observer. I did know it had been a great two days of safari and we had 5 more to go. I really began to think how lucky we are to see this and what we owed the Tanzanian people who had found a way to preserve this wildlife. This was going to be a special experience for Aaron and Niall, two boys from Newfoundland who had never been to a zoo were for their first time seeing elephants and other African animals living and thriving in the wild. Yes, we had made the right decision to go to Africa.

See more of our pictures of Tarangire National Park on our web album.

Africa - Impressions Through a Bus Window

En route to Africa

Nairobi, January 20 - After almost two days of being in airports and planes we landed in Nairobi, Kenya. This would be our first stop of our African trip that would take us to Tanzania for a 7 day safari. As neophyte international travelers, our trip to Africa was the one we faced with the most trepidation. In terms of culture, climate, and infrastructure, we really had no idea what to expect. In spite of this, Africa also was also our most eagerly awaited part of our journey as we were scheduled to visit some of Tanzania's most famous wildlife parks including the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater!
After clearing immigration and collecting our luggage we were transferred to our hotel where we arrived in late afternoon. This would be a short visit to Nairobi as we would leave by 7:30 the next morning to take a bus to Arusha, Tanzania where our safari would begin. This left us only time to rest the kids and grab a meal at the hotel. Our experiences of Nairobi and Kenya would be captured through the bus window as we headed south to Tanzania.

Bus to Arusha

The next morning, with our luggage securely strapped to the top of the bus we began what would be an 8 hour journey to Arusha. From our vantage point, Nairobi at first seemed to be a city of western style buildings, stores with familiar brands, and streets lined with billboards. On the other hand the streets were clogged with numerous small buses crowded with colourfully clad passengers and judging by the goods crammed in and ontop of the busses, they were all heading to the city's markets. Many of the busses were overloaded with bags of rice, great bunches of bananas skicking out of windows, and my favourite the 50 or so dead chickens tied to the roofrack and draped over the side of the bus. Yes, Africa was different.




Village through the bus window

 As we proceeded outside the city we encountered Africa's roads which seemed to be more about detours and dust. Along the way we passed through villages and towns alive with markets and trades people doing their work of repairing vehicles and making furniture in open air shops. Further along the landscape became less populated. Towns gave way to the occassional group of thatched huts within a dry and sparsely treed landscape. Here we hoped we might get our first glimpse of African wildlife but instead we were only rewarded with termite mounds and herds of cattle and goats watched over by young boys in traditional dress. Our encounters with African wildlife would have to wait until the next day when our safari would begin.

Open air market

Arriving at the Tanzanian border we encountered numerous safaris vehicles. We began to understand how big the safari business was in Kenya and Tanzania. For us, our safari vehicle awaited us 2 hours away in Arusha. After purchasing our visas, we continued with the last leg of our bus ride. This took us by a dormant volcano and close enough to Mount Kilmanjaro to see its snowfields. An amazing site when you think that we were almost at the equator. Overall, it was an interesting ride and gave us a small taste of Africa, but perhaps our best site of the day was arriving in Arusha and seeing Emmilian, our safari guide. After quick introductions it was off to our hotel to remove a thick coat of African dust. Tomorrow our safari would begin.

Athens - a City of Ruins

Athens Friday, January 14, 2011 - Our visit to Athens was in part planned out of the interests of Aaron and Niall, who have become very interested in Greek mythology and history. With this in mind, the focus of our visit to Athens would be visiting the Acropolis and other Greek ruins along with the archaeological museums.

Some of the many ruins

From Rhodos it was a short flight to Athens and a cheap bus ride into the city centre where our hotel was located. After arriving at the main square we found our hotel and discovered it had a view of the Acropolis!  We spent the afternoon getting acquainted with our new surroundings. We soon discovered that the centre of Athens was filled with Greek and Roman ruins. Over the next several days we would visit many of these sites.

The Parthenon

Saturday was our first day of serious touring and of course our first destination was the Acropolis. The high hill that has dominated the skyline of Athens for 1000's of years. This is the home of the Parthenon the Temple of Athena as well as 2 ancient theatres and the remains of ancient fortifications. This is also where we learned just how much Niall knew about the ancient Greeks. Throughout our visit to Athens, Niall was our expert on Greek mythology and filled us in about all the details of Greek gods and heroes.   

Enjoying a Sidewalk Cafe

During our visit to the Acropolis we were rewarded with a beautiful clear and warm day of 20 plus degrees. This gave us some fantastic views of the city and the surrounding hills. As one Greek later told us, the weather was the only thing that made it worth living in Greece. And on a warm sunny Saturday afternoon in January, it seems as if every Greek were enjoying it at the many sidewalk cafes. It only seemed fitting to join them for a platter of grilled meat, cheese, and vegetables.

Changing of the Guard

Sunday was spent visiting the Archaeological Museum and the New Museum of the Acropolis. Along the way we witnessed perhaps our most memorable Greek experience, the changing of the guard in front of the Greek Parliament and the Monument of the Unknown Soldier. Not surprisingly the monument was a sculpture of an ancient Greek soldier with sword and shield. However, the modern guards were dressed in less familiar attire of white tights, a white kilt like dress, and shoes with large pompoms. This attire was further highlighted by a slow and high stepping marching. It made for an interesting spectacle and made me think how some people must view our changing of the guard in Ottawa with soldiers wearing tall fur hats.

Statue of Zeus

As for the museums, both have some fantastic collections of Greek sculpture and artifacts. The Archaeological Museum focused on the rise of the Greek civilization and its origins on the Greek islands. The Museum of the Acropolis presented the history of the Acropolis and its importance to Athens. Of particular interest was its presentations of the Parthenon and its importance as a temple of ancient Greek religion. And like the many the cathedrals and mosques we saw elsewhere, the Parthenon was also decorated with carvings, sculptures, and paintings depicting the beliefs of ancient Greeks and the gods that they worshiped. Of course when the Parthenon was later converted into a church and then into a Mosque many of these artworks were discarded or destroyed. Today the museum has recovered a number of these sculptures and presents them in the museum. The archaeological work continues and the museum itself is built above an archaeological site that is still being excavated today.

Shopping District in Athens

On Monday we took a break from visiting the ancient sites. Our time in Europe was coming to an end and we needed to prepare for our African safari and trip to Egypt. After 2 and a half months of cool wet weather in Europe we were lacking clothing for these warmer climates. So much to the disappointment of the boys, we set aside a day for shopping. Unfortunately, January is not the time to shop for summer clothing in Athens, instead it is the time for winter clearance sales. For Susan and I this created a great deal of frustration. For me it took longer than expected to find what we needed and Susan found it hard not to take advantage of the opportunity to get a new winter wardrobe. In the end we got what we needed for Africa and Susan did manage to get a fashionable pair of high leather boots (aka "bitch boots").

Aaron Souvenir Hunting

Equipped for Africa, our last full day in Athens was spent stress free visiting some ruins and sites we had missed on our previous days. These included the white marble Olympic Stadium of the first modern Olympics that had been built on the site of an ancient Greek stadium and in the same ancient style. We saw the impressive columns that still remain of the Temple of Zeus and later we saw the almost completely intact but much smaller Temple of Hyphaestus. With only a few hours left of our visit, it was time to let the boys pick up a few souvenirs of their time in Athens.

It was a good visit Athens but unfortunately we did not have the time to visit other places in Greece. Our visit to Greece would have to be limited to the island of Rhodos and the city of Athens. Perhaps we will return again and take in more of the country and Susan will be able to pick up her winter wardrobe. For us, tomorrow would be the start of a 2 day journey to Africa. Through the wonders of discount airline tickets we would fly Athens - London - Dubai - Nairobi and then take a bus to Tanzania.

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Escape to a Greek Island

Turkish Coast

January 7, 2011 - We awoke to a clear crisp morning in Marmaris and took a short taxi ride to the ferry terminal. From here we would make our return to Europe and hopefully enjoy the peacefulness and pleasant weather of the Greek Island of Rhodos in the off-season. After 2 months of traveling through Europe and Turkey we needed to recharge our batteries before heading to Africa for our safari and visit to Egypt. Our research suggested that January was a good time to visit Rhodos, the weather was comfortable, few tourists were around, good off-season rates were available, but the city of Rhodos was big enough so not everything would be shut down.

Site of Colossus of Rhodes

The ferry ride to Rhodos was not unlike one I remember taking from Burgeo to Ramea in our home province of Newfoundland. Like the ferry to Ramea, this one was small and rocked easily even in a small swell. Upon leaving the harbour we were leaving behind the rugged Turkish coastline that was forested and sparsely settled. And as at home in Newfoundland, the trees on the exposed cliffs had the familiar windswept look we call tuckamore. Ahead of us lay our destination, the large and mountainous island of Rhodos which would takes us 2 hours to reach.

Castle of Rhodos

As we entered the harbour of Rhodes we passed by what is believed to be the site of the Colossus of Rhodes (one of the 7 Ancient Wonders of the World) before docking in front of the walls of the large Crusader castle of the Knights of St. John. No matter where we went in this part of the world we encountered the remains of ancient and famous civilizations. These and other sites would become the boys playground and the focus of their explorations for the next week.

City of Rhodos

Our hotel was located in the old section of the city of Rhodos. It was a short walk to restaurants, shops, beaches, the waterfront, and of course the castle. We spent our first few days catching up on school work, eating at sidewalk cafes, walking along the beach, geocaching, exploring the castle, and just enjoying the weather—sunny and 20 degrees. In our explorations, we found more Greek ruins for the boys to explore, an ancient stadium and the Temple of Apollo. Susan found herself a nice path and enjoyed a few morning jogs. Our hotel room had a small kitchen and I cooked a few meals, including the Kraft Dinner that Santa Claus had brought the boys. Rhodos was living up to our expectations.

Aaron testing the waters

After a few days of taking it easy in the city, it was time to explore more of the island. Twenty-five Euros in cash rented us a car for the day and we headed towards the historic town of Lindos on the east side of the island. Along the way we stopped off at a sheltered beach. We all tested the water and Aaron even went for a swim! As we continued down the coast towards Lindos, we put behind us the numerous resorts and typical touristy shops and restaurants, that were all closed for the season. We now were passing through a rugged and sparsely vegetated landscape with the occasional herd of goats.

Town of Lindos

Our first view of Lindos came from a top a high hill. The town is a tight maze of white buildings nestled at the foot of a steep hill between 2 small harbours. The streets are narrow and steep, too small for cars so it was pedestrians and motorcycles only. Today the town is made up of mostly small inns catering to summer tourists but its history goes back to the ancient Greeks. As Niall informed me, even Heracles (Hercules) is reputed to have visited Lindos after completing one of his 12 labours. On our return we headed west across the island, crossing the islands mountainous terrain and passing from the dry sparsely vegetated landscape to to pine forests of the island's western side. It was a pleasant day of exploring the country side. With a bit more time it would have been nice to do some hiking.

Enjoying Rhodos

On our last day, Susan enjoyed some shopping while the boys and I visited a small aquarium displaying some of the local marine life. We truly enjoyed our week on the island of Rhodos. Here we had the opportunity to combine relaxation with some explorations of the area's history and architecture. I can easily understand why people would like to retreat here in the winter but given the number of resorts on island, the summer is probably a lot different. That would be something we would not be experiencing, for us it was off to Athens for the next leg of our journey.

For more of our photos of Rhodos, check out our Web Album.

Exploring Ruins and Enjoying Turkish Hospitality - Selcuk to Marmaris

Selcuk

After 4 days in Istanbul it was off south to the smaller city of Selcuk. This would be our base for a few days as we visited the Greek and Roman ruins at Ephesus and Pamukkale. Again we opted for a convenient location close to the centre of town, a hotel called Jimmy's Place. Shortly after arriving we acquainted ourselves with our new surroundings or in other words we were hungry and began looking for a restaurant.

The low down on Turkish Carpets

As in Istanbul the restaurant owners of Selcuk were there to greet you and try and get you into there establishments but to our relief they were not as pushy as in Istanbul. With so few tourists at this time of the year it didn't seem long for the businesses to acquaint themselves with the Canadian family wandering their streets. Over the next few days we took some time to visit a few shops and restaurants where we were warmly welcomed with tea, enthusiasm to show and educate us about Turkish textiles and carpets, and discover how they made made Turkish pizza called pide. It became apparent, even in Turkey, people in smaller cities are more laid back and were glad to spend some time getting to know their visitors. It was here in Selcuk that we really began to appreciate and enjoy the Turkish hospitality.

Making pide

After our lunch, we wandered around and visited our first of several ruins. In this case it was the St. John's Basilica, as in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John the Gospel writers. It was here on top of a hill overlooking the present day city of Selcuk that John is believed to have written his gospel. Today, from this hill you can see evidence of several of the worlds major civilizations. Apart from the Basilica from the early Christian era, there were the remains of the Greek Temple of Artemis, an early Muslim mosque, an Ottoman castle, and the present day Turkish town of Selcuk. It is a real crossroads of history.

Theatre at Ephesus

For the next day we had arranged a tour of the ruins of Ephesus a former Greek and later Roman city and also made famous by St. Paul with his letters to the Ephesians.  Ephesus is one of the best preserved Roman cities complete with examples of an agora (marketplace), bathing and toilets facilities, paved streets, temples, a 25,000 seat theatre, and a library complete with a secret passage to the brothel. (These Romans thought of everything.) The city was destroyed by an earthquake and abandoned. Due to other geological factors the site of the city was no longer near the sea and so it was never built over and thus the ruins were preserved.

Warming the seat!!

Unfortunately for our visit the weather did not cooperate and it poured rain for most day but it was still an amazing visit. For the most part, the site is open and you are free to explore the ruins and not just view from behind fences. This made it a rare opportunity to get a sense of what a Roman city was like and of course Aaron and Niall took full advantage to climb and wander through as much of the site as possible. For the boys, the highlights were the theatre which they enjoyed climbing to the top and the marble toilets where they learned in winter time slaves were brought along to sit on the seat first to warm them up for their masters. (Again these Romans think of everything.) Later we visited the archaeology museum in Selcuk which had some great examples of Roman sculptures, even better than we saw in the British Museum. It was a great day for us and we met a mix of fellow travelers, Australians, Malaysians, Pakistani, and Japanese.

Ephesus

After our wet day in Ephesus, we returned to our hotel and the warmth of the fireplace in the lobby. Here the boys dug into some extensive reference binders of Roman and Greek history put together by hotel staff. Later we enjoyed a few games of backgammon and met some more Australian travelers. The warmth of the fire and hotel staff turned the lobby into a great gathering place where travelers and staff mingled and exchanged traveling advice and stories of home.

In Cleopatra's Pool

The next ruins on our list was that of a Greek city near present day Pamukkale but perhaps more famous for its hot springs and travertine deposits. This site was a 3 hour bus ride inland from Selcuk and for us would be the next leg of our Turkish explorations. Again this was another ancient city destroyed by an earthquake and as in Ephesus there was a well preserved 25,000 seat theatre with some amazing acoustics. With Aaron exploring on the far side of the theatre, Niall discovered he could call to him just by using his normal voice! This time the highlight for the boys was their swim in Cleopatra's Pools, fed by natural hotsprings. With an air temperature of about 9 degrees, they enjoyed swimming in the 37 degree water. Later we all enjoyed the warm waters on our toes as we descended bare foot over the travertine deposits to the our hotel for the night. As a geologist, this was a highlight for me. The hot spring water is rich in dissolved calcium and as the water seeps over the ground the calcium is deposited as a type of limestone. Back home in Newfoundland we have some very small (a few square metres) examples of this phenomenon, here at Pamukkale it stretches for many 100's of metres and is spectacular.

Travertine Deposits

From Pamukkale, we headed further south to the port city of Marmaris where we would catch a ferry to the Greek Island of Rhodes and hopefully some warmer weather. We were all tiring of the cold wet weather we had been experiencing for most of the last 2 months as we traveled  through Europe and parts of Turkey. So first thing the next morning it was off on a 5 hour bus ride along twisty narrow roads through some pretty mountainous country. At one point we were over a 1000m high and there were snow capped mountains not far off. By the time we arrived in Marmaris we were hungry and thirsty but rewarded with T-shirt weather and dropped off conveniently near a McDonalds. Familiar food is important at times when you are traveling with children.

Enjoying Turkey

With a few hours left of our Turkish explorations and with a little extra Turkish lira in our pockets Susan bought herself another scarf and I indulged myself with a Turkish hair removal process also known as a shave and a haircut. This as I would discover involves more than just scissors, clippers, and a razor but some ingenious use of dental floss and flaming Q-tips to remove hair from ears and cheeks normally ignored by barbers back home. Like my hair cut, we found Turkey to be a mix of the familiar and not so familiar but combined together made for a great experience. We all really enjoyed our visit to Turkey but realize there is a lot more we would have liked to have seen.




For more pictures of Selcuk check out our web album.


For more pictures of Pamakkule check out our web album.