Day 19, Izmir, May 22

Breakfast today is so-so. For such a huge hotel, we’d have thought there would have been more ethnic food. Oh well, can’t ask for everything. We have a 3 hour drive this morning.

It’s a pleasant drive on a new road through farmlands and hills. We leave the limestone and travertine pools behind and travel through farmlands. A much appreciated restroom stop and we stretch our legs.

After three hours of driving, we arrive at the House of Mother Mary. This is, supposedly, the last known residence of Mary, who was put in the care of St John the Apostle, a friend of Jesus before he was crucified. Interesting that it is in Ephesus, Turkey.

I am told inside the house that I have to put my camera away so I have no photos inside. Bummer! There is a wishing wall outside and we stop for an interesting apple tea!

After, we go to a leather store and watch a ‘runway’ fashion show (a first for us). We actually buy new leather jackets! Hey, what’s a little money among friends? Then we check out interesting cloud formations and go to lunch and have a ‘just ok’ buffet.

Then we ride for a couple hours and arrive at the other side of Ephesus. You might remember we visited here 10-12 days ago on a tour off the cruise ship. So we visit again! I don’t take very many photos today as I did last time. We are curious about how this tour will compare to the last one, but it seems that tour guides are on the up and up. The information is the same. This lends credibility to the tour guides whom I commonly suspect make up interesting stories to keep the tourists coming.

Back on the bus we drive for over an hour to Izmir. A very large and modern city. We arrive at our hotel in light rain. Oz has arranged our dinner to a very specific meal. We are nervous that we don’t have any choice of food. But true to his word, the meal is delicious. It’s comprised of a Turkish soup and an entree of a sliceable meatball dish. Toss in a Turkish wine and all is good.

We become closer to some of the other guests with us and share contact info.