Flying carpet tours in Turkey

Magic carpet ride tours, Turkey

A splendid day unfurled for us in Kusadasi, Turkey, just like the rugs we saw.  Turkey, not named for the bird after all.   Turkey, an Islamic country that seperates religion from government and culture from religion, so you have Islamic folks, drinking alchohol, working through prayers, and building mosques.  Who knew?  And they really do get along with the Greeks.

We first visited the site of Ephesus, a truly remarkable city of ruins with plenty left standing.  In the picture you can see the Library, and just across the street was a brothel.  What do they have in common?  A tunnel that connects the two.  Only men were allowed in the library, and so a visit to the library was not just for reading, and in fact we have no proof there was ever any books there.

We also visited Miletos, a huge trade center with a large theatre.  After an increadible 15 minutes there, we went on to visit the Temple of Apollo.  This temple is mammoth, the marble columns were at least 10 feet across and about 50-60 feet high. 

Our last stop was at a Turkish Carpet shop, and they were quite the showmen!  Carpet after carpet was unrolled at our feet, as layer upon colourful layer was presented for us.  Beautiful, handcrafted works of art, some taking 4-7 years to create, in wool, cotton and silk.  An amazing day of history, countryside and culture.