July22. Mark woke early to book flights from Izmir to Istanbul ($80 each – so much better than a 9 hour bus ride!) Breakfast by the pool (!) and we headed off to the “Cotton Castle”.

I was rather disappointed with the place, truthfully. There are SO many tourists (I shouldn’t be surprised) and the beautiful pools I remember from Mark’s 1991 photos have pretty much dried up or disappeared. I suppose there’s a reason that this place is a popular tourist destination and I’m glad to have seen it, but I certainly would not go back. In fact, you just can’t go back. If it was a bummer for me I can only imagine how Mark must have felt.

The ruins of Hierapolis above the travertines are pretty great. But I’m getting to the point of “another ruin” like it’s “another cathedral” when in Europe. It’s just so hard to wrap my head around how old stuff is here. That said, these ruins, especially the Roman theatre, are very well reconstructed. 

We were done with the Cotton Castle and Hierapolis by 2pm so we returned to our hotel that was holding our bags, ordered a beer and hung out by (and in) the pool until it was time to go. Much better than waiting at a bus station!

This was the first day of our daytime fasting. We both feel that we’re getting a bit pudgy and worst of all, my clothes are getting tight which makes me grumpy. So, like the Muslims during Ramadan, we’re (kind of) fasting during daylight hours, or at least between breakfast and dinner. If they can do it, so can we. We’re not all that strict, and let me tell you, it makes dinner taste GREAT!

Our digs in Selcuk were at the Akay Hotel and at 200 lira per night ($100 CAD) felt like a blow out. Unfortunately the hotel was over-hyped in the guidebook, but once we vetoed the dark room in the bottom back corner and took the bright one on the top floor with a view over the garden and pool, we were happy.

After landing at the hotel we showered and headed out for dinner. Wallabee’s Aqueduct Hotel was beckoning! Mehmet, aka “Jeff” was charming and welcoming. We received an amuse bouche of tomato soup, and I had the octopus while Mark had grilled sea bream, a local fish. A salad, a bottle of white wine, and life is great. We had a spectacular table, or it would have been spectacular if the fountain was working. J The stork nests on the nearby Roman aqueduct, and the kittens were entertaining.

After dinner we decided to stop at Denis cafe for raki and backgammon. I got trounced, and can’t really remember the walk home...