Day 4, Ferry and Bus to Selçuk
- Comments: No Comments Yet
We were up and on the ferry from Istanbul to Bandirma at 9:30am. We crossed the Marmara Sea in two hours, then caught a taxi to the bus station. I tipped the taxi driver, so he practically through his cab in the way of the bus departing for Izmir. The “bus attendant” actually kicked two kids out of their seats for us and we were off!
The buses here are crazy, you can’t buy a ticket in the station, you must buy it on the bus from the bus attendant, invariable a teenage boy whose job it is to give everyone drinks of water, tea or coke continuously throughout the trip. He also goes around with a bottle of lemon/lime water/alcohol based disinfectant, and offers some to everyone. People hold out their hands, and he pours some for you, you rub it all over your hands and the back of your neck and it really refreshes.
People can pretty much flag down the bus anywhere on the side of the road, and it pulls over and slows down, but its does not stop. You literally have to take a running jump onto the moving bus. It’s crazy.
The landscape we passed while on the bus was extremely dry grass lands, often with olive trees growing on them. Occasionally there would be a scrawny crop of sunflowers, corn or chamomile, and we’d see a few cows or goats grazing. We crossed several dry river beds and entire towns of incomplete construction that showed no sign of ever being finished.
Our bus pulled into Izmir bus depot, it looks like somewhere the Jetson’s would live, in the middle of a vast, half finished construction wasteland. We were hustled off that bus onto a smaller “dolmus” or “stuffed” bus that took us to Selçuk. The poverty of the people on the outskirts of town reminds one of the migrant workers in The Grapes of Wrath.
Some things I’ve forgotten to mention about Turkey in general, there’s a proliferation of wild cats begging for food everywhere, but like the people, they’re very polite. There are also a few wild dogs that are so tiny and skinny, they bring tears to my eyes.. There’s an incredible acceptance of everyone, from beggars on the street, to restaurant owners, to shop keepers, to the merchants at the bazaars. Everyone allows everyone else to do their thing without judgement. The guide books are wrong. I’ve never felt threatened here and everyone is very friendly.
There are storks everywhere in Selçuk. They roost like pigeons and have nests on top of the columns from old ruins in the city center. The Virgin Mary and John the Baptist lived their last days here. Her house is still here and the place where John was imprisoned can be seen from the ruins of Ephesus.
There are presently no comments for this post.
You must be logged in to post a comment.