4/12/98: Ruth still sick with a stomach bug. I took a bus to the coastal town of Kuşadası to find an internet café and a ferry schedule so we can plan the next leg of our trip. We’ll be island hopping through a few Greek islands.
4/12/23: The ride through the hillside landscape was lovely, and the bus drove right past the ruins of Ephesus. We didn’t get to those until a few days later, though. In fact, we didn’t do anything on April 12 or 13 because Ruth was still not feeling well. But the 14th was quite eventful. So, I’ll tell you part of that story here…
On April 13, I made contact with my friend Olcay Canbulat in Izmir. A few years earlier, when our folk-dance club threw a farewell party for her in Chicago, I told her I planned to travel the world and promised to look her up if I made it to Turkey. She was surprised that I had remembered her or the promise! On April 14 she took the day off of work in order to come up to Selçuk to see us. We met her at the otogar (depot for busses and taxis) at around 11am and brought her back to Homeros to eat lunch and meet Dervish and Oye. They were about the same age and hit it off well.
After lunch we visited Aziz Johannes Bazilikasi (Saint John’s Basilica), and were treated to a private tour by one of the docents, courtesy of Oye’s good name! The John to whom this basilica owes its name is the writer of the fourth Gospel, three New Testament letters, and the book of Revelation. Historical evidence does suggest that John died in Ephesus after his long imprisonment on the island of Patmos. Some traditions and legends go further and hold that this is the site where John walked into his own tomb/cave alive, a bright light shone, and his body was immediately assumed into heaven. Regardless of such legends, this basilica was built in John’s honor.
When we visited, this important archeological site was not well tended and featured a herd of sheep grazing throughout. But today it is in much better repair, and you can read about it and see more recent photos at Atlas Obscura and Wikipedia.
