Day 6: Great late lunch at Canakkale

It was hard to say good bye to Adryn from Athena Pension in Bergama .. He was such a nice person and although we pay to stay there, but he made us feel like home.. if I ever come back to Turkey, I would love to try and find time to visit this city again..

We set our GPS to Canakkale just after noon.. another town next to Bergama.. it will take another 3 hours if I'm not mistaken.. we can start see Istanbul signage on our way, reminding us that our journey will be over soon.. :(

On our road to Canakkale

We reached Canakkale around 4pm.. it was also a small city and has a few historical monument too.. like the famous Troy.. I'm sure you heard about Troy.. the big wooden horse used by Troy during the Trojan War long long time ago.. I would love to see this place, but we were a bit late and hungry.. so we decided not to stay in Canakkale, but just stop for late lunch..

We had not taken our lunch in Bergama and the last time we ate was in the morning with some bread and soup.. so by 4pm, we were starving.. hahahaha.. one we reached Canakkale, we entered the first restaurant that we find.. and almost everyone in the restaurant were happy to see tourists walked in.. and we ordered until our table was full.. hahahahaa

It's like a culture in Turkey, where they order only 1 plate of dish + rice or bread .. this was our late lunch, definitely not a Turkish culture..

we finished all this in less than 10 minutes.. hahahaa

People in the restaurant were so fascinated to see us.. and this one particular man sat with us just to know our story .. he even had his niece to sit with us (as she can speak English) .. she became the translator between us..

The man in the suit was the one who were so excited to see us, his brother (the owner of the shop) and his niece..

Group photo

We spent another half an hour to chat with the family and they gave us 2 desserts for free.. and when we want to leave, they gave us water bottle (for free too).. they were so nice and lovely!!!!!

I will never forget their kindness..

Day 5: Sweet town Bergama

Bergama was known as Pergamon, a small city at Izmir Province at western Turkey. We reached this small town at night and I had my perfect sleep on a bed with a warmer attached to it.. So comfy and .. warm.. hahahaha ..

We woke up and ready to explore the town by 8am. I did bumped to Adryn and say hi to him before we left.. Had breakfast in one of the restaurant and had my fav lethil soup in one of the small restaurant..

Small and peaceful Bergama Town

Breakfast - Lovely lethil soup

Then, using our GPS, we walked to Pergamon also known as Bergama Akropolis ..

The Traianeum (Temple of Trajan) on the Acropolis of Pergamum.

The Traianeum (Temple of Trajan) on the Acropolis of Pergamum.

Acropolis of Pergamum

Pergamum's dramatic theater.

At west side of the area, carved into the steep hillside, is the dramatic Hellenistic theater. Like most Hellenic and Hellenistic theaters, it offered a scenic panorama just in case the play was boring. :)

Note 1:
I know this will happen.. I started to loose the passion in writing about my journey, and I will end up just uploading photos instead of blog .. hahahahahahaa..

Note 2:
I like this town because of Athena Pension and it's simplicity ..

Note 3: I like the sceneryf from the cable car too..

Cost 10lira for the cable car .. and another 20 lira for the entrance to the Akropolis City.

Note 4: Buy souvenirs at the entrance of Akropolis... It's really really cheap!!!! you can never get cheaper than this.. bargain as low as you can.. especially if you're a girl / woman.. hehehehe.. they love the ladies..

I got a very good price for the shawls here.. and you see the Turkish bookmark on the lower right corner.. it cost 7 for 5 lira.. other places 1 for 1 lira.. so just grab it here!! 

I don't really asked for the price of this rug, but in Istanbul, it cost almost 700lira..  so if you want this, please ask in Bergama.. you might get cheapest price.. :)

Note 5: sleepy now.. want to go to sleep.. esok kerja .. huhuuhuuuhuuu

Day 4: Lunch @IKEA, Izmir and the mysterious Athena Pension

Visit to Ephesus, Seven Sleepers Cave and Virgin Mary ended by around noon (I don't remember exactly what time ) ..

Then we decided to continue our journey to Izmir and will try to find something to eat once we reached the town.. it took about 1 and a half hour to get there.. Izmir is a huge modern town and it's also the 3rd largest town in Turkey.. after Pamukkale, a small town or can also be considered as a village, it's totally a different view once we reached Izmir.. then we saw IKEA.. hahahahaa .. (macam laa xde IKEA kat Malaysia) .. meatballs!!!!!! definitely a must try .. hahahaa ..

Ikea, Izmir

Comments on IKEA: the internal decoration and settings, exactly like Malaysia .. you will know where to find the food easily.. you don't have to read any manual.. maybe that's their signature.. the food, it taste just like Malaysia's IKEA.. hehehe .. so basically, it's the same.. FYI, there are lots of IKEA in Turkey..

Besides IKEA, there's a factory outlet .. so we can't resist the temptation to walk around and maybe grab something if the price and our pockets allow... but it was a frustration seeing the price of everything.. it was the same price as Malaysia ... for example, Levi's jeans cost 100lira.. same like Malaysia, cost us 100ringgit.. but.. of course, Turkish lira and Malaysian Ringgit is 1.7 different,  so end up 1.7 more expensive than Malaysia's price... not worth buying.. so we decided to leave the place by 5.30pm and continue our journey to Bergama for another 2 hours.. (it was already dark by 5pm in Turkey at this month)..

so far we have traveled 2,236km in 4 days

Reached Bergama around 8pm (but it really felt like it already midnight because we were exhausted due to the long journey and the excitement being in Ephesus).. Bergama is really a small town, a place you want to spend your old ages... really quite and peaceful.. I really love this town..

We set our GPS to Athena Pension, a pension (not really a hotel) we saw on the internet with a good price and review.. Park our car and walk to a small road with the signboard showed the way to the place.. we saw 2 pensions, Pergamom Pension (opened) and Athena Pension (closed).. but there was a car waiting outside Athena and they helped us to call the owner of the hotel.. I was a little tired and in my mind was thinking, maybe we should change to Pergamom instead. But my friends insist we wait as they were the one who looked for the place and the review given about it.. and I really felt fortunate and lucky (same meaning kan?? hahahahaa) that I followed their advice.. there were no single regret staying in Athena..

Athena Pension

Once the owner, Aydin open the door into the pension, first word came out from my mouth was "Wowwwww" ... superb and a really cozy place.. then Aydin showed us the room, again, I was .. woowwwwwwwwwww... hahahahahaa.. then he showed me the bed warmer .. i was so excited and more wowwwwwwwwww from me..

Bed with warmer, perfect for a cold night..

The internal decoration was cute and the toilets are definitely very clean

Aydin was really a great guy.. he loves having guest and feel bad if he need to reject any walk-in guest.. he told us that he love non-peak season because he can receive everyone because less people.. but during peak season, he has no choice but to say no.. and he doesn't like that feeling.. he really is a sweet guy.. we all wished we can stay longer if we have the time.. I even feel like I want to come back to this place one day.. it really feel like home..

Resting area for the guests

Behind the pension, you will find resting area for guests to hang out.. the room is warm, with internet and Adryn will boil water for you to make hot tea or coffee...you can listen to music and rest.. Adryn will come once a while to have a chat and share his passion with the place.. you know what, Adryn make the resting area by himself.. niceeeee!!! if you're an architect, you will have lots of things to chat with Adryn.. :)

I had a lovely experience in Athena Pension.. I hope I can return to the place one day and spend more nights there.. insya Allah..

with Adryn

Adryn.. thank you so much for your kindness.. it really make us felt like home..

Day 4 continue : Kusadasi and the great Ephesus

I'm already back to my place and trying my best to continue writing about our road trip to Turkey.. still in Day 4.. but before that, I would like to tribute a few moments of prayers for our brothers and sisters in Lahad Datu and Semporna, Sabah who are being attacked by pirates known as Sulu soldiers .. May they be safe and this war ends soon..

Al-fatihah to all our heroes, who died protecting our country..

For those who didn't know about this issue at the moment, you can find more info here:
http://www.nst.com.my/latest/font-color-red-semporna-font-five-policemen-killed-in-ambush-in-semporna-sabah-1.227865

Back to my story for Kusadasi and the great Ephesus..

On our way to Kusadasi, we saw lots of Orange and Olive Trees .. it was everywhere.. you can see a hill full of olive trees.. at first we don't really know what tree it was, so we stopped to actually take a closer look .. we were so excited to actually see olive trees.. (sikit jakun pun ada la, hahahhaa).. my friends did try to eat the raw olives and they instantly didn't like it.. ahahaha .. I love olives pickles.. but doesn't want to try it fresh after seeing their face expressions.. hahahaha ..

Lots of orange trees along the way to Kusadasi

And olive trees too!!!

We stopped for breakfast at one of the small restaurant we can find.. no one can speak english.. so we ended up just accept what they offered us.. but the family was so friendly, although they can't speak english, they tried very hard to tell us what the dish were.. the father even showed me how he cooked it.. lovely, such a great experience..

My fav breakfast, lentil soup.. so yummy ok.. and the rice mix with wheat.. it was just nice as it is..

The family who served us breakfast in Kusadasi..

You must try lentil soup.. it was so yummy .. I love it so much, perfect for the cold weather.. hot and so delicious.. you eat it with bread.. don't try the head soup.. hahaha or you can try taste it for yourself and tell me how it taste .. I'm not really a fan of trying unknown food.. hahahaha ..

Then we stopped for a few minutes to take photos by the sea..

Kusadasi Town

Our next destination, the great Ephesus.. ok, when you read on the internet, nothing interesting about this me.. at least, for me.. I was not so impress with what I saw on the internet.. just some ruin buildings from old time.. we were thinking, just go there, be there, and leave..

But AGAIN, I was wrong.. I REALLY FALL IN LOVE WITH THIS PLACE!!!

Have you ever seen the movie Hercules.. or Troy, or any movie like that.. it was exactly like you back to the past... seeing all the huge buildings brought my imagination back to the old age.. people actually live in this place long long long time ago.. it was really amazing!!! I never regret coming here..

Once you reached the front entrance (parking area), you will be approached by taxi drivers or someone who will say that you need to enter from the other side of the area.. he will tell you that it will take 3 hours to walk up the hill, and another hour to walk down.. so he would advice you to take his taxi to go up the hill and walk down..

DO NOT TRUST HIM!!!!!!!

I was being nice to him.. so I bought Ephesus map for 15lira (from him!!!) and few packs of saffron for 10 lira..  which I shouldn't have to.. he even asked for my HRC pin which I put at my bag.. I did gave it to him because he said he wanted to give it to her daughter.. I hope what he told me was true, because if it's not, I will never forgive him!!!

So don't trust anyone who came and approach you to give their service .. ignore them, but do it nicely.. hehehee ..

Anyway, back to Ephesus.. we took lots of beautiful photos here.. it only took us the very most 1.5 hours to walk up.. remember, we took lots of photos, so we stopped at lots of place.. you won't even need 1 hour if you just walk and enjoy this gigantic historical place..

The harbour of Ephesus

Some history about Ephesus:
In the Roman period, Ephesus had a population of more than 250,000 in the 1st century BC, which also made it one of the largest cities in the Mediterranean world. It was partially destroyed by an earthquake in 614 AD.

Ephesus was one of the seven churches of Asia and the site of several 5th century Christian Councils. It is also the site of a large gladiators' graveyard. (teringat cerita Gladiator la pulak).. hehehehe

The tomb of Ephesus

The famous Library of Ephesus

The library was built to store 12,000 scrolls and to serve as a monumental tomb for Celsus. Celsus is buried in a sarcophagus beneath the library, in the main entrance which is both a crypt containing his sarcophagus and a sepulchral monument to him. It was unusual to be buried within a library or even within city limits, so this was a special honor for Celsus. (History from Wiki).

You just have to be here to adore this magnificent place.. and of course, you must love history, the gladiators and photography to enjoy it as much as I did..

Lovely!! and the weather was nice too.. hot and spicy!!!!

It was quite hot at this area, probably it's near to the ocean.. but it was just perfect for great photos!!
We left Ephesus around noon, and decided to take a peek at the 7 Sleepers Cave and Virgin Mary house.. You can't walk to this places.. it's not walking distance from Ephesus.. hahaha ..

The 7 Sleepers Cave

If you googled in the internet, this cave was known by the Christian. The Seven Sleepers, commonly called the "Seven Sleepers of Ephesus", refers to a group of Christian youths who hid inside a cave outside the city of Ephesus around 250 AD, to escape a persecution of Christians being conducted during the reign of the Roman emperor Decius.

However, in Islam religion, it is told in the Qur'an (Surah 18, verse 9-26). The Quranic rendering of this story doesn't state exactly the number of sleepers Surah 18, verse 22. It also gives the number of years that they slept as 300 solar years (equivalent to 309 lunar years). Unlike the Christian story, the Islamic version includes mention of a dog who accompanied the youths into the cave, and was also asleep, but when people passed by the cave it looked as if the dog was just keeping watch at the entrance, making them afraid of seeing what is in the cave once they saw the dog. In Islam, these youths are referred to as "The People of the Cave".(Wiki)

We always known since we were young as "Ashabul Kahfi" .. however, based on the article in Wikipedia, there were never mentioned in Quran the exact location of the cave. Some allege that it is in Ephesus, Turkey; others cite a place near Amman, Jordan and some others claimed it to be at Tuyukhojam, Turpan (I have no idea where Turpan is).. need to google about it for more details.

The exact dates of their alleged sleep are also not given in the Qur'an; some allege that they entered the cave at the time of Decius (250 AD) and they woke up at the time of Theodosius I (378–395) or Theodosius II (408–450), but neither of these dates can be reconciled with the Qur'an's account of sleeping 300 or 309 years. (thank you Mr wiki)..

This is what I love about Turkey!!!! like everything happened in Turkey.. everything!!!! all the historical places and about the religion too.. Christian and Islam..

Note: the place was actually closed .. we climbed thru the bushes and didn't realized that we were actually tresspassing.. we don't know that we were not suppose to enter the place.. Oppsss.. hehehe .. sorry!!!

We also went to the House of Virgin Mary, but we didn't enter as it cost us a few more lira.. so we decided to skipped it..

It was believed that Mariam, mother of Nabi Isa spent her last years here in Ephesus..

.. Dan Allah (yang) Maha Mengetahui .. والله أعلم

It's already 1.23am.. time to sleep..