Exiting the bus in Selcuk was our worst experience with the
"bus touts" in all of Turkey. We walked off and were met by no less than 10
young men, all trying to get us to stay at their family's hotels. We first ignored them,
then announced we already had reservations somewhere, but they still wouldn't leave us
alone. One even asked Dave where we had reservations, then he asked to see our
reservation card. Dave lost control. He turned around and yelled "Do I know you? Who
are you? Why would I show you my reservation?" They eventually swore at us and our
Lonely Planet book (which cautions not to follow bus touts as a rule) and then left us
alone. They were definitely the most aggressive people we'd seen.
We followed an Australian backpacker to a hostel so we could
drop off our packs--she had been to Selcuk before and knew the quickest route to escape
the touts. We decided to stay there one night, and then headed out to look for a different
place to stay for the week. We were room-bargaining for us and fellow round-the-world
travelers Ben and Vija, who were going to meet us there. Before we left the first hostel,
we got to experience a traditional waterpipe, and took several tokes from it--apricot
tobacco flavor that evening.
We and been corresponding with Ben and Vija Williams over
email for several months, so it was great to meet them in person. They left their home in
Monterey, CA a mere three weeks after we left Chicago, but our itineraries were somewhat
different. Luckily for us, they plan to visit many places before we do, so they are
turning out to be our "scout crew." Their site is at: http://members.tripod.com/vijawilliams
We had a wonderful time in Selcuk, and lots of fun with Vija
and Ben. We went to the ancient Roman ruins of Ephesus (see next
page) compared travel notes and experiences, and explored each other's backpacks. It is
always interesting to see how many selectively- chosen items others can cram into their
packs too. They had a video camera with them, so we had a movie night one evening. Bonus
for us: we were able to see what they had been doing and preview some of the
cities we were headed to next in Turkey.
Ben and Vija also acclimated us to the world of Turkish
carpet shopping. They had experienced many shops in their two weeks here. This type of
excursion gives a new meaning to the word "shopping." It was more like a
cultural ritual. We were glad they were with us as initially we were going to bypass that
whole industry altogether (not having a house, you know.) Read more about it on our Turkish Carpet Shop Experience page. It was quite a
trip.
The best thing that came from our first carpet shop visit
was meeting Lily, the only female carpet salesperson in all of Selcuk. And yes, we did buy
a beautiful carpet from her, at a great price, without pressure. Read more about Lily on
our People Page. We spent several days with her before and after
our purchase, and learned all sorts of things about Turkish culture from her. We even
camped out at Outback Carpets for a day; they let us connect to AOL to update our site,
and we helped them with some email correspondence in English. Not a bad trade!
The other Turkish phenomenon we experienced was the hamam,
more commonly known as the Turkish Bath. Read more about that here Hamam: Abused in a Turkish Bath.
Selcuk and the surrounding area was infused with historical
and religious sites: the Virgin Mary's house, the supposed grave of St. John the Baptist,
the Isabey Mosque, and the ruins of Ephesus. It was close to everything yet quieter than
the nearby beach town of Kusadaci.
What else? Selcuk's pedestrian-only center street was
surrounded by cosy cafes, fountains, farmer's markets, and on Saturdays a huge flea market
too. So the combination of proximity, atmosphere, travel friends, and spending more than
just a casual amount of time with the locals endeared Selcuk to us deeper than any city
thus far.
