These Here Boots: Greece and Ephesus

Ahh, where'd I leave off?

Oh, Athens. Athens is Athens. The historical sights are amazing, the food is great, the museums make others look like collections of curios. As far as modern cities go, however, I wouldn't compare Athens with Rome, lest we disappoint the Greeks. Prices were a bit higher than I had expected, even in October there were throngs of tourists, and the non-ancient architecture was less than amazing.

But still, I dare not harp on this city that gave civilization so much. Philosophy, drama, some fine architecture... but then again, judging from the Athenian female population, the Greeks also invented the ugly-stick.

The food was really amazing, though. I had a blast trying new Greek dishes, but for some reason (perhaps the 1.50euro pricing) I always capped off a meal with a Gyro. These, for those who aren't familiar, are the evil snacks that I discovered shortly before gaining 30lbs between fifth and sixth grade. No matter, though; I'm keeping the Ramadan fast to compensate.

After Athens I hopped a ferry for Santorini (Thira). I've always been amazed when seeing postcards of the white homes with blue detail,

but I was in for a treat. Santorini, or Thira, was once just a giant volcano in the middle of the sea, until it got pissed at the civilizations that made it their home (though I doubt that included the Atlantians as the Thira Tourism Bureau will tell you) and blew up. So now, the Greeks have a giant sunken volcano, with a caldera, a crescent isle of rocky cliffs, and thousands of tourists. Anyhow, cool stuff.

I spent one night on the remote side of the island, having successfully bargained a good price, but in turn getting the room with a gas leak. The olive groves and pool

were lovely, though. I then grabbed a bus up to Fira, the Postcard City. It was gorgeous. Sure, the prices were outrageous and Sols and Ednas seemed to be falling from the sky, but somehow I managed. Although my room's rate was listed as 50euro, I managed to get it for ten. I guess the generous hotellier took pity on the fact I wasn't a retired dentist.

From there I made a rather crazy island-hop to get to Rhodes, where despite my search, I could find no colossus. Perhaps my travel guide is out of date; so much for Pausanias. The island of Rhodes is quite cool, though, with huge city walls and some other medieval hints of its Crusader-stopover past.

This was also the first place I've had trouble getting into a museum; everywhere in Greece entrance fees are 12euro, unless you're an EU student/fogie (six euro) or under twenty (free!). I asked a ticket guy for the Junior's ticket, and presented him my passport (standard procedure everywhere), which he then proceeded to inspect closely. He finally handed it back, saying, "It looks like... a passport." I couldn't tell if he was serious, so I didn't know whether to use the 'dumb-' prefix or '-hole' suffix.

Anyhow, finally made it up to Turkey, hopped a coach from Marmaris to

Selcuk, and I've been here (Selcuk/Efes) since. Very cool. Behind my hostel/rug-shop is the Tomb of St. Paul. In front of that is one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Temple of Artemis (though now it's only one column in the middle of a field). Up the road, the ancient ruins of Ephesus lay scattered over a huge area. The facade of the library has been rebuilt, and it's very impressive. It's also nice to know that during the Roman times, there was a tunnel under the library that led to the local brothel. All the wives were proud when their men became such avid readers.

There's also a huge amphitheater nearby where many ancient artists, including Sting and Elton John have performed.

Then, up the hill, we have the Virgin Mary's retirement home. Though the details of how the place was found seem a bit sketchy (came to some German chick in a vision), the authenticity of the site was confirmed by Pope someone the something. It is really cool to see the place where Mary lived out her days and passed on.

Of course, getting up there was a pain in the ass. Though I mentioned a hill, it's actually seven kilometers up a mountain, so there was no way I was walking up there. I normally don't take cabs, but I caved when I finally found one with a meter. As it turns out, the meter jumped by thirty cents every six cents, so it ended up being WAY too much. Then, even as I was trying to get the cabbie to stop at the entrance to the park, he drives into the gate so I can get hit with a "vehicle entrance fee" of another ten bucks. Wow. So, I paid the guy, and tried my best to cool down before visiting such a holy place. I finally decided that a walk down the mountain would do me some good (great views), but halfway down the mountain, this cabbie comes roaring down, telling me that I owe him 25 lira since he had been waiting for me! This guy had balls. Finally I just turned to keep going and this guy starts shouting after me, "I get police on you!! They take you to prison! HAVE NOT YOU SEE MIDNIGHT EXPRESS???"

I thought it was hilarious too. Thanks for sticking with me.

I'm off to Istanbul tonight. More soon.