Drive through Bodrum...& make it quick!

En route to Selçuk from Köyceğiz, we decided to head to the Bodrum Peninsula to see the tourist-ridden town of Bodrum, which we heard was the Monte Carlo of Turkey. Nonetheless, we were not anxious to walk among the scantily clad, blonde beach goers, nor were we looking forward to aggressive & tactless salespeople & the ever-pervasive house music pumping out of souvenir stores. We had only one destination: the Castle of St. Peter, which held the most important underwater archaelogy museum in the world (as says the Lonely Planet). We walked through several collections of big, ancient shipwrecks (oldest: 14th century BC), none that I will elaborate on. But I'd like to share with you my two favorite signs:

1. (upon entering the museum) 'Our museum is not underwater but most of the artifacts came from under the sea.'
2. (explaining the mythological origins of certain animals) The placard was titled Birds that Live in the Castle: 'There are flying ducks, green-headed ducks, and peking ducks.'

We haggled for our lunch meals because the waiter offered to give us cheaper prices than the menu. But Robby got him to agree to even lower prices. Although the waiter conceded, he was upset by his own acquiescence, so we heard him mumbling & grumbling while we ate. He even made us wait for the bill. Robby will complain about this later, but we both don't like how emotionally involved some of the salespeople become when they don't get their way. Bargaining with them & succeeding is like an affront to their manhood or pride.

After the leisurely walk through the massive St. Peter Castle, we hopped back in the car & headed to Selçuk. We drove for a few hours & found a family-run pension called Alihan, where the owner was a friendly & easygoing Turkish Aussie.

Today, we went to Ephesus, the 'best preserved classical city in the eastern Mediterranean' (Lonely Planet). We payed a ghastly 20 YTL each to roam around some 600BC rocks. There weren't many explanations of monuments & ruins, and we didn't have a guide, so we stumbled around the sea of tourists. There were hundreds of people there in large groups, and they swarmed all over the ruins like colorful confetti on organized pebble. Weaving through the crowds was quite overwhelming. We felt that paying 20 YTL warranted a better display of these ancient structures, but oh well. We'll hire a guide or buy the audiotour next time.