May 21: Ephesus

No hot water last night due to a unique problem – “soil rain” depositing a layer of dust on the hotel’s solar panel. Apparently yesterday it rained dirt in Selçuk. The hotel proprietors were at a complete loss to explain this phenomenon, which has left this little town looking like Cairo. Incidentally, said proprietors – Jimy (looks like Jason Stephens from The Late Show) and Juju (first Turk I’ve seen with an afro) – were very interested in our April 2007 copy of Lonely Planet Turkey, only to be deeply crestfallen on discovering that their establishment wasn’t listed. The highs and lows.

The reason we came to Selçuk: the ruins of Ephesus, an ancient city which was a prominent regional capital in the Roman Empire. The highlights: the theatre, an incredible engineering feat, and the site of the assembly after the city riot instigated by the apostle Paul; the Library of Celsus, an impressive free-standing façade; and the latrine (below).

Less authentic is the reenactment of an actual battle between two Roman gladiators in highly-coloured garb, which ends with one gladiator, humbled, kneeling under the blade of his opponent’s sword, and the crowd being asked to chant: “Chill! Chill! Chill!” If there’s one thing Limmy loves, it’s poor English.

Later in the afternoon, Limmy sates his craving for Internet time by watching two hours of Larry Bird footage on YouTube, taking advantage of one of the rare moments of unlimited wifi. Thanks, Jimy and Juju!