Another full day on the extreme travel adventure! We woke up at 4:45am to fly from Istanbul to Izmir. We got to the airport knowing we would have a weight problem since domestic flights have a 15kg (33lb) limit and I have all my belongings from my Rome apartment with me. We packed our carry-ons with our heaviest non-liquid items and hoped for the best. Needless to say, we were still way over the limit. Instead of paying 3 lira/kg for the 15 kg we were over (note: this is about $1.25/kg), we start tearing our bags apart, rolling items into tight balls and stuffing them into our carry-on bags. Eventually, the guys took pity on us (this was made clear by their sad smiles combined with asking us if we are students) and allowed us to check the bags that were still a combined 23 lbs overweight. We decided that we probably shouldn't return to the States since we feel way more popular in Turkey.
We were 2 hot messes marching through the extremely warm airport wearing my jackets, carrying over-stuffed and extremely heavy backpacks, rolling bags and totes, as well as 2 boxed breakfasts (from our extremely sweet hotel in Istanbul) and Katie's box of Kosher dinner that was leaking everywhere. We then decided that the gate would be a good place to eat our breakfasts of hardboiled eggs, oatmeal and juice. We take turns peeling undercooked eggs over the garbage, and alternating asking the cafe for hot water, cups, and utensils for our oatmeal. We also used the juice to take calcium pills to lighten our load and committed to taking 4 calcium pills each every day until the end of the trip since we don't believe in throwing anything away.
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| Izmir historical elevation lookout |
We finally arrived in Izmir and met our tour guide and driver who would be taking us to Ephesus. On the way, we stopped in Izmir for a caffeine fix and to see the Beit Israel Synagogue. They took us up to a beautiful terrace overlooking Izmir where we enjoyed coffees. I got a Turkish Coffee and the driver (whose wife is a fortune teller) read my fortune from the cup while the tour guide translated for us. He said that there is a guy who is jealous of me and he is one of two enemies of mine. We are still trying to figure out who it could be.
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| Bet Israel Synagogue, Izmir |
We then went to the Shul. Izmir used to be a majority Jewish city. The shul was stunning and we spoke to the man who showed us around. First, he
spoke Turkish to the tour guide and he translated for us but we eventually discovered Hebrew as our common language and were able to communicate directly with each other. Unfortunately, my Hebrew is a tad rusty. I meant to ask if we can visit the house of Shabtai Tzvi and accidentally asked if we could burry Shabtai Tzvi. His strong reaction made sense to me when I realized in the car later, that I used the word "likboa" (to burry) instead of "livaker" (to visit). Whoops. The shul had really old Jewish artifacts collected over the years on display including a 100-year old wedding dress and suit, a wedding book that recorded marriages in the community from the 1200's, some megila scroll covers, bar mitzvah candy baskets, etc.
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| Bet Israel Synagogue, Izmir |
Afterwards, we drove to Ephesus for a tour of the ancient city and saw amazing remnants of sculptures, monuments and infrastructure, and were especially impressed by the advanced plumbing and heating systems they employed.
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| Ephesus entrance to amphitheater |
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| Ephesus ancient columns |
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| relaxing on the beach |
After Ephesus, we checked into our all-inclusive hotel in Kusadasi (so fun) and relaxed at the beach until dinner. We seem to pass out for a power nap at every opportunity. I wonder why...
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