I depart Istanbul on a morning bus headed towards Izmir. It will take all day… and in the evening I’ll catch a mini-bus from Izmir to Selcuk, the town where the ancient ruins of Ephesus rest.

It’s rather cheap to fly in Turkey, but I didn’t bother exploring this option since I’d heard the buses are comfortable and easy to use. Given the length of this trip, in retrospect I should’ve flown.

But the bus experience is totally pleasant. There’s wifi (huge bonus), TV monitors in the back of each seat, and the bus equivalent of a flight attendant (bus attendant?) who serves drinks and small snacks at regular intervals. I milk my laptop battery for all it’s worth and edit a lot of photos. I think this day-long trip cost me around $50. But, it’s a LONG time to be on a bus.

Around 7pm I get off the bus in Izmir, grab dinner, and then catch the next mini-bus to Selcuk.

It’s dark when I check into the Artemis Hotel (they have dorm rooms available), so I don’t really notice how adorable this town is until the next morning. There’s a flock of old Turkish men gathering around outdoor tables to chat… and they’re wearing caps. Adorable.

I spend the morning planning the next few days of travel (the owner of Artemis Hotel is a great resource, even letting me borrow his Lonely Planet Turkey book), and then in the afternoon I hop on a mini-bus to visit the ruins at Ephesus.

There are some tour groups here, but since it’s off-season (December) it’s not too crowded.

Here’s the most iconic shot of Ephesus — the Library of Celsus. It reminds me of the Treasury at Petra.

Pomegranate fruit grows on this tree below:

Ephesus is still an active archaeological site — only about 15% has been excavated. There are active research and restoration sessions in progress.

I pay 15TL extra ($7 USD) to visit the Hillside Terraces where archaeologists work to piece together ruins.

Are you a puzzle person? Get a job in Ephesus and you could spend your days solving this ancient, archaeological jigsaw.

By the way, it was totally worth it to pay extra for access to this area. I initially was skeptical but glad I did it.

I continue walking around Ephesus as it gets later in the day. By now I have the place nearly to myself, save for a few furry creatures documented below.

There are cats everywhere. But I really go gaga when I spot these puppies…

There’s a whole litter of them at the Temple of Artemis, which is not part of Ephesus but is within easy walking distance of my hostel in Selcuk.

Fun fact about the Temple of Artemis: it was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. And to think I’d never heard of it until now! It used to look like this:

(image via)

But now only a single column remains:

A few months later I’ll play the board game Seven Wonders with my friends in Los Angeles, and of course the Temple of Artemis pops up. Now I know what it is!

After photographing the single column, I walk towards the Isa Bey Mosque and the Basilica of St. John. On the way I spot these nameless ruins — it’s incredible how much history lies within this walkable area.

Here’s the remnants of the Basilica of St. John:

And that’s Isa Bey Mosque in the distance. It’s fortuitous that I skipped entering the mosque, as this vantage point at sunset is idyllic and I would’ve missed the magic hour if I’d stayed below.

This is one of my favorite images from Turkey:

A few other odds and ends from Selcuk…

All tickets for tourism sites in Turkey (mosques, museums, ruins, etc.) are similarly designed, along with specific images for each site. They’re beautifully done and had I known they all match, I would’ve kept my early tickets from Istanbul and amassed an entire collection during my time here. I photographed my Ephesus ticket as an example:

I ate lunch at this small shop in downtown Selcuk. I don’t know the name, but there are only a few main blocks so if you’re visiting you might stumble upon it. It’s nothing special, but the prices are insanely cheap — $2 for a grilled pita stuffed with chicken, tomato, lettuce, and a mayo-type sauce — and they grill the pita and chicken right in front of you while you wait.

In a move that will surprise no one, I plan a daily afternoon sweets break in my itinerary. There’s always a local bakery around so almost every day I stop for a bite or two of baklava, or any other honey-based creation they’ve whipped up.

I’ve only been in Turkey a few days but I’m already in love. It’s easy to get around, prices and crowds are low due to the off season, and the food is outstanding. What more could a travel blogger / photographer ask for? Turkey, you had me at baklava.