writingaboutpaintings

After our celebration with champagne at our safe landing, we received a certificate upon touching ground that confirmed that we had participated in the incredible experience. I was then transported back to my hotel for a quick breakfast. Although I was given a goody bag with some light bites at the ride, I was too excited to eat anything. I figured that breakfast at the hotel would be much better anyway as I only found a packed chocolate croissant and packet drink in the goody bag.

Entering the breakfast area at Heaven Cavehouse, I was greeted by a lady. Since I had only twenty minutes to eat , I gobbled everything up as soon as I can. Think cookie monster when handed a plateful of cookies fresh out of the oven. I guess, thus far , you could establish that I am both a destructive sleeper and unglamorous eater. As soon as I finished my food I looked at the time and it was 9.15am. A gentleman approached me and he asked if I wanted an omelette. Technically I have finished my breakfast , but who could say no to that? In less than ten minutes , I was presented with an omelette accompanied by a gorgeous cheesy French toast on the side. I probably ate for three that morning (as I did on almost all of my days in Turkey), but it was soooo good! I then felt someone tapped me on my shoulder while I was busy wolfing down my food,and I turned to find U. I was glad to see him as it would save me the trouble to look for him when the time came for the tour to commence. U asked me how the balloon ride went. I told him he was right. Not doing it was never an option! It was marvelous!

I approached the van and was joined by a the coolest group of people ever. If I felt uneasy with the group the prior day , the universe really made it up to me by sending me my travel companions of today. Among them were two incredibly handsome Mexican boys called R and D. I actually recall seeing them at breakfast, and didn’t manage to take a good look at them before. Upon closer inspection, lo and behold, they were two incredibly chiselled, gorgeous and tall boys. As if that were not enough , they were also humorous, playful and friendly. I guess when God gives, he gives generously to some of us. It was really rare to see a pair of men so good-looking with amazing personality. The boys asked me where I was from. I said Singapore, and I asked them if they were from Mexico. They asked me how I knew and I said I had been eavesdropping on their conversation with U. They laughed out loud. H, a physiotherapist from the US turned out to be bundle of joy as well. She joined in our conversation we soon became thick as thieves. We would constantly gang up to tease U while we were on the road , while U just shook his head at being outnumbered in resignation.

U brought us to a beautiful underground city which was what I was very excited about. I have seen its coverage on Netflix shows such as Ancient Apocalypse and Joanne Lumley’s Silk Road Adventure, and was finally able to have my own experience. Mind you, when I was watching all these amazing shows , it was during a time during which we were all still imprisoned at home at the height of Covid. I remember watching Joanna Lumley enjoying her breakfast on her overnight train in Turkey and felt a deep pang of envy. Now, I was living that very life! Upon arrival, I found an underground city smaller than the ones featured on the shows I saw. I did imagine an underground city that would be exhausting to explore, but the one we were brought to was manageable and provided an authentic experience without being too much to handle. Ozkonak Underground City offered a nice experience as it does get too claustrophobic to stay inside for too long.

At lunchtime , we were brought to a buffet place , and thankfully this one was a different establishment. The one I went to the day before was horrid. There was a wide selection offered, but they were all ghastly in quality. Imagine a cheap , low quality desserts and dishes in every imaginable form. H returned to our table with Indian pancakes. She got them from the other table of Indian tourists who brought their own supply of their local side dishes. R and D adorably turned around and asked for some. Who could refuse two gorgeous boys who were ready to indulge in some exotic cuisine? They even politely asked with their smiles that could break hearts. H and I watched them both enjoying the pancakes while we laughed. These two boys just get cuter with every minute. R suggested I check out the scenery because it was awesome and I did so. Upon returning, U came by and nagged at us. He said we were taking too long to eat because we spend too much time laughing. Grudgingly , we took our bags and left with him.

U then proceeded to bring us to a few scenic spots for photo-taking. I was impressed with the props that were provided at these scenic spots to make them the most Instagram-worthy place ever. At the end of the wonderful day , I was dropped off at the centre of Cappadocia, and spent three very lonely hours alone waiting for the bus trip I had been dreading -the 10 hours overnight service to Pamukkale. I was deeply sad to say bye to my new friends, and even sadder to have to wait alone in the cold. I decided to enter a cafe and tried to get two servings of coffee to earn my right to stay there, but got gently chased out at my second order as they were closing.

I moved on and took a leisurely stroll around town. The warm sky at dusk made the evening take on a poetic and lyric turn as I had for the first time , the moment to just take everything in. Everything had been a bit of a blur so far with the hectic plan that I had to follow. When I first arrived in Cappadocia, if you recall, the metaphysical aspect of the city was deeply engraved onto my memory. This evening was equally memorable , not in terms of aesthetics but in terms of feeling. I was feeling semi-abstract that night. There was so much I could put in words, yet so much I couldn’t. If upon my arrival, I felt like I had wandered into a Chirico painting, tonight made me feel as if I walked into a masterpiece of Dali. So much to say and so much to feel, yet I cannot because I am so distracted by the strangeness of it all. That is exactly how Dali’s landscapes make one feel.

When you feel like you need some good vibes, you could consider a tree like this with maybe 1000 evil eyes.

Lost in my own thoughts, I snapped back to reality when I heard a familiar voice say, ‘look who I found here.’ I looked up to find D, the friend I had made on my Istanbul tour. I slapped myself on the forehead . He lived just up the street and I could have called him to hang out for the three lonely hours in the cold! Oh well, maybe I was meant to have that tiny moment of reflection to myself. After we said our goodbyes, I went on my bus. I can honestly say that I didn’t expect myself to be sleeping, but I eventually did nearly all the way. I woke up to find that it was already nearly five am. It was incredible that I was sleep on moving bus. I guess at a certain point my need to sleep kicked in.

My sad trek around the centre of Cappadocia, waiting for my next transport to Pamukkale.

Soon enough, the bus captain came by and started to call out ‘Pamukkale’, which meant we had arrived! It was roughly five thirty am , and I groggily entered another vehicle to be transferred to a hotel to freshen up before my next tour that started at 10 am. My eyes were dry and I was exhausted, which made unable to see much. I was brought to a hotel , but it seemed to be the wrong one. The person who was awaiting me asked me to hop onto another car and drove for a few minutes until I reached another hotel. This interim hotel was a strange one as I seemed to be the only guest there and it did not seem as equipped as a fully functioning hotel. The room was also cold and I was shivering non-stop. Unable to sleep a wink, I began to scroll on my phone mindlessly, waiting for time to pass. At nine am, I finally made my way up for breakfast. I was served a cup of very bland coffee I wouldn’t have drunk in usual circumstances, along with what seemed to be rabbit food for breakfast.

The sweet lady spoke no English was very nice though. She couldn’t even read what I translated on google translate so communication was impossible. Even despite the language barrier, she always greeted me with a smile and kind eyes. For this, I decided to give her some respect and finish the tasteless coffee as well as half the offering of vegetables. I know , I know. Sometimes I can be a coffee snob and a brat when it comes to food. I went downstairs and found my new guide alighting from a mini-van. I was surprised to find a woman. This guide, E, was humourless and almost seemed disinterested. She barely made any effort to know us nor make conversation ,was almost business-like in her ways. E was never rude though , and sometimes being chirpy and merry all the time could take it toll and I was happy to be able to take a mental break and return to my inner introversion with a guide who was distant. I could work with that.

Contrasting the deadpan guide were other fun tourists who did the tour with me. I met a friendly Indonesian family with a two year old child and a lady from China who was working remotely and has been on the go for 6 months. I was deeply envious of her lifestyle as working remotely on the go was my dream. (Although honestly during this trip, I did think a lot about the comfort of my home. Having my makeup laid out for me, having my washing machine at my disposal and not living out of my suitcase was something I missed while on the move.)In our group there was also a young Pakistani girl , H, who was very trendy and had great makeup on. We all became friendly very soon and spent the day in leisure exploring the ruins and the Cotton Castle together as a group.

Before we spent the day frolicking under the sun, we were first given a tour of the ruins of Hierapolis. We trudged together as a group towards the amphitheatre, which was greatly impressive in terms of scale and function. This ancient facility had even better acoustics than most stages I have been around. E asked us to give a few claps to test the acoustics out , and it was incredible how the sound ringed in echoes. E mentioned that only Roman amphitheatres were built so steep. Greek ones are generally flatter. Trust me, the steepness of the amphitheatre was really quite terrifying. It would have been so easy to miss a step and topple over. I asked E if it ever happened and she confirmed that it has unfortunately happened to some people. Upon hearing this, I gingerly made my way to the safety of the platform and walked to the safety of the flat terrain.

Following E , we finally arrived at The Plutonium Shrine. An inscription here also shows that the Ancient Romans dedicated the macabre site to Pluto, god of the underworld and his wife Kore (Persephone). The ancients regarded it as the gateway to the underworld as animals, led into the cave by Roman priests, would die of asphyxiation. Interestingly, the priests who led these animals would survive. Contrary to what our predecessors believed , this was not due to the blood thirsty powers of Pluto, but the sacrifice was made possible as the opening was filled with lethal mephitic vapours. Pliny the elder described the sacrificial process as the “sewer of Charon ” – the ferryman who rowed souls across the River Styx and Acheron and into the underworld. Volcano biologist Hardy Pfanz and his team discovered that vapours emitted from the opening of the cave, emitted from a crevasse running deep beneath the area, reached levels of four% to fifty three% volcanic carbon dioxide. The lower to the cave floor, the higher the amount of suffocating gas, which formed a fatal lake of carbon dioxide. I have to say that the dark tourist in me was deeply impressed.

From the fatal disturbing pool of sacrifice, we approach another that is far uplifting.It was famous Antique Swimming Pool where Cleopatra herself once purportedly bathed in, and this resulted in all her wrinkles magically vanishing. For a thirty-five year old woman who was approaching a purported fountain of eternal youth, I was not as excited as I should be. What thrilled me much more was the fact that this place was so ancient, Cleopatra herself could have swum in it. It is not unlike when you touch the same object that belongs to your favourite pop star, that thrill of being connected to your idol. I am not saying Cleo is my idol, but she certainly IS someone in history. To top it off, have you ever swam in a swimming pool among ancient ruins? With broken columns under your feet??? To feel an entire ancient world under your feet as you float in the clear emerald waters of the pool. This is really so crazy, my own fantasy couldn’t have even fathomed it by mind before I have even heard of this place.

I wasn’t prepared to take a dip that day, so I passed up on the chance at eternal beauty. My retinol regime works well so far, thank you very much. I instead walked around the pool surveying the mist rising from the waters while I sipped on my cup of Cappucino. It was a strange feeling. Doing something as contemporary as sipping on my caffeine from my cardboard cup while looking across at the antique pool where another life would have unfolded in antiquity. I wonder where I belonged at that moment. In the future? In the past? In the middle? At some point I honestly felt super tempted to take a dip and partake in the beauty regime of Queen Cleo, but I didn’t want to purchase a swimming costume to have a short dip so I decided to proceed and explore the Cotton Castle. Have you ever met a woman who encountered the fountain of youth and said, nah I will pass? Me. I guess the Chinese were right when they say that ugly women do not exist, only lazy ones !

The amphitheatre at Hierapolis.

The Plutonium Shrine.

We were given a few hours of free time at the Cotton Castle. Again , this was a pool, but an entirely different one from the chamber of death at the Plutonium as well as the beauty thermal pool of antiquity. This place thermal pool is famous for its travertine terraces of carbonate mineral left behind by the flowing water. It’s pristine whiteness accompanied by aqua blue pools makes it not difficult to understand why Turks coined the apt term ‘Cotton Castle’ for this astonishing spot. Sadly, the beauty of the Cotton Castle has diminished over the years due to human interaction as I have been told by a few people. My colleague who also went to Turkey (her second trip), said that she saw Pamukkale twenty years back and it’s now just a shadow of its former self. Still, I am happy to be here before that beauty diminishes further.

Since our lunch would be nearly at three pm, the girls and I grabbed some instant noodles at the kiosk while we looked over the spectral beauty looming infront of us. Do not ask me why all the kiosks in turkey sell specifically Indomie. This was a very expensive cup of Indomie at sixty five Turkish liras(nearly five SGD). The same thing would have probably cost fifty cents in Singapore. We had extra entertainment admiring all the dogs and cats that came out to play. I am not sure if I mentioned that the other PRs of Turkey are say cats and dogs. There are so many!Since we had extra time after our noodles, we then headed to the museum all together. I wasn’t expecting much , but man, I saw great stuff in this humble museum. A great collection of sarcophagi and other ancient artefacts were found there.

The last trip on our itinerary before I left for Kusadasi was a stone factory. I endeavoured not to buy anything and left my bag in the bus intentionally. But I finally succumbed to a princess cut Zultanite necklace. (I am a sucker for anything that changes colours). I had never heard of Zultanite before this probably because I was never that much into gems. This precious stone actually changes colours in daylight , indoor light to candlelight. It can vary from tints of rose to lush greens. After leaving that shop, I was quite regretful that I did not pick up more of these gems as they were available only in Turkey.

I had to say goodbye to my new friends (again) to begin my next trip to Kusadasi . I was not happy about taking another three hour journey after the one I had that was overnight but hey, if I survived ten hours , what more were three right? I went up the next minivan and was immediately met with a tough crowd as I was told that the seat I was about to occupy was taken by a couple . Oh well. I went to the back of the bus to sit. This time though , I was wide awake and very impatient to arrive. I told myself that the moment that I reached, I was going to run straight into the shower and then to bed. It was after all seven thirty pm and I deserved to sleep until the next morning for all the sleep I have missed out on. Before I alighted the bus, O , the guide, told me that I would have to be ready by nine am the next day. Mentally congratulating myself, (it was stated that the tour would start at eight thirty am on my itinerary), I headed into the hotel entrance to check-in. After I registered at front desk, I changed my mind and decided to check out the buffet spread. It was lavish and there I saw a buffet fit for a queen. I wasn’t hungry, but I told myself I would be letting myself down if I skipped this and proceeded to have a fast dinner. Then I went back to my gigantic room (I kid you not , it could fit a family of 7 or more), took a shower and then fell asleep. I got to admit though, the sheer size of the room scared me a bit and I imagined monsters lurking in corners. I am indeed abit of a scaredy cat when it comes to sleeping in big houses (hence why I decided on a smaller house) to purchase back at home.

Obviously , no monsters appeared and I opened my eyes to check the time. It was already five am the next morning ( amazing how I always wake up at 5 am irregardless of which part of the world I am in). I began to scroll on social media on my phone for a bit before taking a leisurely bath. The great thing was breakfast starts at seven am, which is perfect for someone like me who wakes up early and hungry everytime. At sixty fifty nine am, I proceeded to the restaurant and was surprised to find it half full. I guess the rest were as hungry and eager for breakfast. To make up for my garden variety breakfast the day before, I stuffed my face with Le Bleu’s expansive buffet selection.

After I was done, I returned back to my room to pack up and checkout. At some point I attempted to pull back the opaque aquamarine curtain only to realise that I had a terrace and an amazing sea view which I stupidly hadn’t realise I had until my last twenty minutes in the room before check out. It was the same feeling I had at Cappadocia when H, my friend who stayed there another night after I left , sent me a video of a Turkish spa/bath/tub which I didn’t get to check out because I fell asleep early because I fell asleep at seven pm . I greedily took in the beautiful view of the beach as greedily as I did with the breakfast I just had, and then made my way down I waited at reception as I was early , and mentally told myself to stand outside the hotel at eight fifty five am. Ten minutes before that, I turned my head to see my guide O, already walking in looking for me.

Petitions at the House of Mary

I joined O on the minivan to find that I was the first tourist they picked up. After picking up the rest of the people, we left for the House of Mary. It was a real honour to be able to be at the House of the Blessed Virgin. O introduced the place and mentioned that it was a place of Catholic Pilgrimage. We were also informed that we would be able to get some Holy Water at the fountain. After entering the House to say a little prayer , I proceeded outside and saw the couple from before (Chinese guy and a European? girl) lighting candles and her teaching him how to do the Sign of the Cross, which was sweet. I then lit my own candles and went to the shop to get some bottles for Holy Water.

At the shop, I found an Asian lady with her American husband buying pendants. When she overheard me asking for bottles for holy water , she immediately jumped up and said ‘Holy water? Where?’ I told her it was at the bottom of the path. I went on and found numerous taps for holy water but I found the lady and her husband queuing behind me even though there were so many vacant taps to get holy water. This was definitely a facepalm moment. Since the couple was queuing behind me, I guess they like the tap I was at , and I hurriedly took a sip of the water and filled my bottles. I then returned to view the surrounding , which was beautiful. I took in the entrance of the place , at a cistern that was led from the entrance , and found a garden with the nativity scene . It was actually the first place I encountered at the House of Mary, but as usual, made a dash to enter the house out of sheer excitement. Now was my time to survey the entrance and enjoy the tranquility it afforded. Sometimes I work backwards you know?

Moving on, we were transported to the ruins of Ephesus. I was astonished to discover that only a small percentage (ten percent) of the ruins is seeing light of the day , and the rest is still buried underground. Apparently, excavations require a great sum of money , time and effort and what we are seeing now is a culmination of a century of effort. I probably won’t live to see the next ten percent being excavated, but I am thankful for the magnificence that stands before me. As they say, better than nothing right? This excavated portion was already ginormous in size, so it’s really not nothing to be honest. I have to be fair. There we also found the Library of Celsius, which was one of the largest in ancient Roman times , containing at least twelve thousand scrolls. Today, only the library’s beautiful facade remains standing, and is proof of Ephesus as a great centre of learning and early Christian scholarship Roman times. The structure was monumental, containing three entrance doorways, each with intricately fashioned frames, with the middle one being higher than the ones flanking it. The entrances are each flanked by four statues set back in niches. These sculptures seen with engraved bases symbolising four qualities associated with the late governor; wisdom , intelligence , knowledge and virtue.

Walking on the Marble Road towards the Great Theatre of Ephesus evoked the feeling that I was an ancient Ephesian on my way to watch an exciting spectacle. There were entertainments of all sorts , but I guess the best were to be found at the amphitheatre. Apparently on the side of the road, there lies the world’s oldest advertisement, for another type of entertainment. A brothel. I missed it , but I hope that if you were to go to come here yourself , you would be able to catch it. Look out for drawings of a female bust with polos, afoot, and a heart pierced by an arrow. It will point you to the house where you could buy a little love should you be lonely.

Lunch at Selcuk (contemporary name for Ephesus) which was a tantalising buffet of home cooked fare. I was unimpressed with my lunch selection at Cappadocia and Pamukkale, so when I heard that there was going to be another buffet, I was disappointed. The fare turned out to be great though, as it comprised of a selection of home-cooked cuisine. It was highly awkward at lunch because I was squeezed onto a table of eight people, and the ones directly seated next to me were highly unfriendly. At least the food was good. I finished my lunch at the speed of light and spent some time at the gift shop instead, highly relieved that we set out real soon to the Temple of Artemis.

This impressive place of pagan worship was considered one of the Wonders of the Ancient World by Pliny himself. All my excitement came to a screeching stop when I found an almost empty land with one column sticking out. O was prepared for this disappointment and he made a comment about the temple not meeting expectations as a joke. He came armed with a book to combat the disappointment, showing a high resolution image of the Temple of Artemis in all its former splendour and glory. While I started to wander among the ruins , I found a man tried to peddle the same book O had in his hands. I told him that I could just google the image and he said that google was the greatest liar of all. and that I should really buy his book. I had to do everything I could to not roll l my eyes on the spot.

Temple of Artemis

To be honest, if I were to choose a favourite Greek / Roman goddess, it would probably be Artemis or Athena. I always favoured the warrior types of female role models in contrast to those who represented sensuality and beauty such as Aphrodite(or Venus). I guess it is also not by coincidence that Artemis’ other name Diana, also coincides with my favourite superhero Wonder Woman ( who was incidentally revealed to be a demi-goddess in the latest movie franchise). I suspect that the very name of Diana was inspired by Artemis when they were selecting a name for the superhero. Indeed, Artemis was the very early symbol of girl power. Although all I saw was a broken column , further research informed me that what stood infront of me was once the stuff of legends. Her cult was very strong in the first century AD, and was only eclipsed by the dawn of Christianity when Paul came to Ephesus to spread the religion. Although her temple was unfortunate enough to have been through flood, fires and other disasters, it always came back bigger and better and was once four times the size of the Parthenon at one point in time. So you see, if I were to have a girl crush on any one I could choose among the pantheon of gods, Artemis would be my number one choice.

A beautiful representation of Artemis at the Istanbul Archeological Museum.

The temple did not survive due to so many factors. What stands there now is just that one sole column. That one sole survivor to the rampages of time. Art’s main appeal to me has always been its immortality and ability to survive the test of time. One cannot deny that part of their legacy could include many things that time brings such as disasters, plunder , displacement such as the magnificent Parthenon (half of which I had to view in Athens , while the other half I had to see in the British Museum in London). Anyone or anything would have their fair share of history with the longevity that it is bestowed on. Let’s just be grateful to see them no matter what condition we find them in and be part of the history and memory they carry with them. By partaking in them, we are metaphorically able to touch the past and feel the future. The future where these artefacts will stand in. Leaving Western Turkey and all the historical secrets of the place , I then carried on to my last leg of the tour back to Istanbul. Stay tuned for Part 3!