Camping in Selcuk at the Garden Campground.

Cooking facilities at the Garden Campground in Selcuk (Ephesus).

Having a home cooked meal by the pool.

June 19, 2006. Visiting EPHESUS. Library of Celsus.

Detail design of the Library.

Part of the Library of Celsus.

More detailed designs.

The Library was built in 114-117 AD by Consul Gaius Julius Aquila and ....

....damaged in an earthquake around 1000 AD.

Ephesus was the chief port on the Aegean...

More detail design of the library.

Marble Street - paved with blocks of marble.

Ruts from Chariots.

The Theatre, dating from the Hellenistic period....

...carved into the side of Mt. Pion.

Ancient toilets.

The Temple of Hadrian. Built in 123AD.

The Gate of Hercules. Entrance to the Curetes Street.

The Curetes Street.

The Temple of Domitian.

The Odeon.

The Colonnaded Street. Lined with Ionic and Corinthian Columns.

It pays off to be early at these sites. The before ....

... 2 hours after picture.

Statue of Sophia (wisdom)

Statue of Arete (Virtue)

Statue of Ennoia (Intellect)

Statue of Episteme (knowledge)

Actors in front of the Library of Celsus.

Street leading to the Ancient Aegean Habour. Now covered in silt.

Writing on stones use to be in red.

June 20, 2006. Visiting the ancient Greek city of PRIENE.

Priene is located between the Buyuk Menderes River and Mout Mykale. Ruby sitting front row in the Theatre.

The Hellenistic Theatre dates back to 3rd Century BC....

...and could seat approx. 5000 spectators.

Inside the Bishop's Church. Shown here is a minbar complete with the staircase.

The Temple of Athena....

....only 5 columns remain. Built in 4th Century BC.

The bouleuterion (council chamber) for 640 delegates.

Mike sitting on an ancient bench in the Agora (Market Place).

Continuing on our route south. Visiting another ancient Greek city MILETUS.

Reliefs from the Theatre.

This impressive Theatre can be seen from far away....

...built around 100AD, it could seat approx. 15,000 spectators...

...it is in good condition and the some of the passage ways underneath the seats are still covered.

Well preserved public entrance to the theatre.

View of the Great Harbour Monument.

Miletus used to be the principal port of the Ionian League. Here seen is the Ionic Stoa.

Our last stop of the day is DIDYMA. The Temple of Apollo.

Lion Sculpture found at the Temple of Apollo.

Head of Medusa.

Another carved relief.

Stairway to the entrance of the Temple of Apollo.

Originally the Temple featured 108 Ionic Columns.

The bases of some of the columns. They are definitely enormous.

Only three (3) of the 108 columns are still standing.

The Temple was built approx. 7th Century BC.

Mike standing in front of a fallen column.

Stairway inside the Temple of Apollo.

Carved Relief.

An example of a carved relief that adorns the top of a column.

June 21, 2006. Visiting the great acropolis of BERGAMA (PERGAMUM). View of the Libary Ruins, reputedly containing 200,000 parchment scrolls.

The Temple of Trayan.

A stature recoverd at the site.

The Temple of Trajan was built of white marble...

... and completed around 117-138AD.

Large arched stuctures supported the temple.

The hillside Theatre, constructed in 3rd century BC.

Passageway on the outer wall below the Temple of Trajan.

The Theatre has 80 rows of seats and can seat approx. 10,000 spectators.

Altar of Zeus.

View of the Theatre and Temple of Trajan.

View from the ancient city of Pergamum.

Visiting TROY (TRUVA).

Climbing into the belly of the reconstructed Trojan Horse.

The wooden horse was used by the Greek to deceive and ...

...finally vanquish the Trojans.

It is a universal symbol of treachery today.

June 22, 2006. This fortress can be seen from Canakkale, to protect the waterways of the Sea of Marmara.

Taking the Ferry from Canakkale to Eceabat, Gallipoli Peninsula.

June 22 to 26, 2006. ISTANBUL. THE BLUE MOSQUE.

The Blue Mosque is located in the Sultanahmet Square.

It was built in the early 17th century.

View of the cascaded Domes from the courtyard.

Inside the Dome.

Mesmeric designs employing flowing arabesques....

...are painted onto the interior of the mosque's domes and semidomes.

The blue mosque takes its name from the mainly blue Iznik tilework decorating the interior.

The windows no longer have their original 17th century stained glass.

Some impressive tile work.

In the centre of the Hippodrome stands the EQYPTIAN OBELISK, built in 1500BC and once stood outside of Luxor.

The HAGHIA SOPHIA. Church of the Holy Wisdom.

The BASILICA CISTERN. Built around 6th Century BC.

The cistern is 143m long and 6m wide and cover a total area of 9,800 square meters.

Upside down Medusa supporting one of the 336 columns.

A side-way Medusa. A sign of plundering by the Byzantines from earlier monuments.

Then on to the Bazaar Quarter of the city centre and the GRAND BAZAAR. The corridors are covered by painted vaults.

Istanbul BMW Motorcycle Service office. Mike's bike is parked ride inside the office.

The sales and accessory area.

The new 2006 BMW R1200 GS Adventure. This dealership sold 400 BMW R1200GS in the last two (2) months.

The Service Shop. Spotless.

Here is a new GS in pieces. Rebuilding of an engine. (Insurance Write-off).

The Service Manager, Onur Kartallioglu with Mike. Excellent service. Both motorcycles were serviced in two (2) days.

By coincidence we ran into Aykut, who also took the BMW Off-Road Course in Germany with us. Here on his BMW R1200GS. Small World.

Shell just launched its new fuel in Turkey. 100 Octane.

Fueling up at 2.97 million Lira ($2.14)/litre. Spend approx. $1400 in gasoline in Turkey.

Camping at the Atakoy Mocamp. This great group of guys from the Czech Republic set up camp beside us.

Seen in the picture from the left Ales, Libor, Dusan, Vojta, Rosta, Ruby & Mike.

View of the Galata Tower from the Beyoglu area (Golden Horn) of Istanbul.

On the Galata Bridge.

Ferries entering the Golden Horn area.

View of the New Mosque and the Galata Bridge.

One last walk past the Blue Mosque.

Water fountain located in the Sultanahmet Square with the Blue Mosque in the background.