Big Jumps!

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Heading further down the coast, I landed in Selcuk; here I strolled through the reuins of Ephesus, like salmon swimming in a crowded stream, the tourists, ( me included ) flooded the sight with bus loads of camera toting westerns. Having said this, Efes is still very impressive. It is the home to one of the best preserved Roman cities on the eastern Mediterranean. It was here that St John preached, most likey in the very theater where I sat, bringing the bible to life. Also while in Selcuk, I paid homeage to the location where the Virgin Mary spent the last years of her life, now a small and beautiful chapel in the woods. After a brief stay and mud bath in Koycegiz, I headed for Fethiye, a resort town on the Mediterrian coast. At this point as was travelling with some Kiwis and a token Ozzie. And had fallen into a pattern of following there agenda because I enjoyed there company. They were on holiday, doing holiday things, which generally is a bit more spendy. I noticed myself getting restless and knew soon I would have to find something more ordinary and more realistic as to what it means to live and be Turkish. But, before leaving the well beaten tourist path, I decided to do a paragluiding jump. This consisted of basically running off a cliff with a parachute tied to your back.

So, one morning a truck load of us rode up to the top of a near by mountain. One by one, with a piolet strapped to us, we ran into the wind and off the cliff. The wind lifted us off the ground in less then 5 steps, and suddenly your feet are left dangling above the ground far below. The 40 minute trip was an unforgetable ride, with views of the blue Mediterrian lagoons and bays on one side, and the rolling hills and mountians of inland Turkey on the other. With an eehhhaaa, we landed safely on the beach. I did have a few scary moments as my mind imagined what a fall to the ground or water would be like, ( mostly what the landing would be like, not the falling part ) but I somehow decided it was waisted thought and just enjoyed the ride!

One last tourist stop, but not so touristy, I made a trip to see Cappadocia. A land with amazing rock formations, underground cities, built by early Christians for safety. I half expect to see Fred Flintsone running around, many houses and buildings look like they popped right out of the cartoon. Generally I was impressed by the extent they went to in order to survive and pratice there faith. Eventually the autorities got smart and gave a huge tax break if you were Muslim, which was very effective. And what that didnt handle, the large enthnic exchange after WWI with Greece did, leaving Ghost towns and forgotten underground cities. The place is loaded with sites, and after 3 days I was rocked/caved out. So I hired a moped and went to explore villages where no-one speaks English and no tourists can be found. At the end of that day I was so happy. There is something special about a day, when at the end of it, you can go to bed knowing you did what you love to do!

From here, it's east, east, east and less, less tourists. love dean