Saturday – on the road again…

We’re checked out of our hotel, the luggage is mostly secure on the roof of the van, every seat is packed with a set of buns, and we’re observing our daily time of silence. I tried reading but got about a mile on the windy roads before that had to stop, not even all the way out of Kuşadası and had to put the book away. My paper journal is in my suitcase on the roof which is just as well as I don’t think I’d be able to write very legibly (sitting in the back of the van once again – which for those of you who have been on the bus in Siliguri, I can describe this ride like sitting in the back seat of that bus, but with no room to do anything but breathe basically.)

As I think back on this last almost a week, I can easily see past these momentary afflictions, as the reward, though not as glorious as eternity in heaven, is definitely worth the temporary discomfort. Not only are we getting to see places  and things which play important roles in my spiritual heritage, but I’m getting to experience a culture and people which are an amazing amalgamation of contradictions: East and West, religious and secular, friendly and reserved, ancient and modern.

We’re sitting down at dinner at an almost normal time tonight (9pm) and having some very delicious mushroom soup and fantastic mushrooms with cheese in a clay pot. Now I’m waiting for lamp kebob cooked in a clay pot with potatoes, eggplant, peas, cheese, mushroom, onion, mild peppers and special spices. Ok, back to this morning…

…after a couple of hours on the road will pulled over to the side for lunch at a little place with a fence around it. The sign said no un-authorized entry. So we paid and they authorized us to enter. As lunch was being prepared, Blake walked around one building and saw some ruins, including a theater, maybe a quarter mile away. After lunch we walked to explore.  

Here’s some photos of the ruins we “discovered” in Nysa on the Meander…