Don Curry finds a friend

Don Curry takes his experience expansion very seriously. If it's all inclusive, then all the way. Following the old motto 'Better to twist your stomach than give something to the host', he wanted to enjoy the entire culinary program today - and also visit the various attractions of Ephesus and Selçuk.

Naturally, he started with breakfast, which was organized as a buffet with service, similar to yesterday's dinner, but without the annoying shouting from 2 meters away like in Bursa. Don Curry opted for a typical Turkish breakfast and had tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley, a boiled egg, and various types of cheese served on his plate. He got bread and coffee from other stations.

Fueled up with enough energy, he headed to the Ephesus excavations just before 10 am, which were not yet too crowded at this early hour. Unlike Troy and Pergamon, the archaeologists (or tourism managers) focused more on the reconstruction of the ruins as long as there were suitable remains for reconstruction. This gave Don Curry a more vivid picture of an extensive city from the Greek and Roman era. In addition to the famous Celsus Library and the gigantic theater, he was also impressed by the ruins of the mighty Church of Mary, where the Council of Ephesus once met. Under a powerful metal roof, normal houses had been excavated, leading visitors through stairs and walkways to discover decorated marble floors, wall paintings, and even ancient graffiti. After over 2 hours of walking through Ephesus, not only did the outside temperatures noticeably increase, but also the number of visitor groups and the level of impression saturation for Don Curry. So he returned to the parking lot and only now discovered that his car was parked right next to the Tomb of Luke, a circular building adorned with a cross and a bull, the symbols of the Evangelist Luke. However, science has long confirmed that it is a Roman well, not a tomb building.

Biblical foundations also characterized Don Curry's next destination: the House of Mary. Here, Mary is said to have spent her last years of life, near the Apostle John, whom Don Curry would later trace. Many tour groups pilgrimaged to this destination, although there wasn't much to see. The ancient, elongated house with two domes looked more like a church than a residential house. Visitors were quickly guided through, were only allowed to light one candle outside (as a sign clearly ordered), and could then draw water from a spring. All of this was well organized and reminded Don Curry of many pilgrimage sites he had visited before. There was also a space for open-air worship services.

Don Curry looked at the clock: he had to go home for lunch. A strange feeling, but all inclusive also includes obligations. So he quickly drove the 25 km back to his hotel and lined up at the back of the short lunch queue. He had completely ignored the salad bar at dinner yesterday, but it surprisingly offered a wide selection: Don Curry had his plate filled with the classic Turkish tomato-cucumber salad and various variations of quark, the well-known cucumber-garlic quark tzatziki, a mint quark, and an arugula quark (if he identified the leaf correctly). A second plate contained some noodles and a kind of chicken fricassee. It was all tastefully prepared and gave him strength for his second trip to Ephesus.

This time, Don Curry first headed to the Temple of Artemis, the original main sanctuary of the Greek city. Apart from an upright column, there was little to see, the rest was left to the imagination. He then continued to the old town of Selçuk, where he was particularly interested in the remains of the Basilica of St. John, one of the largest church buildings of the Byzantine period. Here, at least some of the walls and columns had been restored, and the former baptistery was clearly recognizable. In the sanctuary area, a marble-covered area was inscribed with 'Tomb of St. John'. Whether the apostle and evangelist John was actually buried here, as so often, cannot be proven.

Don Curry skipped the visit to the old fortress over Selçuk and instead visited the old Seljuk Isa Bey Mosque, which almost looks like a two-aisled church. Since it remained destroyed for centuries, it no longer has any original furnishings. The Ephesus Museum was completely different in this respect, presenting the most important finds from the ancient city in a modern design. The room of the goddess Artemis was particularly impressive, with two larger-than-life statues of the fertility goddess, adorned with numerous bull testicles, dramatically illuminated against a completely dark background. While the museum left Don Curry more than satisfied, the Seven Sleepers Cave completely disappointed him. The visible ruins there were also besieged by a group of German archaeology students, whose professor was about to give an extensive specialist lecture on the scientific reception of the archaeological findings. Don Curry didn't have time for that. He had to have his snack from 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm. He could have made it if he hadn't once again been selected for a Turkish police check, where he was allowed to pull over to the right to present his driver's license and ID. Only at exactly 5:00 pm did he return to the hotel; no trace of the snack. Don Curry suspected that the snack was probably the culinary highlight of the day.

In any case, the next food point 'Cookies' couldn't claim this judgment for itself. Don Curry only discovered the bowl of dry pastries near the bar late, not at the usual food counter. However, with enough Turkish tea, he was able to consume even these cookies.

After a magnificent sunset over the Aegean Sea, dinner started at 7:30 pm. First, Don Curry got himself a plate full of salad and tried the all-inclusive white wine, which he would never do again. As he went for the main course, he was used to an Efes, the bartender told him that he was his friend and even gave him a beer tulip instead of the previously served juice glass. The chef held back on friendship gestures but served Don Curry's request for 2 chicken schnitzels, fries, and a tomato-meat mixture on the plate. As always, it looked worse than it tasted. In the meantime, Don Curry had internalized: All inclusive also means 'Close your eyes and eat!'

After three sticky pieces of cake and a cappuccino for dessert, Don Curry began to reflect: Does he really need all inclusive? The many meal times clashed repeatedly with his extensive sightseeing program throughout the day. Actually, only one really works: all inclusive or sightseeing. And if Don Curry has to choose...

The best thing about all inclusive is certainly that the bartender quickly becomes your friend...

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