Selcuk

Ruins of a Roman and Byzantine empire is everywhere. The ruins of the old Roman aqueduct runs through the whole town. On top of the hill is the Byzantine cistern and on top, the church of St John which was ordered built by Emperor Justinian. Under Justinian, church building was top priority, in the sands of the Sinai desert where the monastery of St Catherine stands. A friend and I were debating as to whether St Catherine was Byzantine or Coptic. It is Byzantine, not Coptic and everywhere else, the Haghia Sophia in Constantinople and St Vitale in Ravenna, Italy. Selcuk is a small town and is absolutely laid back. Even though it is the closest town to the ruins of Ephesus, very few visitors stay in Selcuk, it is more for backpackers like us who prefer cheap lodgings. The majority of the visitors and there are hundreds of thousands of them prefer to stay at the coast where the 4 star hotels are and they are ferried in by luxury air conditioned buses. Selcuk doesn't get any respect and the residents know it and they're really friendly, almost to the point of begging people to stay and some do. Two kids from California was supposed to be there for 2 days ended up staying 2 weeks when we met them and has not plans to leave yet, doing what... absolutely nothing. Another girl from New Zealand ended up falling in love with a local and has stayed a few months, this was a stop on her round the world trip. She was helping out at the hostel where we stayed, serving breakfast to the guests. When we left, we said to her, don't stay too long, remember your dream of traveling round the world. The ruins at Ephesus is a 20 minute bus ride away. It is a very much visited site with pilgrims from all over the world. The museum in Selcuk is small and hold its prized exhibits, the 2 statutes of Artemis. Artemis was mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. We will meet her later.