Next up, on our honeymoon is Kusadasi, Turkey.
Previous stops: Venice & Athens
Boasting over 300 sunny days a year, we weren’t surprised to be greeted by a beautiful bright blue sky and a warm morning that quickly rose to 30 degrees Celsius.
Kusadasi lies on the West coast of Turkey and has a population of just 50,000; however the population is much greater during the summer when tourists arrive. The Taxi driver we spoke with said that he makes enough money in the summer (working as a Taxi driver) to take the rest of the year off work! He said they have a very relaxed lifestyle, with ample traveling, and lots of family time. Eric and I thought it was such a stark contrast to the typical North American lifestyle which is often based around working and material things, with little family time and travel opportunities.
We strolled around the market and the locals not only spoke English well, but they were very friendly (and very persistent!). I bought a couple unique looking tanks tops and Eric a couple t-shirts.
Well, I thought they were unique until I saw the same ones at every clothing stand along the way!
After browsing the market, we took a taxi to Ephesus, which is a city with quite a ‘rocky’ history filled with culture and architecture. Ephesus is famous for the Temple of Artemis- one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient Word. Sadly, it was destroyed in 401 AD. Later on in 614 AD, much of the town was also destroyed by an Earthquake.
Similar to Athens, we saw a lot of strays which were the most friendly of all the strays we came across along our travels. The cats wanted lots of rubs and attention much like domestic cats. We couldn’t get over how tame they were, but I guess they are used to lots of tourists being around. We wanted to take them all home…I’m sure Sketchie would have loved them. ;)
For the rest of our pictures, see the album below!
I’ve been to Kusadasi on a greek island cruise that also stopped there. That market was intense! Full of great things but as being there with just a group of women (at 19) was kind of overwhelming!
I could definitely see that!
How gorgeous! I am headed to Italy in a month, but the next international trip is going to be a tough choice between France, Turkey and Hungry, and Greece. So many places to see!
I’ve never been to Turkey, but after seeing these beautiful photos its definitely on my list!
I hate when sellers are so persistent, I just want to browse without hassle! That was a serious problem for me in Tunisia.
Those ruins look amazing! :)
Beautiful pics! I love Turkey, I’ve been there so often (17 times). It’s so gorgeous and the people are so nice. Love the food also! Wow, that cat in pic 16 is HUGE! When you’ve got the opportunity you should visit Northern Europe as well, it’s beautiful as well but in a different way.
Beautiful trip! I never realized how stunning Turkey is. :)
I will see you in Kusadasiou!! sign me up please!
Absolutely breathtaking. What an incredible honeymoon you guys got to have. I would love to do something similar and see all the places I possibly can!
Stunning! What an incredible adventure to have for your first married trip. And I’d have wanted to steal some strays too :)
Such great pictures, and what a fun honeymoon! So lucky! I’ve never been to Europe and I am DYING to go! Anywhere! Haha.
I think I just made a new addition to my bucket list!
How beautiful! I loved looking through these pictures! My parents were stationed in Italy after they were married and these pictures totally brought back memories of listening to my parents share their stories when I was younger and wanted to know each individual picture’s story in their album! I have never been outside of the United States but I cannot wait to eventually do a little traveling of my own :)
Beautiful! I definetly need to see these places for myself :)
Kusadasi was a stop on a cruise I went on with my family in 2007! I loved looking through your photos. Makes me want to dig out mine… and pack my bags to do some more traveling! ;)
My mom and I were lucky to have my dad and brother around because the sellers were less willing to pester us when they were around!
I’ve always wanted to visit Turkey! It looks so beautiful!
Beautiful photography! I would love to travel one day– mostly to Italy and Greece to eat all the yummy food! :)
I love Turkey so much just got back from there! (heat wave: 50 degree celcius) We go to Marmaris and know a lot of the locals who work there, Marmaris is only really open 6 months a year and the locals work really hard at that time and dont work the other half Im jealous. I love the people they are sooo friendly and the county is gorgeous and all the strays yes!! Plus for me as a belly dancer I am in heaven :) I was so enchanted I taught myself the language and have plans to eventually move there.
I just discovered your blog today. Mallory, of Mallory’s Musings, told me about in a comment she left on my own blog. Your trip looks amazing. I am very excited to start reading Oh She Glows regularly.
Hey Sandra, thanks for your comment! I’ll check out your blog too :)
Travel Envy!!!
Ohhhhh, I went to Kusadasi as a ‘we all just finished school’ celebratory trip! It is lovely there, it was nice to look through your photos and remember everything!. And I went to Ephesus too, it was a really interesting place to visit, and the fact that they still have so much more to dig up is just amazing!
P.S. Did you try the apple tea when you were there? :)
yes!! It was everywhere, heh. Mmm.
Beautiful photos! You are definitely making me crave a trip to the Mediterranean! Although, was it exhausting to travel from place to place so much during one trip?
Yes it was very tiring, as we walked all day long, every day, except a couple days at sea ( but even then we were always on our feet exploring the ship). We were often up around 6am each morning to make the most of each day. We’re both very active travelers though (we go stir crazy when sitting on a beach or at the pool) so it was the perfect trip for us. We did wish for longer stays at many cities though. But at least now we know where to go back!