Turkish Shave

Our hotel recommended getting a shave from one of the many barbers in Selchuk.  I'd never had a proper barber shave, and the going rate was 5 TL (less than $3 CDN), so I figured I'd give it a shot.

Besides, my long beard had been making me a little owly.

I was pretty keen to try some manly pampering, and to get rid of my now-itchy beard.

Admittedly I haven't been to Southeast Asia, but this was the best value-for-money I've yet experienced for a personal service.  My 5 TL got me:

• A big, churned up faceful of thick, hand-whipped cream shaving cream, applied and thickened for several minutes on the face with a huge brush.
• Laser-accurate shave with a straight blade from a barber who knew his business.  Every whisker was removed, sometimes individually, with no irritation or burning.
• Auxiliary hair removal around other facial features.
• Manual sideburn trim and associated over-ear and side-of-neck hair trim.
• Rinse & firm toweling.
• Apricot face lotion massaged in.
• Shaving talc applied.
• Stray cut whiskers removed with alcohol-dabbed cotton swabs.

The shave took at least 20 minutes, and indeed I felt fresh and invigorated.  Not kidding!  If you let your beard grow and are facing the prospect of clogging your weak little safety razor 100 times in a row to chop it all off, do yourself a favour and let a pro handle it. 

I heartily endorse this barber's shaving technique

COMPLETELY UNRELATED

...but not worth its own post:

Many people in Selchuk (and elsewhere) have purchased cheap Chinese knock-offs of 1970s-era Honda 125cc motorcycles, as pictured above.  They're available under several brand names, but they're obviously trying to be the tried-and-true Honda, which is a pretty cool vintage bike.  From what I know, there's a reason they are CHEAP Chinese knock-offs: don't expect Honda quality.

Selcuk and Ephesus

On Friday we awoke to sun in Bozcaada, which was unfortunate for us as we were spending the whole day on a bus headed for Selcuk, our base for Ephesus.

We were rewarded on our arrival with these views from our hotel room window (the mosque is lovely at sunset, but the call to prayer sure comes early in the morning).  We are staying at a hotel called Jimmy's Place, which for some reason I find hilarious (it's Turkey, people!)

Selcuk is a great little town with a nice buzz.  It is also about 3 kilometres from one of Turkey's most famous sites, Ephesus.  It was a major Greek and then Roman city, though it began in the bronze age.  We started today with a trip up to Ephesus, catching a taxi up early with an Aussie friend we made to avoid the crowds and heat to the extent possible.  Here's a few of our many, many shots, though the scale and impressiveness of Ephesus are impossible to show or describe here!

The small theatre

The large theatre - seats 24,000

It is mind blowing to imagine how Ephesus must have been 2,000 years ago when it had 200,000 inhabitants.  The site is very impressive, and definitely exceeded my expectations.

We returned to Selcuk to find the Saturday market in full swing throughout the downtown.  Hands down the best market I have ever been to.  It is filled with locals stocking up their pantries for the week, rather than tourists, and the range of fresh fruits and veggies for sale is stunning.  We left with tasty cherries, apricots, peas, and oranges, and it was hard to limit ourselves just to those!

We found artichokes as big as my head!

We spent the afternoon wandering some of Selcuk's other sights, visiting the Ephesus museum, feasting on the fruits of our trip through the market, and sitting in a cafe in the park soaking up the sunshine.

The ruins of the Roman aqueducts running through the centre of town.  A favourite spot for the cranes to build their nests.

Cranes are everywhere!  At this time of year, most have chicks hiding in their nests.

A 3D optical-illusion sculpture of Ataturk.

In the Ephesus Museum, the "Socrates Room" - a fresco, mosaic floor, and some of the decorations from one of the Terrace Houses where the wealthiest citizens lived.

The huge head and arm of Emperor Domitian - the entire statue was reputedly 21m tall

We had a lovely time in Selcuk and were suitably impressed by Ephesus.  Tomorrow we move on to Pammukale - stay tuned for what we find there!