The second stop on our cruise was Kusadasi, Turkiye: welcome to Asia! This was my first time in Asia, so it was kind of exciting for me.
We took an excursion to the ruins of Ephesus where Paul preached.
The ruins in Ephesus were in better shape than those in Greece, but I don’t know if it will stay that way for long, because they let tourists walk around and touch them. Interesting to get up close to the history, but a little sad to see it not taken care of.
On the way back to the ship, Linda and the kids wanted to stop and get some Turkish ice cream (with the experience of the seller who plays tricks on you). However, Sarah wanted a nap. She fell asleep in my arms, so we found a place to sit.
A few minutes later a guy sat down next to us and started smoking!
So, I got up and moved. I was feeling a little offended. Didn’t he realize how rude that was? I walked a little bit and a lady waved to us indicating that there was an empty seat next to her. She was also smoking!
Apparently, the first person wasn’t being rude, they just don’t think about the effects of second-hand smoke like I do. Anyway, I kept walking. A shop keeper was sitting in her chair and saw me. She stood up and told me I could sit in her chair.
She then brought me a little pin for Sarah and pinned it on her and said “free.” A few minutes later the wind picked up and she brought us a cloth bag for Sarah to use as a blanket.
When Sarah woke up a little while later, the shop keeper gave us a flute. I tried to give her some money, but she wouldn’t take it. So, I insisted on buying some stuff. Very neat experience.
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