Sirince, Pamucak Beach and the Virgin Marys House

The day we visited these 3 places was fantastic. We started by renting a scooter and running some errands, then we were off to visit the sites. The Turks are very "macho" and we certainly drew their attention when they realized that Gaby was the driver. I have never driven a scooter before and it didn't seem like a good time to learn. Having the scooter gave us a lot of freedom and allowed us to take back streets that otherwise we wouldn't have seen.

Sirence is a cute town way up in the mountains which is known for its Greek style houses. While there we got to visit a winery right in the middle of crush. They showed us their facilities and it was a pretty cool experience. We had to take a small road that wound higher and higher in the mountain until we got to the town up in the pine tree filled peaks.

We also drove up the side of a mountain near Ephesus to visit the house of the Virgin Mary. It was where she spent her last years after Jesus asked Saint John to care for her after his death. Although touristy now, the house had to be restored and it is tiny with and altar where people pray. As a Catholic, this was very meaningful to Gaby and we spent quite some time there. People came from all over the place and after they are granted their miracles they come back and leave their crutches or wheelchairs. After gathering water from the well and writing down some wishes that you tie onto a knot on the wall, we left and spent the sunset at Pamucak Beach, only 9km from our hotel.

It was a white sand beach with pretty warm waters where the contrast between women in bikinis and others (Muslims) covered head to toe was striking, all swımmıng in the Aegean sea.

Steve