Our return to Istanbul is comprised of driving the car back as far as Izmir and then taking a train on to Istanbul.  The first step is to get to Izmir, too long for a one-day drive from Datça, plus we have a extra day before we need to be there.  One possibility was to drive way out on another peninsula to a larger and upscale version of Datça called Bodrum.  On-line research revealed that to be a very expensive area, and further research revealed reasonably priced accommodations AND a reasonably priced golf course a bit further north near Ephesus.  So we drove to Kuşadasi, the nearest town to the golf course and spent the night at the small Liman Hotel on the harbor, better known as Mr. Happy’s.

For the most part we have delegated navigation duties on this trip to our iPhone GPS navigation app.  It is generally pretty good, but on occasion tends to be overly aggressive in finding “shortcuts” for us.  In Sicily we decided that one way you know the app has jumped the shark is when you wind up increasingly narrower cobbled roads in a medieval town and discover that the last 50 feet before you rejoin the main road are stairs.  In Turkey we have a new indication.  That is when you are given a shortcut that takes you down increasingly narrow roads and you eventually have to wait for goats to get out of the way, your navigation system needs to back off.  We now know these as goat roads.

We got into Kuşadasi early enough to walk along the harbor front, which is pretty well developed because this town is the port of call for Ephesus and sees lots of tourists.  We also found the Friday outdoor market (as recommended by Mr. Happy), several blocks away from the waterfront.  Close to the harbor, Kuşadasi is seriously touristy, but this bazaar is obviously for locals, where they can buy anything they need (not just perishables, but staple goods too, including maybe 30 or so different kinds of olives).  It was late in the afternoon by the time we got there, but still hopping with activity.  We had a beer on the roof terrace of our hotel (not officially open for the season yet, but Mr. Happy had one cold beer that we shared), and then a dinner at a local place also recommended.

As usual, one ran a gauntlet of all the other restaurants, each of which had a tout out front talking (or shouting) at you as you passed.  Fending off everyone who wants your business, whether it be food or goods like carpets, is one of the more difficult things in Turkey, just as it was in Tanzania (and not at all in Italy).  Craig has adopted an attitude of light banter with them, with mixed results (sometimes they just say okay, have a good day, sometimes they believe that you really do want to buy five carpets and just keep it up till you are out of sight).  Phyllis just repeats over and over “no thank you”, because they all understand that much English.